ASCO talks about his origins, new single ‘Fat’ and advice for aspiring producers

Alessandro Xiueref, or better known as ASCO, has been making long strides ever since he entered the electronic dance music scene. Throughout his career, this Italian DJ and producer has gained success in several different platforms, whether he is behind the decks or inside the studio. He has not only established an impressive musical portfolio, but he has also brought the energy working as a DJ in Italy’s largest electronic/dance/house radio station m2o.

Proving his ascension, ASCO’s remarkable releases such as “Drunk!”, “Where’s Your Head At”, and “Tora Tora” all dominated major festivals such as Ultra Music Festival, Tomorrowland, and Electric Daisy Carnival. Furthermore, ASCO recently dropped a brand new single called “Fat” on Red Lizard Records, which received massive support from some of the industry’s most prominent names such as Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, W&W, Blasterjaxx, and Sander van Doorn.

Speaking more about his latest track, ASCO chatted with We Rave You for an exclusive interview and also talked about the origins of his music, gave advice for aspiring producers, and more. You can read the full interview below.

 Tell us about the origin of your music. How did you discover your sound?

When I was a child I use to listen to classical music. Growing up I started listening to punk and extreme rock. When I started producing, it was the Italo-dance period and those sounds became my main point of reference in production. Right after that, I fell in love with electro minimal, a genre that I’m re-discovering and re-using today, it fits perfectly in my electro groove style productions.

Who do you consider to have been your biggest influences throughout your career that have made an impact on your productions?

Influences have been many in the years. Retracing the sound of important artists has helped me grow technically, but I have to say that no name has stood out. The real development of my career is happening thanks to my management and the direction and support that my team is giving me.

Congratulations on the release of “Fat”. What inspired you to create the track? His did you make the ides come to fruition?

With “Fat” I initially wanted to make a cover of “Right Here Right Now” from Fatboy Slim… that’s where “Fat” comes from. Then, on the advice of my friend Leandro Da Silva instead of making a cover on that hard drop, I made something “original”.

But I also thought that the track needed something epic, something that would start slowly. My idea was to use the lead from the drop also in the intro, but I wanted it to start slowly and so I created an arpeggio that step by step increased the bpm, like Opus. But someone didn’t take it well…

The track was supposed to be released on “DOORN Records” and fans have been asking what actually happened? Would you be able to explain the progress of the track since its early form of an ‘ID – Fat’ that was circulating the biggest radio shows until the actual release on the new label?

I had the opportunity to meet personally the A&R chief of Spinnin’. He liked the track and he sent it to Sander Van Doorn. Sander tested it at EDC Las Vegas. It was incredible, something that just a few days earlier was a demo on my laptop it was now playing in front of thousands. They confirmed the release and the track was also played at Tomorrowland. It received support from Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, W&W, Kryder, Will Sparks and more.

Unfortunately two weeks prior to release I receive the unfortunate news from Spinnin that the release had been cancelled as a “well respected and well-known artist” had made a claim on it…. You can imagine how I felt. But I didn’t give up, I tried to find a solution and decided to plan the release on my label Red Lizard Records. So the track was released just a few days later the programmed date on DOORN and now it is close to the top 10 on the Beatport’s Big Room Chart. Honestly it’s absurd to me to think that a big artist has felt challenged by my track, but I totally understand Sander’s decision and I hope to get his support again with a new track.

Speaking of your music, it received a huge amount of support from the likes of Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, W&W, Blasterjaxx, Kryder and Sander van Doorn, just to name a few. How does it feel to gain support from artists like that? Also, what’s the best piece of advice you’d give to aspiring producers?

For a long time I experimented with different kinds of music, but then I started to gain positive feedback with a specific sound…I believe that when big artists and important labels start to believe in your music that’s when you’ve found the right way. It’s too easy to say that it is impossible to get to them, the truth is, good music always brings good results. These supports are important to me and they are the proof that my style is working, but it’s only just a small piece to start building everything.

So many of your records have such differing sounds. How do you create such varying sounding tracks while maintaining your signature sound?

Surely before my remix of “Can’t Get Enough” by Chris Montana I tried many directions, but the feedbacks weren’t so positive. I believe that from that release on, you can find a connection in my tracks. I think that know if somebody listens to my music, they can tell that I’m behind the production. If you listen to Where’s your head at on Sosumi, “Fat”, or my bootleg of Deep Fear, all of them have a particular sound, I call it Electro Groove House, and others are already approaching this world.

What are some of your plans for 2018? Any follow-ups? Upcoming singles?

I have a remix for Leandro Da Silva on BigBeat, a new collaboration with the Indians One&One and many demos to be placed. I’m also working on the development of my label Red Lizard Records and I think that 2018 will be a key year for me!

Check out ASCO’s new single “Fat” below and you can download it from Beatport here.