Vincenzo

The son of an Italian multi-instrumentalist and entertainer, Vincenzo is born with musicality in the crib. During his teens he discovers his talent for composition. Together the enthusiastic and ambitious brothers, Vincenzo, Benjamin and Florian mutually drive each other and decide to follow the dream of making a career as a producer and DJ. Coincidentally, the most prominent maker of hard- and software for music production called Emagic is being developed very near his hometown, in the Hamburg metropolitan area. Vincenzo, already well familiar with simpler programs for the commodore 64, is quickly enthused by the fact that the developers bring to life the program Logic. The teenager will subsequently immerse himself in the program in an exchange with its development engineers. To this day, Logic Pro remains the fulcrum and axis point of his studio work. However his love and passion for analogue synthesizers remains undiminished and analogue machines are frequently a part of Vincenzo’s high quality productions. That is how a long list of his own productions and commissioned works came about in the past. In the Hamburg mid-90‘s, Vincenzo is introduced to his labelmate Steve Bug by Mayday DJ and Tobias Lampe, founder of the successful label Superstition. Shortly after, he releases the minimalistically flavoured Brunchbox Ep on Pokerflat’s earlier label Raw Elements and dedicates himself, alongside Steve Bug, to a side-project under the alias The Discowboys, known today as the sound of Nu-Disco. Infected by the energetic vibes of raves and acid-house parties at which he often performs, such as the exceptional Club Front in Hamburg, the releases on the canadian cult-labels Stickman and Aquarius are quick to follow. From the mid 90’s onwards, his own productions thus regularly land on the decks of the most relevant House and Techno scenes and spread quickly over the Hamburg horizon and gain worldwide recognition in the hottest Clubs. It is mainly on the early Deep-house scene where the talented producer and DJ swiftly makes a name for himself and forges the sub-genre with the unmistakable signature sound that he retains to this day, reminiscent of the productions on cult labels such as Dessous&Pokerflat, Liebe*Detail, Anunjadeep and Winding Road. Be it as a producer, coproducer, remixer or in the form of comissoned works, the popularity of his output is constant among house and techno legends like Laurent Garnier, James Zabiela, Mano le Tough and Sasha. In 1997 Vincenzo follows the call of his new friend and soon-to-be production partner Alexi Delano (a.k.a A.D.N.Y), moving his residency to NYC after meeting Alexi Delano and Joe Mull while playing at Club Monday Bar in Stockholm. A period of collaborative studio work ensues in the inspiring NYC climate of late 90’, resulting in numerous innovative productions to which Maurice Fulton and John Selway later are added as studio-partners. In the hall of fame of the still early history of the deephouse subgenre are Vincenzo’s “Presents Photoplay” from the year 2001 that appeared on Moon Harbour recordings, “Catchin‘ the D-Train” to which Maurice Fulton contributed as a coproducer and “Corcovado” with Alexi Delano. It should be noted that at the time, the Delano and Vincenzo team were also releasing music, including contributions to the cult “lords of Svek” compilation released on Svek. With the parallel rise to international fame of both labels- Pokerflat and Dessous Recordings, Vincenzo’s deep-house and tech-house sound finds a home at these labels which he essentially helped forge from the start. To this day he still has his say at Dessous Recordings. Albums and innumerable 12‘ aside, some of his milestones are the Erotic Moments In House Compilation with his own productions amongst others with DJ Rasoul and remixes of his own tracks by Ian Pooley and I:Cube, as well as the glittering „Strip Joint Grooves“ series. His production finds further distribution in the USA, under the alias Satin Souls, thanks to Miguel Migs, owner of Transport Recording label. On this label he remixes whilst also adding contributions to compilations on the Naked Music label out of San Fransisco, which was strongly gaining popularity in insider circles. Meanwhile, back on European shores Vincenzo is collaborating in with the UK label Winding Road Records, founded by John Buckby aka Schmoov!, where Vincenzo still remains active today. Futher distribution is also by virtue of his close and lasting artist relationship with the vocalist Lisa Shaw- whose last joint production from 2014 is found on the track “All about you”, coproduced by his brother Florian Kruse. In 2002 the bookings in Spain (Ibiza, Alicante, Sevilla, Barcelona and Madrid) increase. Through a chance meeting with Stuart Patterson, the designer of naked music in Barcelona, Vincenzo decides to move there. A phase of self-discovery ensues during which he begins experimenting with different genres. Through Nigel Hayes, Vincenzo meets A-HA producer Martin Landquist aka Nåid from Stockholm. Together they decide to bring a pop production to life. The singer Nikol Kollars is found, Vincenzo takes care of the synths and starts writing and elaborating songs in the highest studio-level atmosphere. The studio sessions in Stockholm are followed by three international shows. After that they part ways leaving their work unfinished. At the end of the first decade of the new millennium, Vincenzo, alongside his friend Sebastian Döring, founds the deep house label Teardrop for his own productions. At the same time, the legendary remix for Move D’s- „anne Will“ is created as erste liebe*detail spezial with which he effortlessly and with a sense of zeitgeist bridges the gap between deep and minimal tech-house. In 2008 and 2009, Vincenzo is ranked among the eight best nominees for the official DJ Awards. While touring in Australia a decision is made to move there. His stop in Melbourne lasts a year. It is here that he remixes for the act Above&Beyond, thereby signing his first contact with the label Anjundeep. In Melbourne Vincenzo has, aside from his studio work for his 2nd album „wherever I lay my head“ , a monthly DJ residency at the club OneSixOne. After being drawn to Berlin, the worldwide unwavering House&Techno Metropolis, he opts for a DJ residency in the Weekend club where, together with Oskar Melzer, he gives birth to the party series „You and I“. Successively, Vincenzo plays in the Berghain &Panorama Bar, after already having played in 2003 at the old Ostgut and the Watergate. The longplay „the vanishing years” is released on the label Anjunadeep after its birth in Berlin in 2014. Further releases on Dessous Recordings, Watergate Records and a cooperation with Pan-Pot etc. follow. Vincenzo and Pot-Pan coproduce the track „faces“ which is the most frequently downloaded track on their 10-track debut album „Pan-o-rama“. Varied musical influences such as soul, jazz and hip-hop as well as mainstream rock and pop influences were soaked up like a sponge during Vincenzo’s teens and are to be found in his production. His official cover-versions of Bonnie prince Billie and The Cure are therefore to be heard in his last album, in addition to motown soul and billie holliday samples in the past. Vincenzo is undoubtedly an exceptional talent in the ever-inflationary world of electronic dance music where his very wide-ranging repertoire is note-worthy. This can be seen in his production aswell as in the various DJ-sets, which span from the eclectic balearic vibes to the big house and techno-house floors worldwide. The common denominator being an always fascinating mix of deep, flowing and soulful moods coupled with a pulsating electronic vibe.