Interview with John Acquaviva

John Acquaviva has been playing as a dj for about 30 years and has been a driving force in the international music and club scene since 1989, when he and Richie Hawtin founded one of the world's best known and influential techno labels, Plus 8 Records.

Last year, he was recognized in the Top 100 (#22) in DJ Magazine’s canonical poll of DJ influence and success worldwide. John is known as a DJ’s DJ with a vast vinyl record collection (over 50.000 pieces) that essentially spans the history of club music. . . and he was spinning through it all!

Always at the vanguard of new music and ideas, John was one of the first people to take notice and embrace electronic music’s digital future at the dawn of 2000. First, he got involved with and championed Final Scratch as a new innovative way for DJ’s and artists to connect the digital world with the analog world. He also helped launch Beatport.com, the biggest dance-music download site in the world.

John played a fun set at Movement 07 – Detroit’s Electronic Music Festival. We had the chance to meet him, and later pose a few questions (I’ll let you guess which questions were from Rusty – our trusty DJ in residence.)

MMR: You seemed to have a really fun time at Movement 07 performing “Bad Habits” and “It’s All About the Music” with Dan Diamond. (I very much enjoyed these songs too.) What brought you two together?

JA: The lyrics to Therapy just grabbed me. I thought that Therapy was a Peace Division record with a vocal sample I had never heard before. A few months later, I bought Bad Habits and I figured it was the same vocalist. I called beatport and begged them to help track him down...Imagine my surprise and delight when I found he was from Detroit... The rest is history.

I decided to bring Dan two years ago [to DEMF 2006] as a proper coming out to the world at large...Then this year – being on the Main Stage - I just figured dj's are boring to watch - so I asked Dan to come and perform with me to add some life to the show... I think it did. We decided to have fun and I think that came through nicely.

with Dan Diamond

I noticed that many artists – including yourself - turned out to listen to one another throughout DEMF. What were your highlights as a listener and fan from Movement 07?
That would be it. Most festivals are in and out, but Detroit was special. More so because not much is happening in North America...so many people came for the whole weekend. In Europe, I have done 3 festivals in 2 days many times - so there is no time to hang out.

How did you make the transition from clubber and fan to performer? And what were the inspirations/influences for the Electro House sound that is currently synonymous with John A.? How do you define ElectroHouse music?
I always loved and bought music...wanted to share with my friends...and dj was the way to do it ...since my school days [the disco era].

Electro is not too hard and not too soft...about having fun -which sometimes we can all be too serious as producers...but always for dancing

I noticed at DEMF that you were playing on Stanton's Final Scratch 2. It seemed to me that almost all the other DJs have switched over to the Rane’s Serato Scratch Live. Why are you so committed to FS2? I've also heard that Traktor is not yet supporting the new intel Mac's (and is generally unstable). Am I misinformed?
I am not much of a technical guy. [Ed. Note: “I don’t believe you!”] But you are right about Stanton not supporting the new intel macs. Me...I have been using FS2 waiting for Traktor. I love the Traktor interface for FS technology and the new Traktor Scratch takes FS technology to the next level for me in every way

Another thing I observed was your use of CD decks instead of turntables. I know that many DJ pioneers that have been doing this from the very beginning (as you have) have an almost religious loyalty to two turntables and sometimes even a rotary mixer. Recently, I was dismayed to see one of my favorite local DJs performing with a single CD Deck and a laptop running SSL. Do you think the turntable and vinyl is on its way out of the DJ booth?
Turntable is the best controller. The decks were a bit dodgy...that is a real pity. CDs cannot do what a turntable does. A lot of young guys don’t know what they are missing. I don’t like and never liked rotary mixers as well... Knobs take too much to handle when you are mixing.

What's got you excited about your music these days? What are you currently working on?
I get excited about the next thing I buy or receive as a demo. I’m still sorting studio sessions this summer...but right now, doing more with Olivier Giacomotto who is my favorite producer, and definitely the fresco guys.

Your weekly gig at Privilege in Ibizza sounds sweet. What is the ideal size audience for a John Acquaviva performance? Is bigger better? Or do you prefer the opportunity to perform in more intimate spaces?
Middle is best, 1-2000 people. In August, we get 4-5000 which is great. Big rooms are very special, but hard to do day in and out.

