Interviews

Next up on Flexi Cuts comes Feel Fly, the DJ and producer described by Gerd Jansen as a linchpin in the Italian underground scene. Daniele Tomassini has released on International Feel, Internasjonal, and Hell Yeah. His sound is a blend of evocative, emotional, and ethereal atmospheres merged into house and cosmic leaning Disco.

His new EP on Italian label Flexi Cuts is a testament to his perfectly polished productions. “Sole” is a euphoric, powerful, and liberating sonic experience that will simply blow your mind. A summer anthem, that is both versatile and extremely dance-worthy and is laced with those Italo-house vibes we all love. On the B side is “Versione Tramonto” which teleports you to ethereal Balearic atmospheres, be it a mesmerizing sunset across the shimmering blue sea or a golden lit dawn at the end of an ecstasy filled club night.

Here we get to know a little more about this truly creative soul.

Where are you this moment and how are you spending the day?

Hello, thanks to you! I'm in the studio right now, working on a new remix.   

Where were you born? Where are you based?

I currently live in Perugia, my hometown. A lovely town located in the heart of Italy, between Rome and Florence.

What do you love most about where you are living?

The city in which you live becomes a shell of what you then basically are in your everyday life.

Perugia in a way reflects me; the quality of life is good, it's surrounded by greenery, it's rich in history with medieval and Etruscan influences (which inspired one of my last EPs "Sacrificio”) and at the same time it's quite well connected to the rest of the world.

Despite being a provincial city there is still a good cultural scene that - even if it has diminished over the years - I also try in my own small way to nurture with the monthly Afro Templum party I run together with my partners in crime.

For the moment I think I reached a fair compromise by living in this "gilded cage" while having the fortune to travel and therefore be influenced by the outer world.

How long have you been making music?

I started composing music around the age of 12-13 with a promo DAW found as a promo gift in a cereal box, although the real unconscious contact with music came a few years earlier with the piano present in my grandmother's house. I think that a fundamental key was also the experience of the ritual and sacredness of choirs and the majestic church pipe organ where she always took me on Sundays.

I think the evolution of my artistic path lies behind curiosity and desire to go further. To move following the wind, whether it is favorable and able to blow you away from the storm or not. The endless engine of this action is music, in all its nuances. Among the milestones I would definitely put the first works as a composer for small theater plays or the first short films which immersed me in a cross-cutting and different way of experiencing music.

What came first Djing or production?

When I was 18 years old my ex-girlfriend gave me my first CDJs and Mixer, and I haven't stopped since. Both roles of Djing and production have been always coexisting in me complementing and inspiring one another.

What kind of artists, DJs, genres were into growing up?

I have never been a big fan of one particular artist more than another, my curiosity has always ranged between multiple genres and artists; this is owed to the cultural ferment in which I grew up, where the right actors knew how to communicate and pique the curiosity of young onlookers.

Among the primordial influences, however, I cannot fail to list Talk Talk, Depeche Mode, Röyksopp, Moby and Sébastien Tellier, among the many important ones.

Who are the artists that you follow right now?

I follow many of them, but I would like to mention those who have really aroused strong interest in me recently and have touched certain chords: Tech Support, Domenico Lancellotti, Eddie Ruscha, and Leonardo Barbierato.

What is the most recent record you purchased or downloaded?

Just today in my trusted second-hand record store I pulled these three mixes out of the dust:

Havana - Ethnic Prayer

New Tune – A Little Bit Of Everything

The Mackenzie – Rhythm Shot

If you could choose a few words to describe the vibe of Feel Fly what would they be?

Ethereal, dreamy, cozy.

Talk to us about the new EP and the initial idea.

Sole has a truly unique genesis since it was born at an exact moment of my existence. It is a real small tribute to life, a hymn to light understood as vitality and a tendency towards love, a vision thanks to which I found myself rise again together.

The choice to make two diametrically opposed versions, one euphoric and dreamy, the other intimate and meditative reflects the two aspects of the experience that I lived and that I wanted to share.

What was most important for you to convey through these tracks?

