Audiofly

Having DJed and produced together since 2002, Luca Saporito and Anthony Middleton will release Follow My Liebe on Get Physical, their debut album as Audiofly in May. As headliners on the final Pulse Radio AGWA Yacht Club for this summer, it was the perfect time to get them in to produce a podcast for us. Emily Powell speaks to Anthony about musical love affairs, cheated rave experiences and relaxing in a world where the daily commute is an international flight to a gig.

Download the podcast here.

Pulse: For those who don’t know much about you, can you enlighten us on how Audiofly came about? Anthony: We were introduced through the Italian network, many years ago. My sister was dating a friend of Luca’s and I was forced to go watch him play [laughs].

Together you have toured the world; what club night has been the epitome of your career so far and do you prefer playing big venues or more intimate ones? Generally we prefer to play clubs for around 500-600 people, more intimate, where you can interact with the people who come to see you. One of our ultimate experiences is playing at Warung in Brazil for around 2500 people. Its an Indonesian temple-style club on a beach, it’s a bit of a cult experience and people travel from all over to experience it. The Sun comes up over the sea and shines right up the middle of the club, all you can see are silhouettes dancing with little golden auras around each head. It’s like DJing in heaven [Laughs].
Another would be a private jungle party we hold every New Year for our global family. It takes place in the most amazing secret location in the middle of nowhere (strictly invite only and all funds go to charity) and the most cutting edge of the global gang play for kicks to 350 people in the most absolute ultimate adult playground you ever saw. In fact, any gig on a beach or in the jungle is where we most like to be.
 

"Certainly prior to the rave generation there was a kind of national angst building against the system, and that angst was vented by way of the gatherings, the raves and the music, which bonded us all. It was a great time, garbage men, hooligans, lawyers, judges and waitresses all dancing together."

You run your own label, Supernature. Can you tell us a little bit about the label and what we can expect in the coming year? Supernature is now a fully matured label. We started it mainly because we kept meeting all these amazing friends and producers around the globe who kept passing us music, and we just thought it would be a crime not to get involved. We started quite nonchalantly but eventually realized how much of an investment it would have to be to do it properly. So we got serious. We started with a small roster of Nick Curly, Alex Niggemann, Robbie Akbal, Pele, and tried to reach out to our friends in the industry to help us with remixes. The response has fortunately always been positive on that front, and so you could say that the remixing has been musically very reflective of the friends we keep and we like it that way.
In the next few months you can expect some new material from Jay Haze, James Teej and Solomun, as well as more stuff from the Supernature family. Direction wise, we are just floating on our own house sound, nothing will change. We are opening another label called Maison D’etre. The new label (launching in March for Miami week) will reflect the slightly darker and more full on 4AM sound, which we often find ourselves playing, these days.

And the high points of it all? [Pauses] The sense of a musical family movement is enough for us [laughs].

Can you tell me about Flying Circus? Flying Circus started as a radio show we were doing on Proton radio a few years ago. The first opportunity was actually for WMC a few years ago. A slot came up at Nikki Beach on the Wednesday of conference week, and we were offered it. We took it and just needed an emergency name. Since the radio show was the most global thing we had at the time, we thought we’d stick with it. It seemed like a great opportunity to do a party and invite all our friends to hang and play, so once again, we reached out to all the people we have been working with over the years and the response was fortunately very positive. The first show was a real success and since then, it has become one of the signature events, opening WMC each Wednesday. Sticking to the theme, we now look for beach clubs and interesting venues around the globe and try to do something special every time.
 

"Social networks are a blessing and a curse... I think they can be very valuable if used well, but it’s hard not to become a victim of virtual ego and digital induced A.D.D at some point."

