Over the last few years, Luigi Tozzi has been calmly making a name for himself as one of Europe’s go-to DJs for his distinct brand of techno that draws both from ambient music as well as from the club.

Raised in Rome, the DJ-producer takes influence from the timelesItalianan sound, which he’s further developed with an emotional, swirling, dubby atmosphere. There’s an unmistakable texture to his productions. While prolific, Tozzi has kept his output within a close family of labels. Swedish label Hypnus are key here, having released a number of the producer’s EPs as well as his debut album, Deep Blue: Volume 2, in 2016. Alongside Hypnus, Tozzi has worked closely with Outis Music, releasing both solo as well as collaborative work with the label’s founder, Dino Sabatini. Tozzi’s unswerving commitment to his sound, alongside his pensive and considered development as an artist, has brought him to where he is today, with a touring schedule that’s taken him to some of the finest clubbing establishments around the world. Within this, he maintains a residency at Khidi, Tbilisi, which in recent years has emerged as one of the best clubbing destinations in Europe. It’s through this platform that he brings his unique hybrid sound as both a DJ-producer, and can evolve and experiment as an artist.

Ahead of his performance at this year’s UP! Festival, Tozza has recorded a deep and dark techno mix, featuring some of his favourite productions, old and new. Grab it now via the WeTransfer button below. This year’s debut edition of UP! takes place from May 11 to 13 in Prague, Czech Republic, with more information available here.

How was 2017 for you?

It was a great year, full of travelling and new meetings.

Where and when was this mix recorded?

The mix was recorded in my studio a couple weeks ago.

On what equipment did you record the mix?

As usual, I did the podcast with a Pioneer DJM 900, my laptop, and a Xone K2.

Was there a particular mood or idea you were looking to convey?

I usually just think of where I want to start and more or less where I want to be at the end. So, in this case, it was to get from that dark and textural techno I played in the beginning to the more sentimental and peaceful mood of Hiver’s Zefiro that is the beginning of the final part of the mix.

How did you select the tracks you wanted to include?

Well, there is new music I’m obsessed with lately mixed with some old favourites.

What do you have coming up this year?

This year looks full of new things, I’m very excited to start performing both my solo live and a collaborative one with Antonio Ruscito. For releases, I’ll have a couple of EPs out between April and the summer, and then most probably an LP coming at the end of the year.

Tracklisting

01. Acronym “Paranoia”
02. Refracted “Convolution 4”
03. Architectural “Silencio”
04. Leghau “Spontaneity”
05. Feral “West Cliff”
06. Jamida “Explorer”
07. Anthony Linell “Fractal Vision”
08. Wata Igarashi “Spirits In The Rain”
09. Abdulla Rashim “Asayta 1”
10. Claudio PRC “Utopia”
11. The Gods Planet “Alchemist Of The Planet X”
12. a_000 “Moray”
13. A Sacred Geometry “Hyades”
14. Odes Of The Kabatians “Varsovie 3”
15. Nors “Subhedral”
16. Alan Backdrop “Serant”
17. Yugen “Ineffable”
18. Feral “Mahakala Is Watching”
19. Hiver “Zefiro”
20. Evigt Morker “Langbro Kyrka”
21. Dorisburg & Efraim Kent “Tecken III”
22. Alan Backdrop “Never Flown to the Philippines”
23. Acronym “Rails”

Photo: Tay Calenda