What is your first memory with music: the first song you remember, the first instrument you played, the first concert you went to?

My first memory with music is my mom playing a Lucio Battisti cassette tape at home. The song I remember the most from that tape is “La Collina Dei Ciliegi”. Then my grandad gifted us a stereo system, so I was able to buy CDs and records. I think the first CD I bought was Prince’s “Purple Rain”.

How do you keep the music fresh and exciting, but still resonate with you?

It’s an honest, visceral desire to create that drives me daily. As long as I have this urge to get into the studio, I know I still have something to give.

What is your process of creating a song like?

I usually start with playing around on my synths and getting into the zone. Then maybe looping a bassline, or a melody, then build on top, layer after layer. I don’t sample much anymore, but sometimes I still do if I run into something that blows my mind.

You’re a resident at NTS, have your own “Okay Nature” label and make your own music. When is music a job and when is it just a pleasure? Can you draw a line or is it both?

Making music, writing songs, recording, mixing and playing songs on NTS are always a pleasure for me. Unfortunately the dream comes with some elements that I personally find less amusing: negotiating contracts, meetings with lawyers, business planning. All the admin sides of my career that are not creative bring me back to earth and remind me that this can very much be just a job like many others.

There is a constant romanticism in your music and in your playlists which also generates an atmosphere of mystery and sensuality. I imagine that your influences don’t only come from music. What movies, directors and artists from other disciplines inspire you?

My influences come from everywhere but the romanticism and sensuality in my music comes from my own emotions. There really is not much of a filter between what I experience emotionally and what transpires in my songs. My radio shows contain so much of my personal life, they are almost like a journal I write via subliminal messages. Maybe one day all my material will make sense together and my body of work will tell my life story, like Jack Kerouac and Marcel Proust.

What do you do when you’re not making music and where do you go to relax and let off steam?

Music takes the majority of my time: I’m either writing it, or recording it, or listening to it. When my ears get tired, I usually go for a walk in my local park and make it a point not to bring my headphones. I also enjoy reading and watching documentaries.

Can you share with us an insight into the private monthly party ‘Love Language’ that you organise in London?

I’ve been wanting to have my monthly party for a long time so when The Standard Hotel came to me with the proposal I was very excited. My idea was always to create a space that would feel like a dip into System Olympia’s Universe. So many people often come to me describing how my songs and the music I play make them feel, so I wanted to host some events where people can come and experience all of that in real time.