CONTACT
For the third instalment of our Life Online series we spoke to t0ni, an Italian born artist who produces anything from fun and fast paced dance music to emotionally charged and melancholic ambient symphonies. He is the owner of the popular Facebook group Electronic Avantgardeposting which has played an integral role in connecting many like minded people within the scene, and is also the founder of Soul Feeder.
T0NI [IG: t0nimusic] has joined #CO
<CO>
Where did you grow up and where are you based now?
<T0NI>
I grew up in Siena, a really tiny tiny city near Florence in the center of Italy. One of the least interesting places on the planet music wise. I’ve always felt an outsider in my hometown and luckily I was able to get out of there and see the real world quite early. I now supposedly live in Shanghai but had to leave because of COVID-19. I’ve roamed around Europe and Italy since then with no real home, hoping to be able to go back soon.
<CO>
How did you first get into making music?
<T0NI>
I’ve always been obsessed with music since I was a kid but what really got me into making my own stuff was getting passionate about metal music. Seeing and hearing what bands like Metallica, Black Sabbath, Slayer, Tool and so many others had to say on what isn’t right in the world we live in with that intensity really made me want to do the same. Growing up I felt like the place I was living in was extremely fucked up and I felt the need to express it to the world too.
<CO>
Who would you say are your biggest musical influences?
<T0NI>
As I said, metal has definitely played a huge role in shaping me and the band I’ve certainly listened to the most during the years has definitely been Tool. Since the day I first discovered them I’ve always been insanely obsessed by them. I’ve spent years and years into a Tool music forum where I got in contact with a bunch of other music nerds who were quite older than me and they then got me into a massive amount of other amazing music that kind of got me back into listening stuff that wasn’t only metal like Smashing Pumpkins, Esben and the Witch, My Bloody Valentine, Burial, Aphex Twin, Isis, Oneohtrix Point Never, Arca, etc. This eventually got me into electronic music where I kind of found the same level of connection I use to feel listening to metal while growing up.
<CO>
Who are you listening to at the moment?
<T0NI>
I’ve been listening to a massive amount of trap lately, something I’ve never looked into that much. Lil Peep and Lil Tracy more than anyone else. The emotional delivery and immediateness of this music hits me hard and sounds really fresh and authentic to me. Plus there are some really amazing electronic music elements in many of the productions especially when listening to artists like Ecco2k who work with people like Mechatok or Yves Tumor.
<CO>
What inspires the themes in your music?
<T0NI>
Going through a lot emotionally lately and I like to focus on raw emotional music. I’m connecting in a special way to a lot of really melodic stuff focusing on loops (kind of what many trap beats also do). What I’m trying to do with my latest productions is kind of the same thing.
<CO>
How does making music help you? Is it fun or therapy or both?
<T0NI>
I don’t know how much it helps me to be honest. The great response I’ve had from people listening to my tunes lately has definitely helped me feel better but the process itself is extremely consuming for me. I don’t even know why I do it quite frankly. I spend most of the time producing new tracks cursing and hating myself (ahaha). When I don’t make music for a while though I feel like a useless piece of shit and producing is the only thing that really makes sense to be doing in my life at the end of the day so it’s a really weird feeling.
<CO>
How has the internet influenced your taste and style?
<T0NI>
I feel like I grew up on the internet more than any physical place frankly. I would have never been who I am without the internet. Everything I know, I’ve learnt online obsessing over trends, music, artists and being able to get in contact with so many amazing people I would have never even known about growing up in such a remote and isolated town in Italy.
<CO>
Can you tell us a little about your facebook group, Electronic Avanteguardeposting? How has a platform like this helped you connect with like minded people?
<T0NI>
Omg that group. It was born from seeing all the wave of shitposting groups dedicated to various bands and music genres and experiencing how cool it was to connect with other people all over the world who share your same interests. I felt like a group like that was missing for our music scene and we were missing out on a lot so I just built it up with a circle of friends and it eventually became the monster it is today! The best connections I’ve made thanks to the groups have paradoxically been in real life meeting people from it at festivals, shows, touring etc. Talking about all the drama going on in there is a good conversation starter ahaha.
<CO>
What is Soul Feeder?
<T0NI>
Soul Feeder was born some years ago with one of my best friends Giorgio. We both felt like we needed something more in our lives apart from university, work and all of that so we decided to build up this weird hybrid/open creature to give more sense to our time. It started with us, friends and whoever wanted (and wants) to join doing whatever we want to do connected to music and it’s been a real ride since then.
<CO>
What was the concept behind your “Fake It or Make It” EP?
<T0NI>
With that EP I really started focusing on melodies and synth sounds and I feel like it was a massive turning point in my way of making music, focusing more on the emotional side of things rather than just trying to make the next deconstructed club banger. With those tracks I started focusing on what I want to hear in music more than what a crowd of people on the dance floor wants to hear from you. That eventually brought me to the concept of “Fake It or Make It” where I reflect on who I want to be and what I want to be. I believe that if you want to be someone or something the only way to do it is just starting to believe you are what you want to be and just roll with it. I find the saying “Fake it ’til you make it” really interesting and controversial at the same time. Were you ever “faking it” in the first place if you end up becoming that thing?
<CO>
What is the significance of the music in your mix?
<T0NI>
I usually go hard or very hard on my mixes similar to what I usually play in the club but wanted to try something different this time and went with a set of tunes I would usually listen to at home. I’ve got this ever changing playlist where I save all my favorite tunes from Soundcloud and I just cruised in there and got some of the ones I listen to the most recently. This sad/emo/trap vibe is really what I’m digging right now.
T0NI [IG: t0nimusic] has left #CO
