DANTE COSTANTINI

Introduce yourself to us… 
I was born in Argentina in the 80´s. I came from a sport background mostly, but my family environment strongly influence me to take a direction into music.

Tell us what sort of music you grew up around? 
I fully experience the 90´s so I grew up with a lot of pop music around me and the transition from disco to house music, that happen before the 90´s of course. But to be honest I was more into ambient and dark bands sound like Genesis, Pink Floyd, The Cure while I also enjoy a lot Soul and R&B music. My mother was a radio DJ, so she was loaded with those kinds of records around the house when I was a young kid. But it wasn’t until I was 15 years old that I got into disco and funk music. This led me to proper house music.

What’s the scene like in Argentina – are you involved in it much?
The Argentina scene never got my attention really, I found it very boring and superficial, and the lack of creativity around it is remarkable, especially if you consider the many talented producers, and DJs that comes from my country. 
I try for many years to fit on what was taking place in the Argentinean scene, but the more I tried the more bored, tired and frustrated I felt about it so I decide to build my career outside my country performing 90% of the times in foreign countries like, Mexico, Colombia, EE.UU and Europe in general, where I’m living now.

For me is kind of sad that my name in Argentina doesn't have much transcendence, but in a way I deserve it… Then again, I never fit in the electronic scene, even thought I was doing interesting stuff and music from an early age. Probably I got more recognition for having my own band than for my solo project.

Do you remember the first time you heard and electronic sound/record and what it made you feel? 
there is a big difference between electronic sound and electronic record, in terms of defining an album. My first experience with electronic sounds probably was with Genesis (right after Peter Gabriel left the band) that sounds leave an imprint on my brain...a big one. But it wasn´t until I heard The Cure - Lullaby extended mix (from the Mixed Up album) that I realize how much electronic sounds can have an impact on me. It felt like a drug I’ve never tried before and since then I became a music junkie.

In terms of electronic record/album "Beacoupfish" from Underworld, "Moon Safari" from Air, "Homework" from Daft Punk, and "Around The House" from Matthew Herbert change my perspective on music and encourage me to pursuit the dream of becoming a electronic musician, but before all those probably the one who inspired me to play piano and learn how to compose music was “Hand On The Torch" by Us3 on Blue Note Records… Highly recommended.

How did you first get into dance music? 
When I was 14 or so my mother used to travel a lot to Europe, go out to raves and underground clubs and so there’s no need to say that was a big influence... it’s obvious.

She always brought clothes and music as a present from her trips. Most of the music was deep house, ambient and techno, so I tried to mix them all together and pretend I was a DJ. 

I started going out to underground after hours party when I was 15, and I was meeting local DJs and people involved in the radio business. I was so into the whole thing that I decide to buy (with mommy and daddy money) my first technics MK 1200 and make home tapes to spread out to the people I was meeting in clubs and raves, not only in Rosario but also in Buenos Aires. Eventually I was invited to the best electronic radio show in my hometown to play some of the records that I been collecting. I´d play a deep, microhouse and tech set, and the resident dj of the radio show loved it, so he invite me to one of the parties he was doing in Rosario (where I’m from in Argentina) and ask me if I would like to do a warm up set for him, and since then I never looked back.

What do you look for in a record before you play it? What is it about the music you like that you like if you know what I mean? 
That is a great question.
Apart from the fact that I haven´t been performing as a dj lately, but mostly live, I would say that what makes me get interested and excited on a record is the power to convey not only shapes and sensations but textures. I mean the inner sound quality - energy, drive, expression, dimension and intention. Every sound that lives in harmony with each other and its role within the music piece as a whole. The ability of rhythms, depth, time and personality of each sound, take me to places I never been before. I call this POLYMECHANICAL DIMENSION. 

A good example of this is seen in any Michael Jackson album. The songs are very well produced, the melodies so beautifully achieved, tempos and dynamics are perfect. 

And a particular note is the dedication to every sound, not the instruments, but sound. And how each sound has a reason to be.

Listening to music with PMD is the equivalent as a going to a 4 star Michelin chef restaurant and enjoy each dish in a specific order, and time. At the end of the dinner the physical and mental experience feels incredible.  I think the reason behind it is the sum of the elements, the order and the effect that every single taste, texture, color, smell and so on, has on each other, is pure chemistry and alchemy. That resumes up why I like the music I like.. or maybe would be more appropriate to say how rather than why.  The most powerful songs are those that absorb me, chew me and then throw me back to a different reality from what I was, prior to the listening experience.

How do you find your own style/voice when so many people are making music?
I apply the same principle of Polymechanical Dimension to my music, well I try.

I don´t care about the sound source, I care about the treatment and the placement. Soul is the sense of identity, the essence of something. I care deeply about that. Not only in my music but things in general. If is soulless, I’m not interested on it. This is my voice in a way, and even thought I might do simple music sometimes that doesn't mean that there is not sense of identity. Nowadays there is so much bullshit surround the music business, so many artist that only care about people playing their stuff and appearing at Beatport charts, and releasing on trendy labels, and so on. The lack of soul, appreciation and commitment  to music is outstanding sometimes.

Describe the music you make and the sounds you play for someone who doesn’t know…
Is hard to say, because that always depends on my mood and time. I can play the same live set, one at 126 and the other at 118 and would be so different. But mostly when I perform live I play deep, house, techy discofunk vibes I guess.

Now I’m concentrate on doing a couple more EPs and then moving to the album concept, which will be a big challenge for me. I want to release even more musical stuff, rather than singles for the dancefloor and DJs.

Where do inspirations for the music you make and play come from? 
It depends, sometimes I think I’m not inspired and I ended up making some amazing stuff, so I never know.
Having said that I do know how much I appreciate and get influenced by human interaction on real time, like watching a kid playing with a dog or a bunch of friends on a park jamming with some crazy instruments. Those kinds of experiences open my consciousness, and I enjoy little details. Those are things that make me happy and sometimes if I’m lucky enough I get some inspiration from that.

What can people expect from one of your sets?
An honest performance. One that comes from the inside and not the outside

What are you working on in the rest of 2010? 
I have a new EP coming out very soon on Gluckskind Schallplatten alongside Dirty Room. probably the best example of PMD (polymechanical dimension) I´ve ever been involved with.  A new track on a Left´d compilation and at the end of 2010 or beginning of 2011 a killer EP I did together with Ekkohaus. Also I will be releasing a new EP on Immigrant Records but nothing confirmed yet, but I hope it does soon. 

There is also some cool project I can´t discuss now but I will when it’s get more developed!

SANTOS RESIAK ON OUR HOUSE MAGAZINE ISSUE #17