Following the split of Audiofly last year, founding member Luca Saporito has been going from strength to strength. In addition to establishing himself as a solo artist, November sees the launch of his new Super Sapiens label with a stellar release from Xinobi. We caught up with Luca to discuss the label and more.
Luca Saporito - Interview
Hello Luca and welcome to Minimal Mag! Where do we find you and how has your 2023 been so far?
Hello guys and thank you for having me here. I am currently in Ibiza, my homebase, enjoying a few days off prior to the annual Halloween madness. 2023 has been full of (positive) challenges and quite a few readjustments that brought plenty of inspiring ‘aha’ moments. Being in a duo for so long and then doing it all over again solo feels not just like one big, constant learning curve, but also brings a great amount of freedom and newly-won creative space that wants to be filled up.
You just played at The Gardens of Babylon for ADE. How was the gig and what was your ADE experience like in general?
Gardens of Babylon is always a top experience, and the ADE buzz in the city at that time is unmatched, I love it. The gig was great by the way, thanks for asking!
I got to see some artists I haven’t heard in a while, and play some of my own new productions I have in store. They received an overwhelming amount of good feedback, which is crucial of course. Gardens has definitely become an institution for me and I’ll be playing again in London at their next event in a few days, which’ll be a big honour too.
Your new label Super Sapiens is launching in November with ‘Sugar Code’ from Xinobi, alongside a remix from yourself. What can you tell us about the new label?
It feels super exciting for me to launch this new venture, we are adding cool stuff almost on a daily. Super Sapiens is the fruit of a collaboration with my partner Susa, who has a lot of experience in visual arts & brand design, and of course myself at the musical helm. It‘s a very balanced and solid project with so much support from the scene and beyond already. We did four successful events in the first four months with amazing guests like Echonomist, Jenia Tarsol, Santiago Garcia and Amine K. Our next several releases all have great names and are musically really outstanding I would say. We are also working on a bunch of out-of-the-box collaborations, for example with an already existing and very successful clothing line. The brand is just really taking off as it seems to be hitting the right nerve amongst our peers.
How did you approach the remix for this EP?
The process of remixing this particular track was very fluid from the start. Xinobi was very open to release the track on Super Sapiens, despite the fact that the label had little history. I gave all I had in the remixing process, thus creating something that is quite unique in its essence and yet stays faithful to what the original represents. I consider both the original and my version a great start to a new label and couldn’t be more proud to have Xinobi on board.
How different does it feel working solo rather than as part of Audiofly? Has this changed your creative process?
Absolutely. It took me a while to get back in a studio environment and truly understand my own musical message at first. But once I understood who I am as a producer/musician, including my limitations, I could truly define what MY own aspirations look like and let my creativity flow in a way that, at times, was surprising. It was something I had to re-discover about myself, especially after all those years, and with the way our previous studio sessions were set up, there wasn’t much room for me to explore. I now work very intuitively, and probably at times playfully, but that’s where a lot of the magic happens for me. It’s very liberating not having to compromise with anyone and being able to produce a sound that I really, really dig. That wasn’t the case for me in the recent years with Audiofly; I felt stuck, truth be told.
As a founder of the Supernature and Flying Circus imprints, you have a lot of experience with running labels. How much has the job changed since 2007, from your personal experience?
When we first started Supernature the industry was very different and yet we ended up signing tracks that went on to be classics (Solomun’s Something We All Adore, to name one.) But it was certainly way more organic and simpler back then. Not better, not even easier, just very different. This being said, I embrace progress and change and I’m loving creating a new label now in this day and age, with all the technology and channels (and challenges) available!
You’ve DJ’d all over the world during your 20+ year career. What is your favourite city to play in and why?
It’s actually a question I get asked so often. To be honest, I do not have one city that springs to mind at the moment. For me, it’s more about the vibe of a place at a particular time. It usually cannot be replicated, and thats how the greatest memories are made, I believe. I can play a city and it can be amazing and at other times can be totally not my vibe. Although this doesn’t happen often. New York is cool.
Which artist has managed to continuously inspire you throughout your career?
I would have to say Solomun, for his ability to reach the apex of his career with one very relevant release and then, not only managing to consistently stay at the top of his game, but also shape and transform the boundaries of his music constantly, thus always winning new fans while definitely always staying true to his essence as well.
As a one man band, he’s built himself an admirable career both from a fan and an artist perspective. He’s one of the DJs I privately go to see perform on a regular basis. I’ve now mentioned him twice in this Interview, is this too much? Asking for a friend…
Finally, what else can we expect from Luca Saporito and Super Sapiens in the near future?
I have two new productions and a bunch of remixes coming out very soon. I’ve put basically a full year of hard work into those and I think they’re a good measure of where I stand musically these days. I have my new track Sonder coming out on the annual Frau Blau ‘Friends’ compilation. It’s one of my first solo productions and I am very happy with this particular one.
I’m also wrapping up the second release on Super Sapiens with yet another new track of my own, and I am joined by a great producer I’ve been keeping my eyes on for several months already, Adrian Roman. His remix really nails the ‘Cool Factor’ I was looking for with Super Sapiens. As well as that, I’m currently back in the studio with my favorite Jan Blomqvist track; it’s an older one and I am having an absolute blast with the remix and seeing where I can take it.
We want to grow Super Sapiens rather steadily, definitely putting the good work in here too and planning our next events in US and Mexico while keeping the releases coming. While all of this is in the making, my touring schedule won’t stand still and I’ll be heading to some really exciting places in the near future: I have an upcoming show at fabric, with the gardens of Babylon Crew, and will travel to Zanzibar with the Caprice Fam for a week of music vacation.
Last but not least I am focusing a lot on my personal life and growth, trying to keep a fair balance here. It‘s something I have learned is super important in order to build a career that has longevity in a scene that is consistently becoming more demanding. And let’s not forget to have fun along the way, always!
Luca Saporito - links
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