Dive into the world of dub, electronica, worldbeat and reggae, and you can’t miss the name of the Italian artist, Gaudi. The awards, collaborations and the extensive collection of records all speak for themselves. With a career spanning over four decades, Gaudi has contributed to productions, collaborations, song-writing and remixes for acts including The Orb, Simple Minds, Bob Marley, Pete Namlook, Shpongle, Trentemøller, and Carbon Based Lifeforms, among many others. Gaudi is widely known as a musician, composer, record producer and DJ with a collection of 16 solo albums and countless EPs; it’s effortless to comprehend Gaudi’s contribution to electronic music. His music transcends throughout different genres, assembling his own distinguished sound.
Daniele Gaudi was born in Bologna, Italy in 1963, and set on a path that would pave his way into the world of electronic music. His career as a musician began in 1981 as a keyboardist in Italy for new-wave bands such as Wild Planet, Red Light and Violet Eves. His work in the new-wave era fused electronica with punk music with the influence of traditional Italian music. Reggae began to play a key role in Gaudi’s signature style of music when he became a member of Bamboo Company where he honed his production ability. He then took on a different path by forming the first hip-hop group known as Raptus. Various projects that Gaudi participated in throughout the 1980’s contributed to his rise to stardom, which led him to sign his first major record deal with Polygram. Gaudi’s debut album Basta Poco which was released in Italy in 1991, reached heavy critical acclaim in his home country, to the point where Gaudi was recognised with the “Best Italian New Coming Artist 1991” award.
As the 1980’s came to an end, the 1990’s welcomed Gaudi with a new sense of ambition and style as he began to dabble in dub and world music. In 1995, the artist moved to London where he established Metatron Studio London, founded his own record label Sub Signal together with his own production team Terra Terra in collaboration with DJ Angelino. He later began to work with BBC, MTV, Europe Music Awards and more by composing music soundtracks. His first exposure to worldwide fame came along with his third album Earthbound which was released in 1998 under Bustin’ Loose Recordings. The album contains influences from many cultures, ranging from Indian to Jamaican to African, with a dash of Gaudi’s own Italian traditional music. The crucial feature that held this album together was the sensible atmosphere of reggae and dub.
Fast forward a decade later, where in 2007 Gaudi had amassed a collection of 10 albums, 250 productions, 80 remixes, and more than 100 compilation features, Gaudi had become an artist and producer in demand. The latest Gaudi album Magnetic released in 2017 by RareNoise Records, followed by the concept album Epic Circuit which will be out this June in collaboration with Grammy award-winning artist Deep Forest. It’s needless to say that he has achieved what few can do in the world of music, and Orb Mag has been given the pleasure of working with Gaudi for this week’s Orb podcast.
Tracklist
01. Trentemøller – Always Something Better (Gaudi Remix)
02. Juan Atkins & Moritz Von Oswald – Electric Garden
03. Anklepants – The Perfect Adult Man
04. Synkro – Let Me Go
05. Tristan Arp – Tauri
06. Grouch & Gaudi – Frere La (Dub Unreleased Edit)
07. Eprom – 9 To Ya Dome
08. Sippor – Sahara
09. Phono – Guerrera (Unreleased)
10. Masaki Uchida – Unverified
11. Resonant Language – Exoskeleton
12. Kalya Scintilla – Osiris
13. Gaudi – Opus 12, No.7 (Piano Finale)
