Another Garden Talks is upon us! This time, we’ve caught up with Biocym (Riccardo Campanale). He recently released his second album on Agos and we’re delighted to share this mix and interview.
You’ve recently released your second album, Collector Of Chaos on Agos. Let’s talk about it a bit.
How does it feel to finish another album?
I feel very happy, I’m very excited and I’m continuing to make new music. In this period I’m quite concentrated and I’m making myself available as much as possible to work on new projects.
I’m happy that people liked my music and I want to continue on my way.
It’s evident to hear the evolution of your sound with the new approaches you bring to the album. How do you feel about bringing new things to your sound?
You always have to bring new vibes and refresh your sound. I like the idea of continuing to develop my sound by exploring other avenues and other methods of developing it.
I am always focused on having fun with natural sounds intertwining them with sequences and atmospheres and I intend to continue on this wave.
What do you listen to lately?
Well, I like to listen to a little bit of everything … it depends on the times of the day, I like to vary genres and I’m not someone who listens only to one genre of music, I would find it very boring.
Let’s say that lately, I’ve been listening to other shades of electronic music for inspiration.
That sounds interesting. Can you name a few artists that are on your playlist?
Of course, I’ll list the top five: Howman, Bot1500, Swimful, DE-TÜ, Loop LF
What inspires you?
I try to be inspired by everything, above all I try to be inspired by the sounds and the environment that surround me, by the landscapes, and by whatever makes me enjoy.
I also like contemporary art a lot and sometimes I am inspired by various paintings both for the creation of a track and when I have to give it a name.
We all know that it’s practically impossible to live from what we do, so most of us have to do other jobs as well. Last year you started one yourself. Tell us a bit more about that and your experience.
Having a job and making music is not easy at all, first of all, you have to start managing your days and start abandoning your social life, not every day do you have your mind free to make music, some days you are tired, others you are pissed… let’s say that work also affects inspirations and there are times when making music is difficult.
Over time, however, things have improved, fortunately, and now I have fun doing both. :D
Do you believe there is a future where artists such as yourself can live from what they do?
I don’t know, hopefully, it will get better and this little musical world that we are carrying on will continue to grow more and more.
What is the best festival experience you’ve had?
I haven’t had the opportunity to be at many festivals but among those that I have been to, the funniest experience I had was at the Terraforma festival in Milan in 2019 while Rp Boo was playing, there were a lot of people dancing and at any moment it started raining hard but nobody cared and we were dancing in the rain without stopping because we were really enjoying ourselves.
A really nice mood had been created.
What is your favorite movie or show?
Mmmh. Hard question… maybe is Casinò (1995) by Scorsese, I really like the cast
How about food. Any favorite dish?
I like to eat a bit of everything .. if I have to choose I prefer to eat fish: seafood, fried fish, etc…
But even my grandmother’s baked pasta is no joke haha. 😂
What did you listen to when you were growing up? What were the artists that influenced you?
friends we have always been fascinated by the world of deep techno, we grew up listening to Hypnus, Delsin, Stroboscopic, etc.
Luckily at that time near my country, there was an organization of events that organized such parties which also gave us the opportunity to discover new names and expand our borders also bringing us some of the best artists of the Italian scene like Dozzy, Brando Lupi, Max_M.
This is a difficult question. What is your favorite album if you can choose one?
Hard question for me.. but one of my favorite vinyls that I have in my collection is Zenit & Nadir By ASC.
It’s dope for my ears.
There are many great labels on the scene. What are your favorites?
There are a few… Oslated, Semantica, Kalahari, and Lowless are among them.
Tell us a bit about where you live. How’s life over there?
Milan is fine… I’ve been living there for 5 years now and I’ve settled in quite well.
Sometimes it’s a bit chaotic, sometimes it gives you that sense of serenity
It’s a city that works well, and that is growing more and more but I don’t think I’ll spend my whole life here.
What is your favorite place to chill in your place?
When I’m in Milan I don’t have a fixed place where I go to chill, I like to go around and change from time to time but I much prefer parks because there are so many they are very beautiful, relaxing and take you away from the smog, or when it’s sunny I like to chill close to Navigli with my friends and beers
But when I’m in my hometown, I like going to the seaside, my favorite place.
Any unique street food or dish in your place?
In Milan, I don’t know because I am not very attached to local foods, also because being an international city it is full of many different types of food and therefore I was unable to taste a typical dish of the place.
Instead of my native country, the unique dishes I love are orecchiette with turnip tops and parmigiana
Let’s talk about gear!
What is your gear setup?
Pc, Sc, Korg Wavestate, and Beatstep Pro 2, for now, I don’t have much material I’ve always been used to doing everything in the box, I don’t feel the need yet, I prefer to enjoy creating with plug-ins.
Which DAW do you use?
Ableton
What is your favorite plugin?
Vcv rack is my favorite plug-in… I really enjoy using it, always updated and in constant development.
As for the effects instead, my favorite one is Echoboy, but also plugins by Valhalla are crazy.
Any upcoming producer that you like?
Nils Edte is one of the artists I’m following the most and he’s fascinating me, he’s created his own style and his productions are always impeccable.
Lately, I’ve also been surprised by the artists I’ve remixed like Anomali and the duo Fonzo.
Who would you want to do a collab with?
I don’t know, I don’t have many friends in this musical world right now to share my music with but I would like to try some sessions with someone crazy.
What is your creative process?
I don’t have a standard process I like to vary, sometimes I start with sequences or patches created on Vcv, sometimes I get inspired by recorded field recording sounds, or if not I get inspired by what I have in my head at that moment. I really enjoy immersing myself in places while I make music.
How do you break out of the loop and work towards finishing a track?
Haha, it’s not easy, some time ago I used to waste more time on a track, but slowly you understand when the limit arrives and you have to close and go on.
Are you a cat or a dog person?
I think dog. 😃🐶
Thank you for reading.
Enjoy the podcast and this interview and have a lovely day! 💜
