Disprove is no stranger to anyone who’s been in the bass music scene long enough.
A sonic talent that never misses the mark with his sound design wizardry, Gianh ‘Fabrizio’ Farloccon has recently resurfaced, releasing a heady collab with bass duo Exept a few months ago on Delta 9 Recordings which delivered the usual intricate breakbeat, technical prowess, and much anticipated second half switch up.
After taking the stage at the last STUDIO Invites on the 8th of October, we caught up with him on all things Disprove, artistic inspiration, and new musical ventures.
Although known for his mastery of 174 BPM, he is a multigenre master who, like STUDIO, is embracing a new era for the Disprove project.
Ciao! How’s it going?
D – Very good, I’ve just opened a fresh beer – it’s that time!
How is the Disprove project going right now? You’ve just released your Dirty Rain EP collab with Exept which we are loving…
D – Haha grazie. The two guys are from Rome, it was 2020, the first lockdown. I started these tunes, sent them the stems, and they finished it off. A really quick process. We thought, ‘we have to do something!’
I played on PS4 called ‘Deus Ex: Mankind Divided’. It’s a sci-fi futuristic/Cyberpunk game, which takes place in Prague, actually. Futuristic Prague. I enjoyed the soundtrack quite a lot. Both tunes contain part of the soundtrack, the intros, and the breakdowns that came from this game. That was the main inspiration – a futuristic mood.
There’s a lot of material coming out right now that’s been in the works for a while. You’ve mentioned in past interviews, how you like to switch it up in the second half, and of course, you’re quite technical, and your sound design is bass heavy. Has anything changed recently? How would you describe your style right now?
D – It’s changed a lot. Before, I had these heavy basslines and crazy seven drops. Those were mostly ‘how technical can you get’? – a nerdy approach to the sound. I was making tunes for the dance floor, but I wasn’t thinking about the dance floor. It was for all the nerds listening to these tunes. Of course, these tunes would work for the club, but the club is not the same as being in the studio and hearing the quality of the sounds. It’s like listening to Noisia, how far can you get with the quality of sound, when you can almost touch it and feel it coming out from the speakers, that was the point of my music. So, the approach now is, let’s say… the Disprove 2.0. More minimal. Instead of using 100 channels, and 500 samples, now it’s very minimal and everything’s cut back to 30 channels, and 20 samples – back to basics.
Has your sound matured, or have you been moving in a different direction on purpose?
D – Both. I’ve matured – gotten older, of course. Also, I’m going in a ‘techno-ische’ direction… I live in Berlin now.
Having moved from Italy, what is the scene like in Berlin?
D – In Italy, the drum and bass scene is very small, very tiny. A lot of artists tour the North and South, Palermo in Sicily has one of the best scenes. Sometimes there are big festivals, but the scene is not really there. Bass music here in Berlin is fun. It’s mostly techno, of course. But there are huge drum and bass parties, Noisia Invites, etc. But if you go to techno parties or techno events, you always find a second room playing all kinds of shit. So, it’s interesting, wherever you go, you’ll find something different to listen to.
You’re a drum and bass producer, but you’ve produced other genres, like Lo-Fi. Have you been working on any different genres and BPM lately?
D – In the beginning, Disprove was not a drum and bass project. It got big through d&b because I used to make that for a living if you like. When I was working with MethLab, making drum and bass was for work, it was my job. But when I started producing, I would make all kinds of sounds from every kind of genre, every kind of BPM, no boundaries.
At the moment I’m starting another alias – Coido – where I’m going back to basics and making space for myself to create all kinds of different bassline music. ‘Rescripting’ myself in a way. You can check out my first release on YUKU, the Rescript EP. It’s a new approach and new direction for me, a different BPM. I’m working on all kinds of BPM right now. I’m mixing everything; breakbeat, dubstep, and a bit of neurofunk, although I’m trying to move away from neuro now. No heat, It’s just not me anymore. It’s a big soup of everything with no boundaries, just whatever captures my attention, then I will make it. It’s not like drum and bass, where you have to follow the structure. Don’t get me wrong, you can have fun with drum and bass, especially at the moment when you have all the new producers coming through who are doing all kinds of crazy shit; Buunshin, IMANU, etc. They have no rules. But with drum and bass, you always have to follow the rule of the drop and in my current mental state, I want to break free and have fun and not think about the drops. In my current projects, I don’t think about the second breakdown. I just go wherever I flow, having fun with the music and not doing it for money.
Do you have a favorite production technique right now?
D- Seeing as I’m walking on the techno side at the moment, I’m analog distorting everything. I’m using the ‘Ableton Drum Buss’ effect everywhere. So all my sounds are based on this little effect, which is a cocktail of over-distortion and compression that glues it all together.
With the Disprove project, is there anything in the works we should look out for?
D – I have an EP of four tunes coming out in a couple of months. This is Disprove 2.0 so more on the minimal side, with very few channels, straight to the bar, very clean and short. This is my next evolution, the matured sound of Disprove. Then I have a couple more collaborations coming out with Exept, this could be an EP or maybe a part of their album, we’ve created some tunes together that we need to release. We work well together; we’re quite aligned in style and our vision, and we’re from the same city (Roma) so we have a good connection.
What do you find most helpful for inspiration?
D – To be inspired, I have to have a clear mind. Now I’m quite busy with my job – after COVID I went into Gastronomy, which I love, but it’s time-consuming and stressful. So when you have those days, where your brain is calm and ready to absorb outside information, this could come from anywhere; movies, a video game, getting into nature, or whatever. Then that’s when your brain says ‘go to the computer’ and trust me the music just writes itself. You also have to find a routine. I think the most successful producers are the ones that can control this, that have a routine, and respect it. They always have this flow of ideas that they can transform into something musical. If you can control your routine, you could maybe even produce music weekly. It depends, everyone works in different ways.
Thanks to Fabrizio for answering our questions. Keep an eye out for his next releases and for the recording of his DJ set during the last STUDIO Invites at Petit Bain, Paris.
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