Disc Breaks Interview - Fisso & Spark

This special Christmas edition of the show we're bringing you an exclusive guest mix from some guys that have been dropping some bombs this year - Fisso & Spark. I got into these guys when they hit Dead Famous and really liked their ability to mash styles and vibes between releases - never constrained to one sound, but never losing the consistent groove and vibes that they brought. They've had a really strong end to 2011 with a recent release on Highgrade and fantastic remix for Digital Sensation UK that I've been rinsing.

The guys answered some questions I threw at them with the full interview below - the guest mix will feature on tomorrows show

Interview :

How did you guys meet and decide to write tunes together?

Our path crossed in 2007 behind a dj console on a New Years Eve party where we ended up spinning some records together. There was a great vibe and flowing communication about music between us from the very start on and so we kept and doing music together. For a long time we were mixing on 3 decks and 2 mixers and recording hours and hours of sets...the wish to do our own tunes got stronger and so one day we sat down and get Fisso & Spark productions started!

From there on producing became a real passion and addiction at the same time. Beside the hours in studio we share also a great friendship, which is awesome.


Why breaks and what got you guys into it?

Labels such as Finger Lickin Records let us both fall in love with breaks in the beginning. At that time we were playing and producing a lot of drum and bass, but the flow, energy, creativity and groove of breakbeat just amazed us. We discovered that we could express our ideas much better in breaks and we had a hell of fun doing it.


How do you work together when crafting a new tune or a remix?

Fisso & Spark is a proper example of teamwork from the beginning till the end. Of course one day one comes up with a idea, the other day it´s the other way round, but work process is always done in two. Sometimes we have a different ways to approach a project, which is inspiring and keeps the work innovative.
For original tracks we mainly start with some freestyle sessions on synths and collect some ideas. We like to let the things flow and get inspired while doing it.
If we do a remix we try to keep the heart of the original adding our own touch.

What is your musical background?

Even if we come from different countries, we got a similar background. We grew up listening to a lot of different music back in the days. Which goes from hip hop to warehouse raves all over, were we collected lots of experience behind the decks.


What are your musical influences and who is exciting you musically at the moment?

Music is all the day with us, not only in studio. When we are not working on our project we really love to listen to other music genres. Because so much amazing things going on everywhere and it´s great to get inspired. Depending on the mood, it can be Coldplay, Florence and the Machine or Jay-Z. From the electronic side we listen to things like Guy Gerber, Skream, Robert Babicz, Chase and Status and many more…


What instruments do you play, if any?

Fisso plays Piano and Spark is into percussions.


When you sit down to write a tune, do you know what it'll sound like at the end, or do you just go with whatever comes out at the time?

As we said we like improvisation but sometimes we already get into studio with some concrete ideas, for vocal, melodies, beats and so on...


What equipment do you use to produce and what is your favourite bit of studio kit?



For editing we work on Ableton Live, besides we got some Synths. The Virus Ti2 is definitely a top pick.


Do you write any other genres of music?

Fisso produces Tech House under the name Andrea Fissore and is realising on some wicked labels. Spark produces and releases progressive tunes under the alias 21 Hour.


What do you think of the current state of breaks worldwide and where do you see the future?

Colombo, Uktu S., A-Skillz and Krafty Kuts got amazing vibes. But there are some fresh upcoming talents with great energy as well such as Deenk, Home Alone, Ire or Paul Farace just to mention a few. Recently we have seen Elite Force playing here in Vienna, who did an amazing set. People like this are very important for breaks scene to push things forward. Sadly the popularity of breaks is not as big as it´s potential.


In what direction are you heading musically and what new releases have you got in store for us?
 
We are not too much into categorizing music. We just do what we love and right now this is funky breaks with massive grooves and heavy bass.
We got some upcoming releases on awesome labels such as Ground level, Kick It, VIM Records, High Grade, Dead Famous, Hard Hits, which we are really looking forward to. We were lucky to find so many great respectful people, it´s a pleasure for us to work with them.


What do you listen to that isn't breaks?

We really listen to a great variety of music, from classical to dubstep …no borders.


What do you do when you're not producing music?

Vienna is a great place to be and offers lots of things to do. We love hanging out with friends, enjoying great food or playing some gigs.
Fisso loves to travel with his girlfriend. He likes to read and has big passion for movies. Spark likes to cook for friends, to draw and edit videos and photos. If we aren´t so lazy we´d love to do some sports too.

www.soundcloud.com/fissoandspark
www.facebook.com/fissoandspark
To hear Fisso & Sparks Guest mix on Llupa's Disc Breaks Show follow the link below.

http://discbreaks.blogspot.com/2011/12/disc-breaks-with-llupa-186-ft-fisso.html

Interview: The mercurial sounds of Fisso & Spark

Curl & Dean's Boba continues his journey into the progressive and melodic depths of worldwide breakbeat

This week we take a look inside the Italian and Austrian duo Fisso & Spark. Signed to Dead Famous back in 2009, this duo have been combining breaks with house and techno. The mercurial sound ranges from deep twisted tech breaks to some lush uplifting melodic vibrant breakbeat.

