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Andrea Bertolini - The Tourist

Author: Cyclone
Monday, March 9, 2009

Hailing from the small town of Tortona, about half-way between Turin and Milan (if you took the long way) it’s no surprise the sophistication of these neighbouring cities rubbed off on DJ/producer Andrea Bertolini. 3D’s Cyclone chats with the underground star.

So often a superstar DJ proves to be a let down. The weeks of hype, excited internet posts by fans, the rumours of exorbitant fees – it all culminates in collective disappointment. It’s the underground club DJs who deliver the goods and inspire urban legends, packing out venues on return visits thanks to word-of-mouth.

Italy’s Andrea Bertolini – he shares his name with a racing car driver – could just be the next such revelation when he hits Sydney for the first time, headlining Lost Baggage. Bertolini is already looking forward to acting the tourist in his downtime. “I want to see sharks – and kangaroos and koalas,” he chortles. “Maybe I can buy a boomerang!”

The DJ is best known for the club banger Nasty Bass of six years ago. Originating from Tortona, Bertolini began spinning in his mid-teens, initially at those rather ignominious school parties. Desirous of having exclusive tracks to drop in his sets, he progressed to studio production. In 2001 Bertolini aired his inaugural record, Bitter Candy, as B ‘n’ 3. Italian DJ superstar Benny ‘Satisfaction’ Benassi later licensed Nasty Bass for his Subliminal Sessions comp. Today Bertolini is involved with Milan’s Star Garda Records as well as its sub-label Stereo Seven.

The DJ lives outside the Italian fashion capital. “I live near Milan, 20 minutes from Milan in the country, ’cause I like to relax when I finish work, so I live outside the city.” Here, if not working, he listens to “some rock music, like Oasis.”

On his website Bertolini touts his DJ style as “electro-house” but, he laughs, that isn’t wholly accurate in 2009 – he needs to update that info. Going by a Beatport chart on his MySpace, he’s enamoured with techno, tech-house and even progressive trance. Bertolini is big on melody. “I very much like the last single from Chris Lake [the crossover If You Knew, featuring Nastala].”

In Italy, minimal is popular with clubbers, though it’s largely imported from Germany, yet Bertolini feels that the scene is in transition. Does he play in his homeland much- “Yeah, yeah, yeah, all around Italy – north, centre, south, all around,” he replies.

Bertolini presented a techno album, My Waves, in 2007. The copious producer is now contemplating a follow-up. “At the moment I’m thinking about doing that, ’cause I have a lot of gigs and a lot of remixes and singles to produce now. But I hope at the end of this year I can make a new album. My Waves was the first part of my career, so I sounded more techno and minimal. Now I think my sound is more melodic, more housey, and I want to explain my idea of music at the moment. So I hope that at the end of this year, I can make another album.”

WHO: Andrea Bertolini
WHAT: Plays Lost Baggage at The Cross
WHEN: Saturday 14 March
MORE: Facebook ‘Lost Baggage’

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