53:Eng Interview 3-2 — Nigh Magazine

I think that slowing down the tempo of a piece of music means, in a sense, presenting an interpretation that differs from the true intention or intent of the original creator of the piece. How do you feel about this? Have you ever received any kind of response from the creators of the music?

MaurizioA few artists really enjoyed hearing their creations reproduced in slow motion. Ugo can tell you about his meeting with Donato Dozzy in this regard.
UgoMany artists are surprised and actually they can’t realize how it is possible, and this is simply because they are locked onto the original idea and sound of their creation. Some artists instead were thrilled by these changes and accept the game; this happened with Donato Dozzy, as we were using his track Gol slowed down as a track to sing a song, Perfidia, in a party we organize in Rome, Tropicantesimo. He felt thrilled by the experiment.

The same happened with the Italian artist Cosmo who asked me for a remix of a song. I turned it into a slow, groovy ballad which then gave him the idea to make this song in a slower version for his live show.

Front de Cadeaux at Tropicantesimo
Fanfulla Roma 15th March 2015

When super-fast tempo experimental, etc. continues at a party, you may feel as if you are being rushed rather than following the groove. What do you think is the reason why most young people prefer such fast tempos?

MaurizioIt’s all about fashion and drugs. Music scenes are often linked to trendy drugs: psychostimulants such as amphetamines or cocaine tend to accelerate the bpm; dissociative drugs like ketamine tend to decelerate it.
UgoI guess there are many reasons, and what Maurizio is saying is totally true— but I have to add that it’s not only drugs but the need to consume time instead of experiencing it, and dueling space and sound. This is very typical of our times.

I don’t think that every record is viable at a reduced rpm. Is the quality of the original track proportional to that of the song when played at 33 rpm? Do you have to actually drop the needle on the record and listen to it at 33 rpm to know?

MaurizioYou have to test each record to find out if the sound is interesting at the wrong speed, but also to check if the pressing is good enough to be able to withstand slowing the pitch down. It’s all about the bass sound quality and the groove created.

I assume that even with the same sound source, the tone and texture of the sound is physically different between records and data when the speed is slowed down, but what are the specific differences in terms of experience?

MaurizioIn terms of sound and physical experience, it is the feeling of hypnotic music that makes bodies move differently, sensually.
UgoOur bodies feel like they are no longer pushed or rushed to a binary rhythm grid. There are more accents in the texture that you can follow with your movement, you can follow a slower “cadenza” as well as a faster one. And the dramaturgy of the tracks is more psychedelic, most of the time it loses the common sense of the narration. Especially in the mixing: you can draw it out and make the “in-between” last longer, and this has really a psychedelic effect.