I first got to hear them on some early Dead Famous releases in 2009, with their deep flowing tech house sound, but since then they have been crafting some breakbeat gems.

Below you can check some forthcoming releases and the guys were kind enough to take some time out and have a chat about their musical lives.

We check out two releases due in 2011 which showcase the diversity of the duo. First up is Never Try Never Know, a track that got me pretty excited when it first flowed into my ears, and which will be released on Dead Famous. It's an incredible piece of epic music: full of groove, energy and emotion that will lift you up into the ether. We also check out a remix they have done for Home Alone of his tune The Sound, forthcoming on V.I.M Breaks. This is a full-on assault of psy-tech twisted breakbeat, an absolute banger.

Fisso & Spark - Never Try Never Know by Dead Famous
Home Alone - The Sound - Fisso & Spark Remix by Fisso

For the people who don’t know who you are, who, where & what is Fisso & Spark?

Fisso & Spark is the story of a friendship, an unconditional love for music and a common dream.

Tell us a bit about your background before you were making breakbeat?

We were born and grew up in different cities and different realities. I lived in Italy and Spark here in Vienna.

Still we had some things in common - we both were in love with the hip hop culture and the first waves of electronic music in our early years. But the thing that connects us most is that we both took an actively part in the free party movement that was storming Europe in the middle of the 90s.

These parties were the expression of freedom and of a new culture, the one of travellers and tribes who were living in trucks and travelling across Europe from town to town occupying factories with music and lights, creating a magic atmosphere and vibe without limits and rules.

So, myself with Crop Circle Unit and Spark with Lego Sound System had great experiences in this scene which are still a big inspiration to us.

We met for the first time in Vienna where I moved because of my girlfriend. At the beginning we just span some vinyls together ... few months after we sat down together in studio and started our music production. First we produced drum and bass and then we switched over to breaks. One of our first breaks track was noticed by Dead Famous and so we had our first release and our first step into the breaks world. So that´s where Fisso & Spark come from.

I am so looking forward to the release of Never Try Never Know on Dead Famous. This is a wicked tune - what else is in store for the future?

Our future projects is a remix of Rock the Mic from Break the Bx for the new LP from Dead Famous. Few remixes coming out with V.I.M. Breaks, Scarcity and Distortion. Our new single Blow your mind with remixes from Luqas and Ek will be out next month on DF. We are always looking forward for new projects and new remixes.

What is your production set up? Which piece of equipment could you not live without?

We work on iMac with Ableton Live and loads of Vsts and our analog weapons are a Virus T2 with keys and an old school Blofeld Synth.

As a duo, what is your production process? Do you work together in the studio or apart?

We are working on every single project together. We never work alone for an F and S Tune, it never really happened.

We both have a single project, me as Andrea Fissore and Spark as 21 Hour, but we really enjoy to work together because we have different taste and different inspirations. I am more on the deep tech house side and Andy is more on the progressive front. This makes things always funny and fresh in the studio because every time we start a track it is like a new adventure and we never know how the story ends … but that’s what we love: never try never know!

What's a typical weekend in the life of Fisso & Spark?

Every weekend is different here in Vienna. There are lots of nice different places where we have played over the years. We have a residency in a club called Donau. We enjoy playing there, because it´s a very special place with great atmosphere and cool vibes. We do our own radio show once a month on Stero Sl Radio Orange too. There we often invite and interview other DJs from Vienna.

Three big tunes that are blowing you away at the moment?

Breaks related, our picks would be the latest productions from Dirty Loud, Ctrl Z and BSD.

And some final words from your good selves:

So, first we would really like to say big thanks for the support we constantly receive from our label Dead Famous, Ian is an awesome manager and it’s a big honour for us to produce beside our label mates Jamie, Luqas and Home Alone, we have big respect for them.

We would like to mention Grigoris, label manager from V.I.M. Records too, he is a great person that believes in good music without boundaries, we love his way and his label. Also a Big up to Deenk and the Distortion Crew, Mesmer that introduced us to Scarcity and Rob Analyze, and of course to you guys for giving us this opportunity. YO!

To hear more sounds from Fisso & Spark check out their MySpace page.