Interview with Entoniu & Agape

The Italian duo Entoniu & Agape display endless energy when it comes to music-making, venturing deep into the realms of electronic dance music. They have a substantial number of releases under their belt, as well as numerous collaborative projects and podcast recordings, with more stored in for the future. After having them as guests for our feeder sound podcast series and for the exclusive premiere section of the platform, it was about time we had a conversation with them about what drives them, what inspires them and what plans do they have for the upcoming year. Here’s what they have to say!

feeder.ro: Hello Entoniu! Hello Agape! Since 2019 has been a busy year for you, with releases on labels like Welter, Introspection Recordings, Kootz Music, Natural Beat Recordings, as well as two independent EPs dispatched through your Bandcamp page, what are your plans for 2020?

Entoniu: Hello! Yes, it’s been a year with targeted releases, better-designed than in the past few years as for 2020… You’ll see!

Agape: Hi! It was a year full of experimental releases that already gave us different satisfactions. Plans for 2020? To continue producing records with the wonder and satisfaction that our tracks have given us so far.

f: Your production incorporates various shades of techno and house rhythms. What is your personal favourite style when it comes to studio work and what inspires you?

Entoniu: We like to cut out samples, textures and try new designs. We love microhouse and to experiment with minimal.

Agape: We love Kraftwerk as much as we love Caetano Veloso. We listen to all genres and you can see this in our edits and productions.

f: We noticed that you have a lot of digital releases throughout the past few years. Do you consider releasing something on vinyl as well?

Entoniu: We like the idea of vinyl, the time will come for that too.

Agape: We do not have format preferences but in this regard, we are working on our own for 2020.

f: Your discography includes many remixes and edits. How do you pick the tracks for this task?

Entoniu: We have a special archive for the edits that contain acapella versions and tools used by the big names a few years ago. Besides this, you can see from our works that we have a weakness for Romanian popular music, artists like Dumitru Farcas and others …

Agape: The remixes are partly suggested by the labels and after careful listening, we decide whether to work on them or not. We love to work on songs that inspire us in everyday life and therefore we choose to take them with us in our lives.

f: How about the mixing process? What are the main elements and techniques that you guys like to use during your performances? Does it include live sound manipulation?

Entoniu: CDJs. Digital mixing is the most practical solution considering that we only produce digitally. If you take into consideration the fact that our DJ sets are almost always composed of our own tracks … it is also a personal choice.

Agape: We did live together several years ago but we find it difficult to organize ourselves every time because we are very far apart, yet with our tracks, we play digitally on CDJ players. We believe that at the moment it is the most practical and fun solution to express ourselves.

f: What are the most valuable records from your collection and when did you play them last time?

Entoniu: I have a collection of vinyl ripped in digital, the result of an unbridled passion for music. The most precious ones are the early house masters from the MPT and MPT Limited, Yaumara Records and Eternal Records. Some were played last time in Rome in our DJ set.

f: When we think about the clubbing culture, do you have a preferred place that you go to?

Entoniu: Yes, one of our favourite clubs is the Rabbit Hole in Rome that still cultivates the club culture properly.

Agape: Unfortunately the Italian clubbing scene is not going through a good period, the real clubs left alive can be counted on the fingers of one hand. You have to travel several kilometres to reach places not yet violated by commercial progress.

f: How do you find the Romanian sound in the context of a massive international scene, with thousands of people that love to party on minimalistic grooves? Does this sound influence your work? Also, can you name the local artists that you mostly listen to?

Entoniu: Lately I don’t have any favourite artists. In the past, I was obsessed with a:rpia:r’s sound and with Villalobos, especially for the use of old-school records in their DJ sets.

Agape: We chose this genre because we like the sounds, we never thought it would become almost a trend and would explode internationally.

f: You guys also have a lot of collaborations with podcast platforms from around the world, including our own. Do you like recording more than going to a venue and perform? Any plans for future events?

Entoniu: We prefer to record live, of course. When we want to create a more articulated podcast we use WeTransfer and Ableton Live so that we can work even from a distance.

Agape: The program for 2020 is very positive, we already have contact with organizers of exclusive Italian parties.

f: After all the hard work is done, how do you spend your free time and what do you like to do besides making and mixing music?

Entoniu: In addition to music, I have my family that takes up most of my time. I love cooking, having friends at home and always keeping a smile for the future because without them all this would not be possible.

Agape: In addition to music there is my work, video making and visual art.

Follow Entoniu & Agape on: Facebook / Soundcloud / Bandcamp