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Purple Revolver gets the lowdown on how to survive Creamfields and their dream airline and inflight entertainment from Vito de Luca from Aeroplane ahead of their DJ set at Creamfields.
You’ve been working on the new album and remixed a lot of great artists from MGMT, Cut Copy to Grace Jones. Who would you like to work with next?
There are lots of dream collaborations we have that will never happen – David Gilbert from Pink Floyd and Mark Hollis from Talk Talk is our dream vocalist. Brian Wilson from the Beach Boys. As long as Brian is alive, it’s a great dream. If he actually agreed to it I’d be completely shocked and wouldn’t know what to do.
Have you got any tips for aspiring DJs and producers?
We’ve been doing it for 10 years, met Stephen six years ago and we work the same way. I don’t understand how it started. We’ve worked really hard, we’re both musicians and make things sound good. Make sure you’re comfortable with the sound you create and do the best in your power. And you can say you did your best and can’t regret it. Work to the maximum, regret nothing and the music should work for you. It’s also about timing and luck.
How important is the Internet in building your sound?
Today it’s more important than the record. We made our way through MySpace, everything came through MySpace. We have a Facebook fan club page for our fans but always feel uncomfortable with the term ‘fans’ we advertise our gigs and DJ mixes on it. Facebook fans are always the first to know about our news and mixes. It’s more important to release an album on iTunes than having our CDs in the shops.
What artists and dance scene are you digging right now?
It sounds pretty boring but I was more excited about music that was produced 20 years ago. When you listen to new music you know how the artist made it, the sound can be recreated easily. But take Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd, I still listen to that record and wonder how it was possible, they were so talented to work with the equipment back then to create this amazing sound. We’re into Itali disco too. But all the technology you need is ideas. I’m not into techno, we’ll play some house and I’m into old-school disco.
What’s on your ipod?
Old stuff, like David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Kraftwerk, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Simon and Garfunkel.
What’s your favourite Michael Jackson record?
Human Nature and Rock With You. I was the biggest fan of Michael Jackson, the biggest fan Belgium has ever known. From aged 12 to 15 I had all
the posters, collected the 12″ records like crazy. When I heard about his death we were recording in the studio in London. We stopped everything we were doing, it was a weird feeling, like we didn’t need to make music. Nobody made music like him, it was 99% perfect. It’s going to be hard to reach that level again.
What can the Creamfields crowd expect from your performance?
It’s our first time at Creamfields and we’re looking forward to it. I’m really curious about the festival, people tell us it’s cool and we’ll see what’s going to happen. When we were booked for the Mixmag Terrace I thought it sounded small, around 300 people. But they told us it’s going to be
for 4,000 people. So we’ll prepare our records, a bit of disco, club, no techno, some house classics, Itali disco, our own remixes.
What are the ingredients of a great Summer party set?
It’s interesting when you listen to the different types of music. It’s a journey. We’ll start really slow then it grows and grows. At 120bpm it feels like techno. The first thing is the perfect crowd, it’s tough when you’re fighting the crowd, trying everything from hits and underground records. If you have a crowd that wants to party then 50% is done. We like happy music, don’t like darkness or minimal sounds. Bright tunes, good beer and a great sound-system. England is really cool, we’ve played some good festivals where they mix up the sound and people are raving.
Will you be camping?
I hate camping. We’ll be staying over the night before.
Which other Creamfields acts will you be checking out?
We’ll definitely go check out who’s playing at the festival, we won’t be staying backstage just sipping champagne.
What’s on your rider?
Not much. Pretty simple, technical equipment and lots of water and champagne. We don’t ask for anything tricky.
Any tips for festival-goers at Creamfields?
I’ve been to a lot when I was young, all I can remember is it being a nightmare and no showers. You need to not give a shit, not worry about showers or food. Take a bit of money and your worse clothes as they’ll be destroyed by the end of the festival. Then you can start to relax and enjoy what’s happening.
Ultimate festival line-up?
Back to basics – Pink Floyd, Beach Boys, 2ManyDJs, Erol Alkan and Aeroplane.
Imagine you have your own airline – Aeroplane Airways – how would you entertain your passengers?
Food/drink: Water, for each hour you are flying you should drink 1litre of water. On planes the food is the worst, it’s like eating plastic. So we’d feed everyone McDonald’s before taking off. 200 Big Macs for everyone. It’s junk food, but you know what you’re eating there are no surprises.
In-flight movies: To make fun of Stephen I’d show some disaster movies, where the plane crashes, people are dying in some mid-air catastrophe. Yeah, an airplane disaster movie, so we can see the reactions of the passengers. It may be the worst plane ever.
On-board entertainment/video games: I’m old school, and I was a Sega addict when I was younger. We’d get some Sega consoles on board. None of that PS3 nonsense, it looks fake. When you held the Sega in your hands you knew it was the shit. Every three years I dig it out the garage and have a play for 10 minutes.
Reading: Stupid magazines, most expensive ships and yachts. I don’t know if my passengers will have time for books, they’ll be pretty busy eating and watching the movie.
Destination: Home. The aeroplane can go anywhere, it takes you from home and goes back.
What message would you stream on a banner from your plane at Creamfields?
Shit, this is tricky. The time of our DJ set to make sure the terrace is full. Maybe a message of peace in the world, but I don’t know if that’s useful or will encourage anyone who saw it to be more peaceful.
Do you see shapes in the clouds?
That is the most amazing part of flying. Taking off then seeing the clouds. The moment above the clouds is the moment you can see a new world. It feels magical. I hate flying, but that makes me feel comfortable, watching the clouds.
Aeroplane perform in the Mixmag Terrace @ Creamfields on Sunday 30th August Bank Holiday weekend.
Tickets on sale now Tel: 0844 888 4401 http://www.ticketline.co.uk / Info: http://www.creamfields.com