Mancini heads down to the Ball Park imprint with ‘Plaits Time’ EP, a powerful four-tracker filled with flavor which features an outstanding remix by MADVILLA.
Mancini has always been attracted by music. First inspired by rock, he started playing guitar in a band, and then slowly discovered electronic music at the end of the ’90s. Through the years, his style matured. Gimmick, sensibility but mostly rhythm define his best version behind the decks. His sets are a spontaneous mixture of grooves fuelled by the crowd’s reaction and has played alongside some of the biggest acts in the world like Jamie Jones, Dyed Soundorom, Miss Kittin, Archie Hamilton, iO Mulen, and Robert Owens.
Today, the french musician rocks the dancefloors with his own productions and is in charge of the headZup label with Wlad. We caught up with Mancini to talk about his latest projects, how he got started, what it takes to run a label, and his new ‘Plaits Time’ EP.
Electronic Groove: Hi Mancini, we are very glad to be able to have you here with us. How are you doing? What’s the situation like in France? Have you been able to find a silver lining to this unprecedented event?
Mancini: I’m really happy to chat with you too! Things are slowly getting better. Less and less sick people and we are ending the lockdown now, we have a 7 pm curfew that will be extended to 9 pm in few weeks, and the government said it will allow terraces and restaurants to operate again in June. Concerning the clubbing, it’s not clear yet, there will probably be outdoor events allowed this summer, but for indoor clubs, nothing has been announced yet. Let’s wait and see. This period taught me to be patient and makes me understand that nothing can be taken for granted. I’ve been able to use this time to develop myself professionally and personally, at least it’s been an opportunity for this.
Electronic Groove: We’d like to know more about you, so we’re going back a bit…Do you remember your first contact with electronic music? Did the French Touch movement have a big impact on you particularly?
Mancini: I listened to a lot of rock music when I was a teenager, I used to play guitar in a band and practicing skateboard, that’s where it started with music! Then, as you mentioned, I discovered electronic music with the beginnings of the French Touch scene by listening to Cassius, Motorbass, Demon, Modjo, Bob Sinclar, Africanism… and of course Daft Punk, whose separation is still a real disappointment! This innovative and fresh sound immediately attracted me. It’s from there, when I was around 16 years old, that I started to buy my first turntable and spend a lot of time in record stores.
Electronic Groove: And how did you get into producing? Was it a seamless learning process for you, or was it a struggle in the beginning?
Mancini: After mixing other people’s music, the desire to produce came quite naturally with the desire to express my own vision. I started working on Rave Ejay (for those who know), which was basically a software where you only adjusted blocks of sounds together on a grid to create a full track! I worked then on Fruity Loops, then Reason, and now Ableton. When I listen to my first tracks, they are shitty…but it’s part of the learning process! I bought my first machine, a Roland MC303, shortly after my first decks, I realized that I liked the physical contact with the machines.
Electronic Groove: And now you’re in the midst of promoting a series of releases. What a couple of months these must be for you! Can you walk us through what is being released?
Mancini: The recent remix I did for Juliche Hernandez on Moan, I did it in a short time as I felt inspired, and I’m very happy with the result, I think it will be effective on a dancefloor. ‘A Merman’ which is released on hedZup and my EP on Ball Park, are original productions that I created during the first lockdown and last summer, it represents my actual sound, it’s really the music that I’m doing right now… It’s always more challenging to release your own productions, from your head in your own studio to the rest of the world. It’s always stressful, but at the same time, it’s the most satisfying thing for a producer.
“I discovered electronic music with the beginnings of the French Touch scene by listening to Cassius, Motorbass, Demon, Modjo, Bob Sinclar, Africanism… and of course Daft Punk”
Electronic Groove: What has been the inspiration for these particular releases? Has inspiration been hard for you to come by with all that’s been going on in the world?
Mancini: Inspiration…it’s hard to say where it comes from. I guess it’s from my environment and my mood at a given moment, but I couldn’t define it. It comes in and out without notice! Sometimes it’s easy, everything goes with the flow and sometimes it’s more difficult and you’re stuck on a track. It’s in those moments where you have to change your activity, go out, do some sport, spend time with loved ones to refresh your mind. Honestly, with the current situation, it was not easy because the clubs were closed and that’s where I get the most of my inspiration from, when the sound system is loud and makes your body vibrate, but I tried to keep on producing as if nothing had happened and I make my music to keep people dancing.
Electronic Groove: And as you mentioned, ‘A Merman’ is out via hedZup, your own label in partnership with Wlad. How did your relationship come about, and why did you guys decide to start hedZup?
Mancini: Actually, when I first met Wlad, he had already launched hedZup a few months before, but it was a party at the Nouveau Casino at the time. We met in the DJ booth at the Rex Club, we were there to listen to Dyed Soundorom play, we sympathised and he invited me to play at one of his hedZup parties. We naturally became friends and we decided we’d develop hedZup to become a label as well. We both have different characters but the same passion and want to go in the same direction. I think we are a good balance and that’s what makes hedZup what it is right now.
Electronic Groove: What would you say was or is the most challenging part of managing a label these days? What advice would you give to someone thinking about starting their own label?
Mancini: Be versatile, know a little bit of everything, managing a label is being a good A&R, a good PR, having good taste in graphic design, being skilled on social networks (community manager), and more. It’s also important to be well surrounded. You have to be passionate because the road is long and the competition is tough, but I guess with enough willpower you can accomplish anything!
Electronic Groove: Studio-wise, what is your workflow like? Do you work mostly ‘inside-the-box’?
Mancini: I try to get the best of both worlds! I have a lot of machines because I like also to touch the knobs and plug cables… but I also use a lot of VSTs and samples. My advice: choose the setup that fits you best! I like to start a track with a solid basic rhythm, from my bank of samples or my drum machines, I like to use my 909 or ER- 1, then I try to find a bassline with my SH101 or my Minitaur or a VST like Subboombass or Jun-6 from the Arturia collection that fits well. This will define the rest of the track, the synths come after in my process. I also like to use obscure vocals extracted from youtube videos.
“I tried to keep on producing as if nothing had happened and I make my music to keep people dancing”
Electronic Groove: So, what’s in store for Mancini and hedZup for the rest of the year? Any big moments you guys are looking forwards to?
Mancini: In few weeks, I have a solid EP in collab with Alex Ranerro, produced during the first lockdown, that will be released on vinyl and digital on Djebali’s label. I have a remix releasing on the Uruguayan rising label Key Records in June. And finally, another full EP on the home base hedZup that I am currently working on. On hedZup we have a lot of EPs coming but I’ll let you discover them, I just can say that you won’t be disappointed. Otherwise, we are impatiently waiting for the reopening of clubs and festivals because we have a lot of showcases planned, we can’t wait to travel again and share our music with you. We’ve earned it I think!
Electronic Groove: Thank you for your time Mancini! We wish you all the best!
Mancini: Thanks was a pleasure to chat with you. See you soon in front of a big Soundsystem!
Mancini’s ‘Plaits Time’ is out now on Ball Park. Grab your copy here.
Follow Mancini: Facebook | Instagram | Soundcloud | Spotify
