MANU RIGA & NICO PARISI INTERVIEW

After their last release on Bonzai Progressive we got together with Manu Riga & Nico Parisi for a short interview about their collaboration past, present and future plans

Hi guys, thanks for speaking with us, how are you both?

M: Well I have had some medical issues, but in general I am doing fine, thanks

N: Hello everything is fine, thank you. I’m still waiting for the summer and the upcoming festivals, the winter was far too long!

Manu & Nico, could you describe your individual sound and what inspires you?

M: As a producer coming from a Chill out background I must say that my inspiration is coming from the likes of Enigma, Solar fields and other great chill out producers. Since I started producing progressive I get my inspiration from producers like Moshic, Gai Barone and also oldskool progressive, Polefolder, Sasha etc. Inspiration is something that can be triggered by playing synths and messing around with sounds.

N: I am now almost 20 years as a DJ-producer and I started with trance, house and progressive in club Atmoz. If you listen to my last productions like “Romeo & Juliet” and my track with Manu Riga, they are very different from all the other things I have produced over the years. My passion for progressive and deep house has never been denied and at this moment I am following a different path with my recent signing to Bonzai Progressive where I can take my next step in EDM. I find my inspiration in the music that I play during my sets and at home.

Nico, you’ve been around the scene for quite some time, how have you seen EDM evolve?

N: The EDM scene has certainly changed, there are so many styles added and the digital uprising has been a good and a bad thing, record sales are down 70% because of illegal downloads. The good thing, is that social networks allow us to promote releases along with streaming platforms and new technology for DJ’s and Producers. It’s amazing how EDM has evolved these last years.

Manu, as a relative newcomer to Bonzai, how did you get involved with producing EDM?

M: In dance I am indeed new since 2005, but of course I’ve been producing electronic music for 21 years now. I started when I was about 12 years old with synthesizers and evolved with the technology to where we are now. Dance was always something I didn’t like or probably I didn’t understand it. In 2004 a guy challenged me to make a dance track and I took the challenge, the track got me signed to Okina Music in 2005. A DR Kucho remix of my track “Good Feeling” hit the national dance charts and that is how it all started. Sadly the label wasn’t into the style I really wanted to make and soon after they went bankrupt. I took a break for a few years and in the meantime started a modest career as a soundtrack composer for some smaller movies. When I met Laurent (Veronnez) online he convinced me to send a track to Bonzai Progressive and that is what I did, I sent them my old track “Tai Chi Girl” and the rest is history

Nico, you worked with Laurent Veronnez aka Airwave on “Romeo & Juliet”, how did that partnership begin?

N: I have known Laurent a long time and a few months ago we approached each other to talk about the distribution of my label Danza Records on Bonzai Digital. Afterwards I asked Laurent if he wanted to make a collab track and Romeo & Juliet was born.
You guys are both signed to Bonzai, can you tell us how this started and how it feels working with a legendary crew?

M & N: “It feels like coming home”

Nico, it was recently announced that you will be on the Bonzai stage at Tomorrowland 2013, how excited are you about this?

N: Well I am really excited to play at the biggest festival in the world! Not only because of Tomorrowland but also because it’s the Bonzai Stage. Bonzai are the pioneers of the EDM scene in Belgium and has put our country on the map! There are a lot of young people who do not know about Bonzai and I think they need to do some research on Google to see how it all evolved, or they could come and check out the stage and get a lesson in where it all started. Bonzai is still working hard in the scene and is still the biggest progressive label in Belgium, maybe even in Europe. So for this I am happy to be part of the family and to play next to M.I.K.E, Yves De Ruyter and Bonzai Allstars at Tomorrowland 2013.

You guys have began working in the studio together, can you tell us more about that and do you have plans for any more studio time together?

M: We did a collaboration on a track for my upcoming Manu Riga album which will be released later this year on the Bonzai Progressive imprint, for further collaboration we don’t have any specific plans yet.

N: After a remix that Manu had made for me we stayed in touch. He invited me to his studio, one thing led to another and we finished our first track together called “Reborn” which is one of my best productions so far, the collab between us is really working well. On top of that Bonzai have sorted remixes by the likes of Gai Barone, Audio Noir and Anthony Yarraton… it’s gonna be massive!

Manu, apart from your work with Nico what are your plans for the future, do you have any other projects in the works, maybe give us a hint of new material?

M: Apart from my upcoming album “The Darkness Within”, I will also work on a live DJ set with my long time friend Nathan DC, it’s a must these days to bring a studio project on stage to the people. The album itself will have some interesting collaborations which I can’t tell too much about yet. Of course I will also start working on a second album under my moniker “Twins in Mind”, I can tell you that we have found a great new partner for that project, former Blue Stone singer Sheyenne Rivers, but no doubt I will also go deeper into exploring Manu Riga.
Nico, apart from your work with Manu what are your plans for the future, do you have any other projects in the works, maybe give us a hint of new material?
N: I am currently finishing my new studio, but I have made some new tracks in the meantime and they are almost ready to be released. I am working hard to get my label Danza Records back on the road with help from Bonzai Digital. And there are some more collab projects to come with Laurent and Anthony Yarraton from the UK.

Well guys, thanks so much for chatting with us and best of luck with whatever you get up to, thanks.
M & N: Thanks