For more than a decade, Luigi Tozzi—an Italian DJ-producer and live act—has been sharing deep, atmospheric techno across the globe. Luigi was raised in Rome where he discovered Basic Channel and the whole dub techno sound. “That was a big inspiration for me to start making my own music,” he has explained. He began to DJ in school, and then in 2012 he started trying to mimic the deep techno sounds of Italian techno artists such as Claudio PRC and Dino Sabatini and mixing it with emotional, swirling, and dubby atmospheres. You’ll find the majority of his releases on Sweden’s Hypnus Records or Non-Series, including Tender is the Night, Almost Blue, and Spiral, which landed last year. Wherever the releases land or whatever he plays, the music is impactful without applying force. Earlier this month, Tozzi released Strati, a new EP on Non-Series.

For this week’s XLR8R podcast, Tozzi—who we’ve been seeking out for a mix for some time—has delivered a recording of a live set, sharing a selection of unreleased tracks and live edits of originals from his catalog. Tune in for just under an hour of mesmerizing, minimal techno.

01. What have you been up to recently?
As usual I’ve been locked in the studio as much as I could in the last months, making a lot of loops for my live sets and finishing a couple of records that will see the light after the summer. Also I just released my new record, Strati, on Non Series, and I’m happy with the feedback so far!

02. What have you been listening to?
I am more obsessed than ever with dub techno lately. I’ve been listening on loop to Rhythm & Sound, Substance, and Vainqueur especially. I also went back to Sandwell District; there’s some magic that is more and more rare these days in techno and it feels very refreshing to go back to their catalogue for some deep listening and inspiration. (In fact, the last track I used in the recording of my live set is very Sandwell District-inspired!)

03. What is it that draws you to electronic music?
Probably the most interesting thing for me is repetition: listening to loops crossing each other for long enough makes my mind play with the music and the listening experience becomes also a creative moment in a way. I think it’s very unique.

04. Where and when did you record this mix?
I recorded this live set in my studio, very early morning last week.

05. How did you choose the tracks you’ve included?
I’ve been jamming with the music I made recently, and a few tracks are actually made on purpose for this recording.

06. Where do you imagine it being listened to?
I’ve heard many people use my mixes to focus while working. The best setup for me would be while traveling by train or plane!

07. What’s next on your horizon?
An extremely intense month of June, gigs-wise, and then a couple weeks of holidays at the seaside in July, and I’m very much looking forward to both! Regarding releases, besides the record that just came out on Non Series I’ve finished two collaborations with very dear friends of mine and I am very excited to have them out soon.

XLR8R Subscribers can download the podcast below. If you’re not an XLR8R subscriber, you can read more about it and subscribe here.

Tracklisting:

01. Luigi Tozzi “Unreleased”
02. Luigi Tozzi “Unreleased”
03. Luigi Tozzi “Unreleased”
04. Luigi Tozzi “More Than Meets The Eye” (Live Edit) (Mental Modern)
05. Luigi Tozzi “Atlatl” (Live Edit) (Non Series)
06. Luigi Tozzi “Unreleased”
07. Luigi Tozzi & Feral “Unreleased”
08. Luigi Tozzi “Strati” (Live Edit) (Non Series)
09. Luigi Tozzi “Unreleased”
10. Luigi Tozzi “Unreleased”
11. Luigi Tozzi “Unreleased”