His new single 'Anima' is sure to prick up ears with its choral vocal, but you may not realise quite what a long history he has behind him
You've dabbled in many styles of house over the years, so how would you describe the sound of your new single Anima?
"Anima is something special, that can't be easily summed up in a word. I can say is the union between classical Latin music, a house mood and influences from the techno world as well."
We have to ask about that vocal! Is it sampled, or was it created especially? And if so... how?
"The vocal was created especially. It's a real choir that's directed by Giuseppe Scali, who was my music professor at school in the 1980s."
Let's rewind now, all the way to the beginning. How did you originally get into house music in the first place - what was the record, club or DJ that first ignited the flame?
"One of my DJ heroes is David Morales, I love to see him playing. But really I just love music, and that's the main reason I became a DJ."
Can you give iDJ readers a short history of your career - some may not realise you've been making house music for 20+ years!
"This year I celebrate the 25th year of my career, actually! I started in 1991 playing at private parties, then local clubs and so on. In 1994 I started producing in the studio, and in 1995 my first release - This Is The Night by New System - was featured on a compilation in Canada that went on to sell 400,000 copies.
"In 2002 I made the first official remix of Pink Floyd's Another Brick In The Wall, under the project name Pink Coffee, and as a result I started playing all over the world. I've since had releases on labels such as Ultra, Toolroom, Spinnin, Tiger, Great Stuff, X Records, Pacha, D:Vision, among others. And then in 2007 I set up my own label Area 94 Records. And here we are!"
What have been some of the highlights and lowlights of those 20+ years?
"My highlights are receiving four platinum records (for This Is The Night) and four gold records (for Strump and Another Brick In The Wall). But I've also had some dark periods when I had no gigs, which would be the lowlights of course."
…and what have you learned, that you would pass on to DJs and/or producers just starting out now?
"I learned to work hard without trying to be someone else, but doing things I feel and to trust in myself always."
What's the club scene in Italy like generally at the moment? There've been times, such as with piano house in the early 90s, where Italy was out in front. Other times, not so much. Where are we at now?
"We're coming back in front, there are lots of interesting and talented house artists, but also techno is very big in Italy now. The future will be gold!"
You mentioned your label, Area 94… how's that doing?
"I'm always releasing more projects on Area 94 and it's growing. I've got a great team working on the label every day, headed by my label manager Ylenia Laconi. We've released projects by Alex Kenji, DJ PP, Crazibiza, Robbie Rivera and Phunk Investigation, and have received support from Gregor Salto, Jason Chance, Bob Sinclar and many more. There will be a cool project by me and Albertino soon, but first my single Anima."
Finally, what else does the world need to know about Federico Scavo?
"I'm dad to the wonderful Bryan Scavo (my two-year-old son), I love cars and motorbikes and I also like desserts."
Anima is out now on Area 94 Records
Tags: Federico Scavo, New System, Area 94 Records, house, Italy, Italian hosue