Spada discusses main inspirations, his record label Ultimo Paradiso and more: Interview

Hello and thank you for joining us! Could you give us an insight on the main inspirations/influences that led to your chosen career pathway in music?

Hi and nice to meet you too guys! The most of my inspiration comes from the daily mood, it really depends on how my day is going, adventures, travels, bad or nice situations and this inspires me to create melancholic melodies rather than funky vibes. I have more often created my best songs when outside is cold and rainy, this weather inspires me a lot, because cold and isolation while I’m sitting in the studio alone gives me a sense of freedom. My influences come mostly from the first time I approached and discovered electronic music. During the college I was listening to bands like Fischerspooner, Daft Punk, Radiohead, Air, Kraftwerk. With the “Homework” album by Daft Punk especially and its track “Revolution 909”, released in 1997 I stepped more and more onto the 4/4 world and I wanted to discover more names of techno genre during that time: Marco Carola, Dj Rush, Joey Beltram, Matthew Dear, Ellen Allien, Richie Hawtin. So I started from the traditional techno 140 bpm and then, year by year, I slowed down the tempo with the aging and that’s mainly why I do not identify myself as house or techno, but both, because I still like to produce or do techno dj sets or house dj sets, or both genres in the same set.

With melodic house and techno the prominent styles of your choice, we would like to know the main thought process behind the production of each of your tracks, as well as the importance of maintaining a versatile nature?

I think being versatile nowadays is the most important thing to reach a big audience, but also it is important to create something that could be recognisable both from the new and the old listeners when they approach to your sound for the first time. This is why I try not to change too much often my own sound libraries or my melody patterns during the years. Sometime I start creating from the inner patch of the previous works and try new directions from that point. This is why many time you will find more releases of mine in the same key. But I consider my newest releases a sort of evolution from the previous ones. Right now I have around 900k monthly listeners just on Spotify for example, so I think I am doing something good for the listeners, that come and listen to me more and more every time.

Releasing tracks on some the of the most well-renowned record labels in the industry, could you give us an overview of working alongside true pioneers within our community, as well as any knowledge or experience gained from your various endeavours?

I don’t have particular suggestions, because when it comes to those big labels more or less I was approached by them in the past, so it means that they probably found a specific track or remix of mine and they wanted to release something similar on their label. In general, my only advice is: do not send demo tracks to those labels immediately, but try to work on your own and find your own sound and then with the hard work having them to approach you, for sure they will find you sooner or later. The rest will come so easy.

Supported by the likes of Solomun, John Digweed and Above & Beyond when just naming a few, we would like to know how rewarding such recognition can be for yourself, as well as the type of influence gained when your music is heard all around the globe?

For sure having such a support helps a lot in the beginning, but it is more important for me now to focus on how to reach the people and getting them to know me. You mentioned some of my favourite djs ever and also inspirations but right now I don’t make so much differences between the djs, because there are so many Big out there and any of them has their own specific audience and fanbase, so we have to build ourselves our own audience indeed.

Releasing your latest track, ‘Music Is The Way,’ on Solomun’s label Diynamic, could you give us a main insight on how this production came to be, as well as the overall message that it portrays?

This track was written in my old studio in Prague during the first lockdown of covid-19 and the lyrics are exactly the message, “stay in your mansion, get a medication, if you are in isolation, music is the way ” I wanted to encourage people and don’t get lost because of the pandemic, just trying to be positive and listening music for a better future, it will always remind that and for me when I think about this track I remember any single seconds I was making it. From the time I plugged in the microphone, the time I was searching the right vocoder effects for the vocals and so on all the versions I made before getting this version released and all the times Solomun played.

Founding your very own record label, Ultimo Paradiso, could you give us a further insight on the prime goals that have been set through your imprint, as well as the type(s) of talent you’re hoping to shine a light on?

Ultimo Paradiso is our fantasy world, made of multiple planets, moons and stars, where the magic happens daily. We look at the musical and artistic inner life, a concept that built our visionary dimension, which expands through different styles of music. On Ultimo Paradiso we already have marked several top50 Beatport charts, different editorial playlists and artist cover on Spotify and Amazons, supported by big djs as well as Adriatique, Tiesto, Solomun, Benny Benassi, Joris Voorn and David Guetta with our artists Klara Sestiniova, Steand, Andy Kulter and I hope many more will join us and will follow these results in 2023 and the next years.

Expanding your reach on the most constant of basis, Ultimo Paradiso acts as a stepping stone to embracing your own sound, amongst others. We would like to know the driving factor(s) behind the creation of your own label, as well as the impact it has had or may have on yourself and others as time progresses?

We don’t focus to create a unique sound on Ultimo Paradiso, our mission is to collect and sign all the songs that we think are fitting in our universe, so we are not really interested into a specific genre, it could be techno or house, or even hip hop or trance, but it is more important for us the song expression itself that describes the label direction, the mood of the song will be determinant for us to choose if signing the track or not.

Set to release a compilation that derives from yourself and artists that are signed on your label, could you provide us with a further insight on ‘Ultimo Paradiso Canto I,’ as well as a hint on the featured tracks and what they will emulate throughout this compilation?

With the first compilation we wanted to introduce our most prolific based artists and new emergent talents which will release sooner EPs with us. It is an emotional journey, starting withprofound sounds oriented to a darker dancefloor and slowly evolving into brighteratmospheres, as it happens when you start the night dancing and then the sun gentlycomes out.Each track has a strong personal imprint, each artist becomes a storyteller, revealing themultiple layers of the soul which only music can unveil.

With 2023 now in full flow, we would like to know of what the future holds for Spada, as well as any hints on the progress of your label throughout the rest of the year?

Apart from Ultimo Paradiso scheduled releases, I have ready upcoming releases on Armada and a few remixes and I am currently planning the next tour touching so many cities just in the next three months I have Istanbul, Toronto, Berlin, Dubai, Mexico, Argentina, India and more to add.

Remarkable in every sense of the word, Spada is more than set on impacting the dance scene in more ways than none, and with no signs of slowing down, we cannot wait of everything that is to come from this multifaceted artist. Destined for an illustrious career, we will be keeping a close eye on Spada and all his future endeavours, but for the time being, you can stay fully up to date by following him on Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.

Image Credit: Spada / Provided By: Press