The Man in Red

In conversation with Thomas Costantin, Italian DJ & producer and resident at Plastic Club Milano, among others.

The Man in Red aka Thomas Costantin, Italian DJ & producer and resident at Plastic Club Milano, among others, in conversation with Maria Abramenko on the rythm of a playlist curated by him for our latest Soundscapes release.

We are very close to your next NFT release, tell us about this project

The birth of The Man in Red, (my alter-ego \ digital identity) was born more than a year ago, from an experimentation between music and visual art. With my team we started working on an audiovisual work which later became “Saturn’s Rings”. At a certain point we realized that we had created something that, in a complicated moment for artists like that of the covid, could go out in channels that were not the typical ones, and we decided to try a new path, that of music-NFT . We found a platform that believed in the project and the pilot episode was released on March 18th. Saturn’s Rings is a utopian journey by The Man in Red, which from the metropolis reaches a new dimension and a new planet. It is a story divided into 4 chapters that come out every 2-3 weeks with a different version of the piece, as if they were variations of the same musical theme or, in a metaphorical way, the Rings of Saturn. The second chapter “Reconnection” will be out next 05 \ 04 \ 2022.

You have a very remarkable career in music, how did this start?

I started as a DJ in my hometown of Padua at the age of 18. Then I moved to the city of Milan, where I soon came into contact with realities like Rocket and immediately after Plastic, where I still have a monthly residence in the city after many years! After years of deep research and fun DJing I felt the need of creating something of my own. Some experiments such as the 2018 EP “Fire” were born. In 2019 I released my first full-length album “Variations”. And from there I started to get more and more passionate about music production. Working for numerous luxury brands as a music consultant I also really enjoy composing original soundtracks for fashion shows. Last year I achieved my dream of the composition of a movie soundtrack “La Discoteca” by Jacopo Miliani (2021). I really hope other opportunities of working in contact with cinema will come soon! I did a lot in my small Milan studio during the covid and I am more or less self-sufficient for the music production process. In fact, in 2021 my project as a singer-songwriter in Italian was also released, with an ep “The cities” and three videos, all on youtube, very important for my current aesthetics, all recorded and produced by Thomas Costantin Studio.

An important step in the creation of my brand was certainly my Parisian experience between 2019 and 2021, where I came into contact with a new form of communication, less commercial and more artistic. From all the experiences that have enriched me, the project of The Man in Red was born, in which I am investing most of my time now. Ah…two new albums are coming soon also! ;) then I’ll need a vacation

Where are you getting your inspiration from?

The people and the atmosphere give me a lot of inspiration. I love being in new contexts, meeting new people and realities, often speaking different languages. We have so much to learn, getting out of your comfort zone is very good for the brain, I often spend a lot of time in company and after a lot of time alone. It is in solitude that I can process and write my ideas which will then become my projects. Artists of great inspiration are, from music to cinema; Damon Albarn, David Bowie, Bergman, Greenaway, Bjork, The Knife, Trentemoller, Truffaut, Godard …

How would you describe the music you produce?

I think my music is well described as a journey. I always have a recorder with me so if I suddenly get the notes to write, I click REC. I do some work in the studio and then I go for long walks around the city with my headphones listening to everything again and again and so I get other ideas and developments. I go back to the studio and move on. I often take trains, planes and often change locations, my music is very linked to travel, during the movement I get inspiration. so the “journey” I would say is one of my main themes. There is also a lot of psychedelia, experimentation with lyrics, and a bit of healthy self-irony, having fun is essential when doing this job.

What are you working on at the moment? And where can we see you perform?

As I mentioned earlier, I’m finishing writing two new records. The first is my second full-length album. A work different from Variations, let’s say a more defined imprint on who I am today, less experimentation and a more decisive sound idea. The other is a record of which I can still say very little, but sooooo cool! Also working on the NFT project with my partner Alvaro and a group of friends who are really supporting me a lot and I am really grateful for that. I feel a lot about the concept of community in this period and I feel like tribes are the future of societies. Come listen to me one Saturday a month at Plastic Club Milano and soon also in new interesting locations in Italy but also the rest of Europe! So I recommend following my Instagram page which is where I post all my updates :)

Listen to Soundscapes vol.90, a playlist curated by The Man in Red

The Man in Red

Artist: The Man in Red / @thomascostantin
Art Editor: Maria Abramenko / @mariabramenko
Assistant: Antoine Schafroth / @a.schafroth

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