I don't think I have to convey anything; I have always made music in my tiny studio and for an inner need, without any kind of conceit nor with the idea of creating "the hit”, in fact far from it. Each track is a real emotional postcard, a way of imprinting in reality a memory, an emotion or something that speaks for me. An escape valve that often takes unexpected directions.

Do you feel that you were able to accomplish all of your intentions?

No, I don't think you ever manage to bring out all the intentions 100% percent of what's in your head and heart, but that's good, as some of them are left over for the next story.

Tell us a little about your connection with Flexi Cuts?

I met Flexi Cuts in 2015 at a vinyl market in Rimini; Simone and Lorenzo were there with their stand and as a customer I still remember the purchase I made: KiNK – Cloud Generator.

Then I met Simone again at a gig in Bologna a few years later, where we got close and kept in touch from there. I have always supported Flexi's line up as well as having played their releases for years.

Given the mutual esteem and support it only took a short time for the spark to go off.

What are you most proud of with this release?

Of the story behind the release certainly and then that this is my first release in a format I love, the 7inch.

What was the most challenging part of bringing the release together?

There was no real busy phase but just more attention as Sole will be the label's first 7" and consequently there were only slightly different precautions than on other releases.

I then specifically wanted Sarah Perna, a graphic artist and dear friend, for the visual design of the release; this will be her first work for a vinyl and so the process required some extra care in technical details.

Who are the other artists/musicians on this EP that you would like to shout out?

Jacopo Fiore, a drummer with whom I have collaborated for years on a variety of projects. For the B-side of the vinyl, I entrusted his flair and inventiveness with the rhythmic vision and percussive forays of the Versione Tramonto.

It only took us one studio session to create what is on the record.

As much as we come from two different worlds, me from electronica and him from Prog, there is now a unique understanding between us that blossoms into a magical creative process and dialogue.

What drives you to create music?

The creative act is something so visceral that the moment it occurs it self-affirms my own existence, allowing me to define the indefinite of what I feel in a dynamic form. This is because a creation never stays still in itself; rather, it is formed by deforming itself and vice versa, always keeping itself alive and changing with you.

Music fully embodies this dynamic essence of creation that combines in an alchemy of rhythms that shape the track accompanying you on the journey of creation.

What has been one of your favorite moments from the past year?

The year 2023 was not one of my best years; in a period of complications and creative blockade, the only concrete goal was to find a right way of dialogue with myself through self-discipline.

Good things happened as well, but I did not realize it and consequently did not enjoy the satisfactions nor the achievements. I also had difficulties in communication and I'm sorry because among other things I had the honor and pleasure of participating in the triple various for Bosconi's 15 years anniversary, coming out with many remixes and above all the launch of the 12" self-titled of my parallel project VAISA released for Tiella Sound happened.

Where do you find the most inspiration when it comes to discovering new music?

I really live inside music. I like to immerse myself in unknown places both physical and metaphysical.

From searching at night on YouTube, to looking for connections between artists and labels on Discogs. Just as I like to get lost in suburban flea markets dusting off old records or being enchanted by a song intercepted on the radio.

My mantra is to proceed further to never be satisfied; for who I am I think I represent a kind of figure similar to a medium between the music and the audience, so I look for new contaminations to always propose a new experience that can be as complete as possible.

If I discover something that fully satisfies my senses I enjoy it up to a certain point to then look for something that can enrich me even more and consequently offer it in my sets or live performances.

Is there anything that you would like to tell us about you?

I'm 1.98 cm, I like pizza and I love cats.

What can we hope to see next from Feel Fly?

There is a 12" coming out in a few weeks for Archeo Recordings with three of my versions of Tony Esposito's track Pagaia, then there will be a handful of remixes and 3 new EPs being finalized for 2025 for labels I hold in the highest esteem.

Later on the soundtrack I composed for the film I Santi by Silver Bear director Giacomo Abbruzzese will be released. New gigs are also coming out for fall - winter and honestly I would love to be able to find the right atime to create my new live set from scratch, integrating more musicians.

Check out the latest release from Feel Fly.