I’m impressed by your successful entrepreneurialism – including starting Plus 8 records, helping launch Beatport.com and running your own labels. Do you enjoy the business side of the industry? Or is this simply the price you have to pay in order to be get the music out into the world?
I am proud of the vision and hard work I have put in along with Rich and many others. Basically waking up in the day and taking care of business is a price that you must pay. And I think that smoke and mirrors can only get you so far.

What music are you currently recommending to friends? What is on your turntable/ipod now?
I typically recommend tracks that I find on beatport...last month was 30...it was a huge month...you can get these on my newsletter along with a regular podcast. [Ed. note - his podcasts are fantastic!]

What developments do you foresee in the electronic music genre?
Things are always changing but slowly...like a photograph and yourself over time. There is a new generation that has finally and truly embraced technology, so things have been fast and furious the last few years...and I expect it to continue.

I had the chance to groove alongside John during the Jeff Mills performance, and I found him to be one of the most hospitable and gracious artists that I’ve met. If you ever get the chance to go to one of his parties – do it!

After DEMF, I raced out and bought a few new cds by some of the artists that I “discovered” that weekend. One was John Acquaviva presents Acquaholic: The True Electro Experience. It has stayed in frequent rotation and is still fresh. Recommended listening.

Your best move is to buy it at Beatport.com - or if you simply must have the physical media, buy it from locally-owned music stores. As a last choice, buy it through this link to Amazon and help support our site.

Movement 2007 - The Sights

The three days at DEMF was a treat for the ears... and the eyes and the body as well. It is hard to capture the abundance of energy, color, sound and motion that envelops you in Hart Plaza. You are constantly buffeted by the throbbing, pulsating bass emanating from the banks of speakers as a mass of twirling, twitching, grooving bodies whirls around you, heads nodding and bobbing in unison, hands raised up in the air, fists clenched, fingers stabbing the sky and chopping the air to the beats twisted and tweaked out of the dials and touch pads by the DJ's and artists. You raise your camera to take a shot but your body resists the need to stay still - the air pushes at you in time with the deep bass as the ground vibrates to the steps of thousands of dancing feet, urging you to join in, give in to the primal beat. Here is a snapshot of some of those moments...

Dance away

Detroit's finest checking out the scene

Losoul... intense concentration...

Who's Afraid of Detroit?

In it's 7 year history, stretching back to '99, this is the first time I've had the pleasure of attending Detroit's annual electronic music extravaganza. I haven't been as active in the party scene as of late and was curious to see how electronic music was getting by with out me. While the scene migrated from empty buildings on the south side of chicago, $15 bucks to get in, dance till 5am, best music in the world to smoke-filled nightclubs, $25 cover, $10 drinks, 21 and over, get bumped into by a bunch of drunken idiots until bar close; I lost interest in the music. Well, not my interest in the music, just my desire to participate in the culture that accompanied it. I wonder if this is the normal course when underground music becomes more mainstream or is this just my transformation into becoming a boring adult. What ever it is, over the last few years I've found myself preferring the isolated comfort of my own home instead of the club scene. However, this weekend I decided to give my old scene another chance and see what the fair city of Detroit had to offer.






I've seen Richie Hawtin play everywhere from Even Further Festivals, Crowbar in Chicago, to a cramped afterset in riverwest Milwaukee. I've seen him pack a club wall to wall on a wednesday night and completely turn the place upside down. And when Richie played DEMF this year, he certainly brought his A-Game. No surprises there. What completely blew me away was the reception he received and the energy in the room. Halfway through Luciano's set (who was on directly before Hawtin) you could feel the temperature of the tent rise as people crowded in to fill every available space. The backstage area and platform directly behind the turntables were filled with a mass of people made up of the shows promoters, other world renowned DJs that had played during the weekend, and too many cameras and HD video recorders to count. As Richie took his place behind the decks, the crowd erupted into cheers and applause and what followed was something I hadn't seen in a long time. For almost three hours (a normally short set for Richie Hawtin) every head underneath the tent was locked into a rhythmic nod that progressed with the bass, people were swinging from the light trussing, and superstar DJs alike were getting down. It couldn't have been better.

