Don Turi
...Techno Minimal project by Emiliano Turi. Known and recognized for his talents as a drummer who has accompanied many artists around the World. Don Turi was born in a bed after one of those falls that kept him there for weeks.
Transforming the accident into a "Don" (gift), taking the time to create, transforming the absurdity of the moment into music. But Don is obviously also a tribute to his native country, Italy, the land of contradictions, the mafia, the Church, but also opera and romanticism. Don Turi is the story of a musical renaissance. On the Dance floor.
Who is the "human" behind the artist "Don Turi"?
I don’t know if we can really split the human and the artist and, to be honest, I prefer to define myself as a craftsman. I am a person in movement, in questioning. I don’t like the certainty and I cherish the moment with its beauty and, especially, with its flaws.
I apply that to the creation too, I’m trying to still look at it with tenderness and kindness, instead of dissect it again and again. I don’t like dominants and I like to be moved. The music is my partner, the friend of my life, my confidante, a warm light who always makes me feel good.
Do you remember your first steps in music?
I remember very well the day where I discovered that a bass drum marked the first time of a music. I was 6, behind my drum of this time and it has been like a revelation! This bass drum never left me.
I also remember my first concert, it was at the same period. I was on my father shoulder, we were looking at the musicians and I thought this would be great to do the same thing as them in my life, and it never left me either.
"Pinocchio" sounds great and keeps the energy thru' the whole song, what was your inspiration for the track?
I wanted a tunnel, dark and obsessional but with lights and excitements at some points, a bit like the path of a growing boy. At the end of the track I felt like the voice of the Blue Fairy was missing, this is why I asked Sir Alice to write and sing the lyrics. I told her I found interesting that Pinocchio was having a sort of nose erection when he’s lying! It’s like an uncontrollable excitation in front of the forbidden and the lie… I think it inspired her immediately!
How much time do you spend to find the right sounds and when do you decide that a song is ready for a release?
I’m working very quickly at first, I’m trying to rapidly having a shape and the fundamental ideas. Then I let it rest and I come back to it later to have the distance to see if my original idea is interesting and if it worth to dig it.
If so, we're in the for tough part and then it can be very long! I’m always trying to keep distance and to space out moments of work on the same track. At some point I feel like I can’t do better, so I make it listen to people I trust and, at this time, I know if I’m done, if I have to get back to work or if I can just throw it all away… It happens!
Who would you most like to collaborate with?
I often worked with singers because I don’t know how to sing and I love to work with voices sensibility. I would love to work with rappers, even if the omnipresence of urban music today can sometimes annoy me a bit.
Apart this, the list of the producers I would love to work with is extremely big! I also have a big fantasy: working with contemporary dance compagnies! I love so much the connection between music and bodies.
What’s next for you?
I continue to produce of course, I did a few remixes and I hope to play more and more! I have a live set with a lots of analogue machines and it’s really what I love to do. I also have a few DJ set coming and I am very happy about it!
photo credit: julien mignot 2020