The twentieth century witnessed each decade create a distinct subculture in response to politics. To what extent do you think that music across all genres is defining ‘subcultures’ today? Well I was around during the inception of rave in the UK, when the subculture was founded. We took advantage of the loopholes and antiquities in the law to gather on private land and hold free parties: the police could do nothing at the time until Margaret got wiser on us [laughs]. Certainly prior to the rave generation there was a kind of national angst building against the system, and that angst was vented by way of the gatherings, the raves and the music, which bonded us all. It was a great time, garbage men, hooligans, lawyers, judges and waitresses all dancing together. Not in uniform, though [laughs]. It was like a poor version of the 60’s but with better bathroom habits and clean clothes. I feel kind of cheated, in a way, because I wasn’t born in the 60’s .To experience the real deal would have been epic!

What factors, do you think, make DJs able to stand the test of time?  For example, bands can reform and play the main stage of a festival 30 years into their career. We've already stood the test of time! This subculture has outlasted many others. It sits strong in its message and doesn’t show any signs of fading. It may be due to the rise of the digital age thar the scene is as strong and healthy as ever, even through crashes both in the music industry and on a global scale. There are more festivals than ever before and although there are obvious fluctuations in club world, where the scene might fade in one country, it will for sure be growing somewhere else. I think the true electronic ‘artists’ of our time will endure as long as any other artist from any other subculture or music genre. After all, we have Facebook!

What are your thoughts on facebook and social networks in general? Social networks are a blessing and a curse. Electric valium but also an essential tool for keeping up with the times. I think they can be very valuable if used well, but it’s hard not to become a victim of virtual ego and digital induced A.D.D at some point. We’ve mostly all been through it. I recently read this article that said that if you check your mail, your Skype or your Facebook too much, you never retain focus on anything for long enough and your poor little brain doesn't have enough time to drip feed the memories to your long term memories. We are turning into land goldfish… the big bubble-headed ones, oh the irony! I use Facebook for my personal friends and Twitter for all other Goldfishing.

I read an article where Audiofly were described as veterans of electronic music. With such a title, do you feel a sense of responsibility to those who listen to your music and come and see you play out? Well, I would hardly say veterans, but we have been around for this current re-incarnation of the scene. After all this time, we feel like we need to ‘represent’ at each and every gig and we always have. If some day that feeling of ‘must push it’ goes, it’s time to become a chef or open a retirement home for fading, deaf DJs.

How do you like to relax? I can’t even pronounce it! No, really, there is very little time to relax. The job won’t let you. If one isn't on a plane travelling home from somewhere, one is trying to get into the music. It’s a 24/7 lifestyle into which we chuck a little yoga, the occasional museum or random beach and some gym.

What do you always travel with? A travel adaptor, an inflatable pillow, the laptop, the iPad and a constant hangover.

If you were on mastermind what would your specialist subject be? Tightrope-walking (mental and spiritual & physical) in the 21st Century.

If you could pick six guests for a dinner party, dead or alive, who would they be? Hunter S Thompson, Mohamed Ali, Audrey Hepburn, Bill Hicks, Marlene Dietrich and my Mum (I don’t think she’d understand Hunter S or Bill, but her, Audrey, Marelene and Cassius would be a riot).

Emily Powell

Download The Podcast Here
Tracklisting
1) rene breitbarth - reel - deep data
2) nina kraviz - i am gonna get you - rekids
3) Falko borcksieper - changeling - promo
4) alex danilov - sequence smoke - pro-tez
5) Lee curtiss - smoking mirrors - spectral sounds
6) Clapz & Dogz - the rain - glass table
7) nick harris - pony trekkin - promo
8) dyed sondoroom feat brothers vibe - con leche - freak'n'chic
9) dyed sondoroom - tapioka (art department remix) - tsuba
10) Birds & souls - birds and souls - spectral
11) spirit catcher - human factor (pol on remix) - systematic
 

Audiofly upcoming dates 

March 18th: Melbourne – Brown Alley
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=147511605305168

March 19th: Sydney – AGWA Yacht Club
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=193623880667597

March 23rd: Miami – Nikki Beach
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=164871190230052