The art of reading crowds with Ilario Alicante

Image: Ilario Alicante 

To make your Time Warp debut when you're in your teens is quite an achievement on its own, but it doesn't stop there for Ilario Alicante. With weighted releases on some of the most illustrious techno labels including Papa Sven's Cocoon Recordings plus his own imprint titled Deep Moves, Ilario is one of the industry's most prolific young artists. 

Residing in arguably the best city for electronic creatives, Berlin, Ilario continues to churn out some of the freshest tracks that the scene is exposed to. The future looks bright for one of Cocoon's key players, and we caught up with him ahead of his gig in Liverpool this Saturday.  

Hi Ilario, thanks for taking the time to speak to us. You're headed to Liverpool this weekend for Rubix, are you looking forward to it, is it your first time playing in the city?

Thanks to you for inviting me! Yes, it's my first time and I'm quite excited! 

Are there any particular tracks you're loving at the moment that might make an appearance at the gig?

There are so many great tracks out at the moment but I've been playing my new remix of 'Over the Future' that released on Pushmaster Discs quite a lot (listen below). Another track that comes to mind is the Tripeo remix of Exium's 'Parallel Computing'.

We saw you give fans a sneak peak on Facebook of your track Argo due out on Cocoon Recordings, could you tell us about more about that?

Argo is the B side of my new EP coming out on Cocoon Recordings. The EP features 3 original tracks plus a Sterac remix. I'm really happy that it's been remixed by a legend like Steve Rachmad. It's set to be released around the end of April on both vinyl and digital.

What's it like being part of the Cocoon family?  

Cocoon really is like a family. I'm happy to be part of such a great team of people that work hard, with so much passion for the artists.  I'm proud to be part of it because Sven has been such a big inspiration for me since the start of my steps.

I still remember getting goosebumps the first time I went to Cocoon club in Frankfurt. I was 17 years old. It was his birthday night and was amazing.

Living in Berlin must be amazing, does it inspire you to make a certain type of music?  

I love Berlin. It transmits a lot of positive energy. There's always good sensations when I land here after a weekend of traveling. Apart from the music scene side of things, it has a lot of other wonderful faces that inspire me constantly. You can breathe in the history of the city when you walk through it. It means a lot to me, and makes me incredibly happy daily. 

You consider yourself to still be clubber, do you think that helps you read the crowds in a particular way? 

It's fundamental. I still love to go to clubs when I have time, to go and dance and enjoy the music on the dancefloor. I like be a part of the music in clubs from all points of view. It's very important for me to be a complete DJ and producer in my opinion.

You can't read a crowd if you've never been part of it before. You have to live on the dancefloor to understand the crowds. My passion for music started because of that, that's where it all begun.

In 2008 you made your debut at Time Warp at just 18 years old, quite an achievement. You're headed to Time Warp Mannheim again this year, what do you love most about playing at the festival?

Time Warp is one of the best festivals within the entire scene. I'm super proud to have the opportunity to be there. It has an incredible organisation. From soundsystem to lights to the team that is taking care of the artists. Everything is nearly perfect. Every year is like the first for me. 

Finally a hypothetical question. If you could go B2B with any artist from past or present, who would you pick and where would you play? 

If I was being really hypothetical I'd say Thom Yorke. I love him. I'm an huge fan of his project Atoms for Peace. The album Amok is one of my favourite albums ever. Apart from that, I've heard him as a DJ in a Boiler Room session (above) and his selection was amazing. He has an incredible taste. 

Then, if I was being less hypothetical, I'd say Sven. At an after party in Ibiza though. He's a music culture book. When he plays long sets he always delivers an unique journey.

For more on Ilario, including his upcoming gigs, head here.

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