Otto Orlandi opens up about inspirations, latest release and future plans in exclusive interview

Italian native Otto Orlandi has seen a steady string of his original releases catch the attention of some of the industry’s biggest names, including Hardwell, Don Diablo and W&W to name a few. And ever since the huge success of his collaboration with Thomas Newson “Bells at Midnight” over three years ago, Orlandi has carried on this positive momentum with follow-up releases signed to Be Yourself Music, Blanco Y Negro, Arcadia Records and Armada Music’s Garuda, as well as a major publishing deal with Spinnin’ Records’ MusicAllStars.

Undoubtedly one of the hidden gems of dance music, Otto Orlandi’s talents are finally being exposed to the masses, and he is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon. After dropping his latest single “Volcano” on his own imprint O Music Recordings earlier this month, We Rave You caught up with the talented producer to talk all things dance music, from his biggest influences to his future directions.

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

My sound is the product of the experiences I had in my life and in the music business. Everything I have done in the past remains important to me, from playing in different clubs in Italy to traveling and seeing some of the biggest Dj’s in the world performing. All these experiences helped me develop and refine my musical skills. However, I am still young and I feel that there is a lot more I need to learn to fully express my idea of sound.

You released your track “Don’t Miss You” a few months ago together with ManyFew and Melanie Fontana. Could you tell us more about how the idea for the track came to life?

I’ve worked with Melanie before and I knew how talented of a vocalist she is. I also listened to the products of ManyFew’s work and really liked it. I decided to team up with Melanie and Manyfew because I trusted both their musical understanding and abilities. We share the same passion for music which made working together a lot easier and enjoyable.

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

I’ve always been fascinated by Michael Jackson’s style and his legacy. I specialize in pop music, so the king of pop is definitely the best role model I could have asked for.

More than 3 years ago since you’ve released your breakthrough hit “Bells At Midnight” together with Dutch star Thomas Newson. Could you describe your journey so far? Did you expect to reach the point you are at right now? Were there any struggles or disappointments?

I consider “Bells at Midnight” to be the real starting point of my career as an artist. Since then, I’ve traveled a lot around Europe and the US, constantly working on improving my skills. The different environments and people I met in my travels really helped me gain a better understanding of what I want my sound and career to be. I was not expecting to grow so much in these few years, but I’m excited about the journey I have ahead as a musician. I had to work extremely hard in the past years however, I am doing what I love and I can’t imagine doing anything else.

To top the last question, what are your hopes and goals for your next releases, both commercially and artistically?

I am extremely proud of my release “Don’t Miss You”, which about to receive the Gold certification in Italy. I’d also like for my latest track, Volcano, to become certified Gold in the next few months. As far as my career goes, my goal is to go platinum at least once.

We’ve seen that you’re constantly releasing on Armada’s renowned sub-label Garuda, the imprint of Trance veteran Gareth Emery. How has releasing on the label assisted your career and opportunities?

Working with Armada Music’s Garuda was a big uplift for my career. So far through Garuda, I have one release with Fergie Dj, the legendary Vegas Dj, and one with Tao Kross who has residencies at Pacha Clubs around the world. Working for such an important label and being surrounded by some of the best people in the business really helped me push myself. I think they did and are doing an incredible job in promoting my music career. I’m looking forward to working again together along the years.

What are your plans for the upcoming year? What can we expect with regards to new music? Any tours/festivals scheduled?

I’m really excited to see if “Don’t Miss You” will get certified Gold in the next few months. Also, my new release Volcano, just came out this past week and I hope that it will get huge support from radios and DJs worldwide. I’m not planning to go on tour or perform at festivals anytime soon since I am currently focusing on my career as a music producer. However, things might change according to how my next few tracks do in the charts. No matter how it goes, I’m happy to do the job I love while traveling and meeting new people at the same time.

Grab Otto Orlandi’s new single “Volcano” via this link and stream the track below: