“Dance” on top next weekend under the Valmalenko stars. In fact, the Dreamland Festival spaceship lands in Lanzada to give the people of the dance floor two high-profile evenings. We’ll start Friday with Rose Vilane, Salmo, Marten Horger, Afrojack and Topic, and continue on Saturday with Grimix, Miles, Mark Benjamin, the Goodboys, Gabry Ponte, Morten and Don Diablo. It features MC Stretch, the official voice of the Belgian mega gathering Tomorrowland. Present at the festival, exclusively for Italy, the Dutchman Don Pepein Schipper – sorry, Don Diablo – is one of the announced winners.
Don Diablo wasn’t even in the top 100 of DJ Mag, the bible of the industry, ten years ago. He is currently in ninth place. How hard is it for a DJ to stay in the Top 10?
“As long as you stay out of the way, the list is not that important, but once inside, it becomes a nice boulder to carry on your shoulders. Anyone who says otherwise is lying. Of course, being among the greats also has its perks. : “fans” are expanding, the audience is increasing, and the works are “broadcast” more. For me, being in the Top 10 for many years means that my professional career continues to go in the right direction. This allows me to broaden my horizons towards other areas of art; I created, for example, large art installations and even a fashion line. I am currently trying to work on Stranger Things and have just completed my second Star Wars capsule collection.
Does music in the age of Instagram have the unifying power it used to have?
“Now everything revolves around social media, and it seems that if the event does not end there, then it did not happen. When I started performing, my job was only with the people in front of me, now with new digital technologies. On platforms, the audience is much wider. As a DJ, sometimes I wish the kids would put their phones away and be more active in order to fully enjoy the moment.”
Which of your Italian colleagues do you admire the most?
“Definitely the ones I grew up with, starting with Benny Benassi, who continues to be relevant on the dance floor thanks to his extraordinary creative freshness. I love the song he wrote with Chris Brown, and then there’s this “Cinema” adorned with a crazy Skrillex remix. Another person I grew up with is Gabry Ponte. Eiffel 65’s “Blue (Da Ba Dee)” is a song that will never die. Gabry is an example of an artist who managed to survive the initial success. Last month we even released the track “Sunglasses at Night” together.”
What would be the composition of your ideal festival?
“Definitely Skrillex, because he is the most creative mind in the music world and a man of extraordinary kindness. I would also like to have Erik Prydz, Black Coffee and Boris Braichu, not forgetting Paul Kalkbrenner.”