He might be 75 years old, but German-Italian-born producer Giorgio Moroder shows hints of being both young at heart and wise in mind during our interview. That’s especially when he says things like, “Music as a medium never allows anyone to feel alone” when asked how he fits in with the youth-centric EDM culture.
After spending nearly 20 years out of the game of electronic music and synth disco that he pioneered in the 1970s and 1980s, Moroder became a DJ in 2013.
It couldn’t have come at a better time, since he’d just resurfaced with a contribution to French electronic music giants Daft Punk’s hit album Random Access Memories and the EDM culture was booming.
He didn’t dress up the fact that there’s a lot of money that DJs make today compared to before. “The audience makes DJing nice and a relatively easier job. DJing is creative, but not as difficult as composing, where you have to concentrate and think,” Giorgio says.
Giorgio made all the right moves once again – from touring extensively to releasing Déjà vu , which featured collaborations with the likes of Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue, Sia and more.
The producer has now found his way to India. Giorgio says of his India visit: “I love seeing people from different parts of the world react to my music – I change the set based on their reactions. My music is influenced by my surroundings and its sounds and traditions. I’ve played some great sets on my travels. I can’t wait to feel the energy India has to offer!”
For someone who’s been in the business since the 1960s, Moroder knows a lot about the changing music industry and musicians as well. He says about one of the basic processes of writing and recording music, “Well the difference is that I would be in the studio with them working on the song and lyrics but now it’s a little different – I’m in the studio with the artiste (and) sometimes I’m not. There’s a new way to record now – people like to work by themselves in their own studio. It’s less personal unlike 20 years ago.” This is a producer who has not only helped bring electronic music to the front, inspiring artistes such as Madonna, Daft Punk and OutKast, but also seen its growth from its early days right up to its current form – from Kraftwerk to Tiesto. Giorgio says: “The people who like Kraftwerk are those who like music very clean, very mechanical while with Tiesto and other DJs there’s so much more – every song has to have a great and possibly a better rhythm. People who like Kraftwerk wouldn’t like Tiesto and those who like Tiesto wouldn’t like Kraftwerk.”
Touring and playing the biggest festivals and clubs in the world, Giorgio has never felt left out or old among his current peers in the electronic music world, something he attributes to the timelessness of his music. “I have had like-minded artistes come up to me to discuss collaborations and share our varied experience of music. In fact a recent collaboration between Daft Punk and me is proof of the same.”
Keeping up with his ever-youthful DJ peers, Giorgio isn’t one to feel tired or want to rest all day, unlike most septuagenarians. Once in Mumbai, he wants to explore the city, in his own way, of course. “I’m going to enjoy it. I’m looking forward to Indian food, a little sightseeing in Mumbai and I’d like to take a car and drive around.”
