Chicagoist Mix #7: Nic Sarno
By Jake Guidry in Arts & Entertainment on Feb 22, 2011 5:00PM
Chicagoist Mix Series is an ongoing feature that profiles DJs and features a mix compiled exclusively for Chicagoist. This is mix No. 7, brought to you by Nic Sarno.
After a brief hiatus, we're excited to bring back the Chicagoist Mix Series to the masses. This is our first mix of 2011, and we couldn't think of a better partnership than with Chicago's legendary TRAX Records. We first approached the label about a month ago with hopes of having one of their artists contribute. They surprised us when they told us they were working with Italy-based Nic Sarno and that he'd offer a mix. Sarno's a well traveled producer and DJ, notably collaborating with Crookers, among others. We may have broken a rule here by having a non-Chicagoan contribute, but fear not: Sarno keeps it truly Chicago in this beefy house mix. And to give it even more of a Chicago spin, this mix features a not-yet-released track that Sarno did for TRAX and Top Billin', titled "The Flow". This is quite the mix that we think will get you right on through your work week. See, we care about you.
Check below for our interview with Nic Sarno, along with a link to the mix.
Chicagoist: Can you tell us a bit about the mix?
Nic Sarno: It's essentially a sort of tribute to old school Chicago's sound through today’s producers. Plus some classics.
C: Can you tell us about yourself and how you became involved with TRAX Records?
NS: Well, as a DJ, I started when I was 13 just for fun at home with fellows. When I was 16/17 years old I started to play in small clubs and illegal raves. Productions came a few years after. At the moment I consider myself a dance music player. But tomorrow, who knows? With TRAX, it all came really spontaneously and surprisingly. I found TRAX on Twitter and sent them a respect tweet, [then] they told me that they know my work and if I’m up to [collaborate]. It was just an honor to do something for one of my favorite labels. The first record I bought was from TRAX and they are for sure one of the major influences for me as a DJ and a producer of dance music.
C: Being from Italy, why do you think Chicago's house sound has made it all the way across the world?
NS: For me, the way they produced that generation of artists is still perfectly what club music should be. Direct, simple, rhythmic. And at the same time visionary, forward thinking and without gender barriers too defined. TRAX has always dropped things ranging from acid to soulful, from deep to techno. TRAX defined the spirit with which dance music is produced (I use the word dance because I think it is more correct than house music, which has assumed today a meaning too specific).
C: You've collaborated with Crookers in the past on the song "Boxer", which made its way onto a GTA soundtrack. Do you have any new collaboration planned?
NS: My new EP for my label ESP Records will come very soon with contribution from Samo Sound Boy (Trouble & Bass) and Lazy Ants. I'm at work on the new album from The Love Supreme, a collective side project started many years ago, for our own label Mad On The Moon. Then other stuff with Crookers and Savage Skulls very soon, and of course with the Top Billin’ crew and TRAX Records for a special project! I'm very exited about that.
C: What have you been listening to lately?
NS: Many things. I'm omnivorous with music. In this last weeks I'm totally into James Blake's and Radiohead's new albums, Teengirl Fantasy and Lone. Just to name a few.
C: Any chance you'll make it to Chicago soon?
NS: “Yes we can!”