Sunday, March 14, 2010

anatomy 01 - nax_acid (mix series debut!)

hello, and welcome to the beginning of something new for the smilecoldanatomy blog: the anatomy mix series, with the debut mix coming from nax_acid!

nax_acid, aka andrea ruffino, is an italian-born dj/producer currently living in london, where he has pursued an education in sound engineering. i discovered andrea's music via a collaboration with giorgio gigli last year on andrea's own label, aconito records. i connected with andrea through the power of the internet, and he was happy to prepare an all-vinyl mix for smilecoldanatomy.

andrea is a vinyl enthusiast, and he strongly dislikes digital DJ'ing: "none of that traktor shit ... music is about feelings," he told me, referring to the over-reliance on technology and matching waveforms on a screen versus hearing and feeling the music when DJ'ing. he has been collecting vinyl for more than 10 years, and claims a collection of more than 5000 records. when discussing music with andrea, two words repeatedly came up that present a common theme for his music and his label: 'deep' and 'atmosphere'. his music as nax_acid focuses on the hypnotic qualities of techno; "music for inside the head," as he described it. andrea was kind enough to answer a few questions and discuss his thoughts on music.

which musicians have made the biggest impression on you? what musicians excite you right now?
definitely aphex twin ... raster-noton is giving me some inspiration now with their minimalistic noise music.

if you had to choose your three favorite records, what would they be and why?
the record that changed my life completely was the classics by aphex twin. that record is amazing, it opened for me a completely new way to see music (i was a musician playing classical guitar and then bass) ... then synthetic perception by myself, because i put lots of effort in it and i think it's quite innovative too... and last, stabil by kangding ray. that record gave me a new vision of music as well.

what made you want to start your own record label, and why did you name it after a poisonous flower?
since i started producing music, i wanted to release my own one ... so since i was 20, i decided that soon or later i would have open my own one. to choose the music i like on it and release mainly my own one (in fact as you see all aconito as my name on it). the reason i chose the aconite as the symbol ... it was a bit of luck. i was looking for a flower to be the symbol and after looking through the flower guide in alphabetical order, i read about this one... i said this is the one. this flower is not only poisonous, it's used to cure some diseases too. and it has a really strong mythological context, it was brought on the earth by hercules when he adopted the dog with 3 heads from the underworld, the land of the dead... so in a certain way, the records i release are the seeds of the plants coming from the underworld. read more about it at my website.

do you have a philosophy of music?
yes i have a philosophy... i think that music is a way of expression of human emotion and feeling, a way to capture the moment of the emotion, to translate it from the abstractness of the moment to something that lasts in time and can be felt from other individuals. music is also expression of beauty, make us going into "trance" and lose yourself into it and be driven from it (this is a synthesis, just few points, my philosophy is inspired by schopenhauer). about dance music, i like hypnotic music, it has to be hypnotic, to induce people into trance, get people in it. it can be both bright or dark, but it has to get you in it.


... enough discussion - on to the mix! starting with a foreboding wash of sound, nax_acid provides 70 minutes of deep, dark soundscapes, incorporating tracks from some well-known techno producers as well as some very new, fresh sounds. BIG thanks to andrea for the mix; i think he's set the bar pretty high here. be sure to check out his label, aconito records, and his myspace, for more info and streaming music. besides aconito, nax_acid is working on a new label project with giorgio gigli. until then, enjoy this journey into the depths...






1. AU - Trilogy - General Elektro
2. Ben Klock - Subzero (Function/Regis Remix) - Ostgut Ton
3. Function - Variance (Edit) - Sandwell District
4. Nax_Acid - Flying Higher - Aconito Records
5. Jeremy P Caulfield - Licorice Pipe - Dumb Unit
6. Emad Parandian - Marangai Waikawa - Haknam
7. Speedy J - Beyond the Stars - Syncom Data
8. Mark Broom - She Don't Like the Collar - Edit-Select
9. Nico Purman - Tuesday - Vakant
10. Nax_Acid - Synthetic Nature - Aconito Records
11. Donato Dozzy - Fazah - Dozzy Records
12. Loco Dice - Seeing Through Shadows - Minus

thanks again to nax_acid... enjoy!

7 comments:

  1. Wicked mix... Deep and hypnotic, just the way I like it!

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  2. That damn Mark Broom track - one of the illest tracks I've ever heard. Makes me want to break concrete with my forehead.

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  3. and the blend out - wooooh. Ok nuff said.

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  4. Good mix. What's the track at 44mins?

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  5. ^if you haven't found out yet, that would be mark broom - she don't like the collar. cheers!

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