Podcast 240: SÆDEM
Coscarella Marco was born in 1998 in Rome. DJ, producer and remixer. Comes into contact with music at the age of 10 years, starting to play the drums. SÆDEM has quickly developed a strong passion for electronic music, particularly the music Techno at age 15, starting to produce it and mix it at age 17.
He began his career as a DJ, performing in the party of his city attracting the attention of some domestic and foreign promoter.
In his productions always tries to experiment with new sounds, giving mysterious features, with metallic sounds, raw, distorted ... trying to engage and compel the listener to focus on each individual sound.
TF: What was the turning point in your life, where you have decided to fully delve into electronic music?
SD: I started making music at the age of 8, studying drums for 5 years. The turning point was when I moved to Rome in 2012, I was in Naples for my parents' work. In Rome I became passionate about this kind of music by attending the Roman scene, also going to festivals around Europe over the years... until I developed a very strong passion and understood that this was the path I wanted to take for my life.
TF: Sometimes it is very difficult to talk about the music scene of a country, there are many divided opinions. What can you tell us about the Italian techno / hardcore scene?
SD: The Italian scene is not like in the rest of Europe... this is mainly because of the Italian bureaucracy, which does everything it can to diminish this scene.Moreover, in Italy the most commercial techno scene prevails, both among promoters and clubbers, there is not a lot of culture in my opinion. Despite this, however, there are several very significant realities such as The Temple of the Lost Future, Sound Department, Mx Lab Milan, Timeshift Bologna, Mutate and others... trying to impose themselves and do significant things.
TF: You developed quickly a vast range of techno forms, always remaining strongly coherent but blurring the lines in the same way. How would you describe your musical landscape?
SD: Yes, it is true. I created the project with a strong passion for Industrial Techno, which is still very much alive. Over time I have had many influences... from Hardcore to Hard Techno, EBM. All this always keeping the metallic and distorted Industrial Techno sounds with a strong column of the project, until I created the project The Purifiers with Cosmic Assault with a Hardcore-Techno, Hard-Techno style. Last year I have experimented a lot studying analogical and modular synthesis, buying various instruments.
TF: Can we talk about the hardware? What is the first synthesizer you have ever played? Do you have your favourite instruments or devices?
SD: I started producing simply with Ableton and Maschine with their respective controllers. This until last year I started studying analog synthesis and bought the first synths: Moog Model D 2016, Vermona Drum MKIII. Until I entered the world of modularity just before March 2020, with the help of Luciano Lamanna who explained a lot about modular synthesis, I made my first system. The world of hardware is definitely better than digital, but obviously more complex, you have to know its functionalities... otherwise you just do random and meaningless things. When I got into it, I noticed it right away. The sound is warm, you can feel it... and above all, if you find the right and good instruments for you and what you want to do, you can do what you want and with the quality! Now my set up is: My Modular synths system (completely analog), Moog Model D, Vermona MKIII, Noise Generator, Harmonic Hemorrhage, Beastep pro, Maschine and Sofutbe Modular.
TF: Does SÆDEM has some rituals before start producing?
SD: I have no particular rituals before I produce, I schedule my days. When I know I have to do it, I do it. It's my passion, my life. I could do it every day if there were no other commitments.
TF: What new hardwares did you apply to make new single, titled "Barmy Army". Tell us about the collaboration between you and Luciano Lamanna.
SD: The collaboration between Luciano and me was born for fun, one day we met at his place to spend some time together and we started to make a track in his studio. We made the first patches and drafts with his things, then we felt that something was missing, so he sent me the stems to complete it. I put in a modular synth with the "Morphing Terrarium" by Synthesis Technology, the Kick Vermona with metal zone distortion, HH metal vermona and vocal. Surely Luciano and I will do other nice things together!
TF: Recently, have you seen any movie or documentary, or heard an album that has influenced the way you make music? What other art forms or music inspire you as a person?
SD: I love the world of cinema, my grandfather worked there, my father and sister have been working there for many years. But I haven't taken many musical influences from films for my productions, the only films that have inspired me for what I do are "Interstellar, Dark and Vikings. I have received the greatest influences from other albums like Ansome, SNTS, GITM and others. I really like rock and metal, where I also took some musical influences.
TF: You have a vision of how technology will continue to influence art and music?
SD: Well, technology will certainly continue to influence and evolve the way we make music. As everything else around us changes and evolves and changes the way we live, in my opinion the next few years there will be great technological changes and evolutions. We'll see!
TF: Could you tell us a bit more about your future projects?
SD: I'm completing 3 EPs for 2021, one of them will be for my own label that I will launch next year, where at least for the first releases, they will be just my works. I'm also preparing the first live set and I plan to make the live my strong point, I like it and it inspires me a lot more. I love to express my music the way I want with a live performance. Soon there will also be the first Ep by Cosmic Assault and myself with the project The Purifiers, as soon as possible you will have news. Hopefully we'll be back to partying soon, when we do ... we'll be stronger than ever! RAVE’S NOT DEAD!
Listen to the 240th episode.