Berny, a versatile artist who has worked with labels like Duro, Phisica, Polaris, Roam, and Internasjonal, has established himself as a well-known figure in the electronic music scene.
Photo credit: Berny – Official
From his hit ‘Shplatten’ in 2010 to his current role as creator of the podcast series ‘IN DARK WE TRUST’, Berny has consistently pushed the boundaries of house and techno. His signature deep, dark, and jacking sound has earned him residencies in Berlin, while his approach to indie dance and dark disco has led to collaborations across Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
Based between Italy and Berlin, this astronomy student-turned-DJ has evolved into a respected producer and curator, known for his artistic integrity and ability to forge meaningful connections within the industry.
As he prepares for new collaborations and upcoming tours across Berlin, Mexico, and the USA, EG sat down with Berny to discuss his musical journey, creative process, and views on the future of electronic music.
EG: Hi, Berny! Welcome back to EG. It’s a pleasure to have you here with us. How have you been? Where are you right now?
Berny: Hello guys and thanks for your invitation, it’s always a pleasure to talk with you. I’m currently in Italy but I go up and down to Berlin about twice a month, both to play in my residencies and for the numerous collaborations I’m doing with other artists that live there.
EG: First of all, thank you for your contribution to our EG Podcast series! We really enjoyed it. Can you tell our readers and your fans what to expect on this one? Can you share your approach to recorded sets with us?
Berny: It was a great honor and pleasure to record a mix for you. I’ll start by saying that I recorded it live in the studio and I was inspired by my last closing DJ sets in the Berlin clubs. I selected moody and sensual tracks while maintaining a deeper and more cosmic approach than the Indie Dance and housey ones that usually characterize my sets. I’m very happy with the result.
EG: By the way, you created a new podcast series called ‘IN DARK WE TRUST’ four years ago. What is your vision for ‘IN DARK WE TRUST’? Will it be a monthly series?
Berny: Yes, I created the series during the pandemic to promote the indie dance genre that I had approached and that I knew would explode once normal life resumed. Specifically, I had immersed myself in dark disco, a mix of indie-techno-synthwave genre for which I wanted to invite all the best producers and DJs that I appreciated and had started to follow. The series is not monthly but weekly—in 4 years I have published 345 episodes and I have no intention of stopping.
EG: And speaking about new things, just before the holiday season you shared the drop of your latest single, ‘PURPLE’. Is there an emotional trigger or concept driving this new cut? Did you guys have a clear horizon in mind before you got started?
Berny: I really like collaborating with other artists in the indie dance scene; I constantly send ideas, demos, and projects to DJ friends and very often I come up with fruitful collaborations like in the case of Ian (REFRAKT), a great artist from New York. I sent him the musical base and it was natural to add a spoken word with lyrics written entirely by him; the track was released on the important Mexican label Controlla and reached #2 in the Beatport Indie Dance Hype chart.
“I have never compromised; I have certainly adapted to various situations but I have never sold myself out”
EG: You’ve been doing this for quite a while now. Can you tell us about your origins? What were your first interactions with electronic dance music like? What was it that drove you to DJing?
Berny: I started at 20 when I moved from Rome to Northern Italy. I came to the city of Padua to study Astronomy at the University and it was the golden age of clubs here—every weekend international DJs came to play and I always went to listen and meet them. My nightlife and passion for clubbing and house music obviously influenced my University performance until my parents stopped supporting me financially. I therefore found myself in a precarious situation and decided to propose myself to the clubs of my city as a DJ thanks to the knowledge I had accumulated. From there, I began a path of artistic growth that then led me to play outside of Italy. In recent years, I have divided my time between Berlin, where I have a house, and Italy. In addition to all of Europe, once a year I organize a tour in Asia and one in Mexico and South America. Last year I finally started playing in the US with fantastic dates in New York, Los Angeles, and Hawaii.
EG: And if you could teleport back to yourself as a beginner, what would you tell that version of you in one sentence?
Berny: One aspect I am very proud of is the consistency in my DJ style. I have never compromised; I have certainly adapted to various situations but I have never sold myself out, as demonstrated by the sincere compliments I receive from the public when I play and the strong and honest relationships I have maintained over the years with people in the difficult world of the music/clubbing industry.
EG: On to the state of the scene… What do you see as the biggest challenge for the music industry in the next few years, and how do you think artists can adapt?
Berny: What I think is that the music industry must always maintain a wide variety of proposals for the public; I certainly don’t want to criticize this or that musical genre. I believe a lot in the public, in their passion and taste for music, and in their ability to judge.
Clubbing is the desire of people to see each other in a club, be together, and dance. Promoters must have more courage in their choices—they must have more patience in making situations grow and less anxiety in looking for immediate profit and a sold out. Hasty choices, the assiduous search for the expensive guest, the big name, leads to inflated situations; we must give more importance to the concept of the party and the club rather than focusing all the promotion on the names of the DJs.
It is the public that creates the situation and the atmosphere TOGETHER with the DJ, and there are very good DJs around without a big name, especially resident DJs. When you go out dancing in a club, your mental approach should be that you go there because it’s a cool club with nice people where you listen to great music in general, all season long, not just when this or that great DJ (male or female) comes. I see medium-sized clubs disappearing a bit because the promoters fill up by investing a lot of money on the big guests but the week after they find the club empty because only the resident DJs play.
“We must give more importance to the concept of the party and the club rather than focusing all the promotion on the names of the DJs”
EG: Finally, what can we expect from Berny in the next few months? Where can your fans catch you next? Any news from upcoming tours or releases you can share with us?
Berny: Another important collaboration that I invite our readers to follow is the one I started with Mijo, a talented producer from Mexico City and creator of the dark disco genre in that country. With him, we are releasing a phenomenal EP on February 7th via Phisica, the best Mexican label in the indie dance genre and we already have 2 more EPs ready that will be released on important imprints in the coming months. About my upcoming gigs, my next destinations are Berlin, Mexico tour and some dates in USA later this year.
EG: Thank you so much for your time, Berny! We wish you all the best for the future. Take care!
Berny: Thank you, guys, for this conversation, happy you liked the mix, I did it with all my love and passion for music, love you and keep in touch!
EG.1009 Berny is now available on EG’s Soundcloud and Mixcloud. Listen here.
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