After two hours the event staff told Richie to wrap it up, for which he politely acknowledged yet kept on playing. When he finally stopped, the cheers from the crowd seemed like they wouldn't end. The crowd was screaming for more and was not giving up. Within minutes he started up again and played another half-hour until he was finally shut down. If this were the only thing I saw the entire three days of the trip it would have been well worth it. The energy from the audience and Richie's obvious enthusiasm and appreciation was alone worth the 7-8 hour drive to Detroit. More importantly, my faith in the electronic music had been restored. In truth, Richie played a killer set but what made his show so amazing were the people there listening to it and contributing to the collective vibe. When it was over most were drenched in sweat, completely exhausted, and left with a large grin spanning ear to ear.





I can't speak for it's past years but going by this years experience, D.E.M.F. is probably one of the best single events I've ever been to. Richie's set was only one set in a sea of amazing performances. I'm usually only used to catching one or two headliners in a single sitting at most. The volume of high-quality talent was so large it was exhausting. On Saturday I saw Guido Schnieder followed by my personal favorite Claud Vonstroke. After little sleep on Saturday night, I got down to Misstress Barbara, Bad Boy Bill, Steve Bug and Hardfloor on Sunday during the day. Sunday night, I caught Misstress Barbara again and another earth-shattering set from Claud Vonstroke at an afterhours. I ended up falling asleep at 6 AM for a couple hours only to wake up on Monday to see John Aquaviva, Richie Hawtin, and finally Jeff Mills. It was really hard work enjoying that much good music. I'm never going to miss this festival again.

Rustin

Report from new guy

Some people say that you should never see sausage produced because it will make you realize what goes in there. Now that I’ve had my first electronic music festival experience, I can ecstatically say that electronic music is nothing like sausage. Why not? Well, for most of the time we were in Detroit, we constantly saw exactly what went into this music, and it was good. At DEMF and the packed, intimate afterbar parties, we gazed at the vinyl from a few feet away while some of the best DJ’s in the business (and some assorted technicians of other instruments) deconstructed beats and put them back together in different and better ways. As someone who has seen precious few live DJ’s, and ocassionally bobbed his head mockingly to a techno beat while at a stoplight, it was a mind-opening music experience.

The bonus for me, new as I am to this world, was the people scenery. All types of people floated around Hart Plaza looking for other members of their given tribe. The result was crystalline - sharp as a tack, not dulling like other sun-soaked music events might be. Add in the otherworldly experience of being in central Detroit, and you get a weekend that may be as stimulating as any you can have in music. Consider my brain, like the beats, taken apart and put back together again. In a different, better way.

Anyone for WEMF or Sundance?

new guy

DEMF - Great Value or the Greatest?

This weekend was an epiphany for me, and I feel as though I’ve been well and truly initiated into the full pleasure and appreciation of live electronic music.

It was just this past March that I experienced my first all-night dance party; and it was on my first trip to Amsterdam, and my first trip to Europe, and it was celebrating the Spring Equinox. So you can see that for me, it was an event of some note. It was a great party too: in and outdoor, North Sea beach on a calm night, two stages and nine artists, playing progressive- and trance- for 12 hours. So Movement 07 was just my second such experience – and what an awesome time it was!

Charles Webster works his magic

But I don’t think that it was only my “newbie enthusiasm” that made this such a great personal experience. Props have got to be given to Paxahau for the incredible quality of this production. My traveling companions are the true audiophiles, but I thought the sound was outstanding. I’ve got some good (not great) quality earplugs, and I try to always remember to have them on hand at a show. But I rarely felt the need for decibel relief at DEMF– despite the fact that the beat was loud enough to create a deeply visceral experience.

Oh, Canada!

Hart Plaza is a great setting too. The views are really interesting all around, and its always great to be on a waterfront. I was a particular fan of the Beatport stage, and I really liked the configuration of the room; the low stage; and the overall “club” feel there. (Although I do think that a wider tent would be better.) The Main Stage was more majestic in scale, but during the early sets it was still real easy to freely dance up close.

Richie Hawtin

There is an element of magic and theater to the performance of a good electronic artist that has to be seen to be understood. Here the artists were all world class, and even legendary. But I was particularly drawn to the unpretentiousness of many of the artists. They showed obvious pleasure while playing their sets, and also danced at other artists sets. The early morning hours would find them still performing at the plethora of after parties in the area. To be sure, Downtown Detroit was bumpin.


Heidi. . . in the running for most upbeat, joyful artist

So the cost is $40 for continuous music on 4 stages for 3 days/12 hours a day. As Stephen Colbert would ask, “Movement 07. Great value or Greatest?”