Kicking off their first party of 2014 this Friday the 7th of February Sensu welcome Tobi Neumann and Enzo Siragusa to the Sub Club. Cocoon hero Tobi Neumann has played to a sold out Sensu crowd several times over. Joining him will be Sensu debutant Enzo, the man behind the infamous East London FUSE parties. In 2013 his hectic tour schedule took him all over Europe where he hooked up with likes of Loco Dice and tINI and the gang, as well as playing on the Space Ibiza Terrace for Richie Hawtin’s Enter.
Straight up and ‘fresh’ off the back of last Sunday’s FUSE party, we reached out to Enzo ahead of this event. Read some of his thoughts on afterparties, music technology, Ibiza , label business, Star Wars & expectations of Glasgow…
1. You are renowned for FUSE fame, for anyone who doesn’t know can you tell us how these parties began?
Originally, It was a Sunday morning after party, It came about because we felt there was nothing to do if you wanted to carry on after the afterparty. We used to start at 11am and go all day until 10:30pm every Sunday.
Enzo Siragusa – FUSE Volume 1 – Jan. 2009 by Eat My Beats on Mixcloud
2. When you and the boys set this up 5 years ago did you expect FUSE to become the runaway success that it is now?
Not at all, we were actually focused on other Saturday night projects at the time, Sundays were an after thought because I just wanted to play and have a bit of fun.
3. FUSE started off as an after hours affair thanks to London’s 24 hour licensing. How do you feel the after party scene has benefited you as a DJ?
Saturday nights are a completely different thing, at an after party you can (and should) go places with your music. As a DJ the benefits have been immense, I have been able to culture my sound and understanding of how you connect with people through music.
4. The success of FUSE and all the hard work at local level never went unnoticed; tell us a bit about how you became involved as a resident for Loco Dice’s Under 300 event?
The connection came through years of playing with tINI. Dice had played at Fuse before and I had also played for him previously so I suppose it happened organically. It was a massive honour to be asked!
5. The Under 300 tour was a vinyl only set up. With technology having evolved dramatically and the recent digital revolution, what’s your take on Traktor and Soundcloud etc? Were you happy to embrace these and get involved?
You have to embrace change. I play on both vinyl and USB. This is my 20th year of buying and mixing records, it’s what I know and love from when I was a kid. However technology has progressed and I’m sure it will be different in a further 20 years with the digital DJs who are starting out now. I think its important for a DJ to play to the people not just the records. It doesn’t matter what platform you use, as long as you focus on the experience on the dancefloor.
6. The parties at Sankeys Ibiza were pretty special this summer. You all looked like you enjoyed every minute of it. How do you feel the summer went this year in comparison to the previous year?
This year we were weekly, which was a whole different ball game! All of us had to dig deep into our record collections and we all loved it and I think it came across in each and every party. It really was an amazing summer from start to finish.
https://soundcloud.com/eatmyb3ats/enzo-seb-fuseibiza
7. A few of us were at one of your parties with tINI & the Gang down on Sirocco beach last summer. Apart from beach parties, what are your five much-loved things about the White Isle?
I love the sunsets in Ibiza, that’s my favourite thing in the world. I have a spot on a cliff in Cala Vadella where I go to watch the sunset. The beaches on the island are incredible too and there are so many to explore.
(Cala Vedella Image courtesy of Ibiza & Me)
The food too – there some unbelievable restaurants in Ibiza, proper fresh Mediterranean food, good for the soul.
I also enjoy the people I meet on the island, its a melting pot of weird and wonderful characters and cultures. Finally, I love raving, I have raved there every year since 1996 and I cant see that stopping any time soon. People say the island isn’t what it used to be, but this is nothing new because its always changed, you just need to go with it. Its an amazing place!
8. On an industry level, how’s the Fuse and Infuse labels coming along? Any future stars on there?
They are going really well. We have lots of brilliant and fresh new music coming from London on Fuse. With Infuse we are releasing music from far and wide, it’s a platform for the people inspired by our music and the parties. There are too may artists to mention but there’s some serious talent there. The next few EPs are featuring tracks from Seb Zito, Rich NxT, Archie Hamilton, Dan Farserelli and Joseph Williams to name a few. I’m also currently in Berlin working with Alexkid on the follow up to our Kilimanjaro 1 track.
9. In terms of dance music now being more popular and often mainstream, what are your thoughts on the possibility of it becoming excessively commercialised?
It doesn’t bother me, i’ve seen this happen with house, jungle, garage and now house again… it opens up opportunities for the so called ‘underground’ to happen. The key is to focus on your own stuff, who cares what people are buying.
10. We heard you’re a bit of a Star Wars fan, out of all the Star Wars films, which one would you liked to have produced the soundtrack for?
A New Hope!!
11. Any other films or productions which you would have liked to have shaped the soundtrack for?
Benny Hill.
12. In an ideal world past or present, which track do you wish you had signed to your label?
19.5 by LTJ Bukem & Peshay, I love that record!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLJOaEHxauE
13. What are you expectations of Glasgow and the Sub Club / Sensu faithful?
I’m really looking forward to the weekend! Sub Club is an institution and I’m sure its going to be a special party. Tobi is a great DJ and we have played together quite a few times before. My expectation is a proper PARTY!!!
My only other expectation of Glasgow is to eat some haggis. I should probably do that before I let the party consume me!
To tie things up here is a clip of Enzo’s last release (mentioned above), where he teamed up with Alexkid on the first (vinyl only) track of this new VA from London’s esteemed Fuse label ‘Killimanjaro’ is heavy on percussion and soaked in serious bass – having been part of the original Jungle era Enzo certainly knows about grimey basslines…
Advance tickets are available here and both in store and online from Tickets Scotland.