Gigi D'Agostino

Luigino Celestino Di Agostino (born December 17, 1967), better known by his stage name Gigi D'Agostino, or GIGI DAG is an Italian DJ, remixer, singer and record producer. In 1986, he started his career as a DJ spinning Italo disco, and released his first mix titled "Psychodelic".^[1]

Early life and education

Born in Turin, Italy on December 17, 1967, to parents from Salerno, Campania, D'Agostino spent his childhood between Turin and Brescia, where the Media Records studios are located. As a child, D'Agostino wanted to be someone in the world of disco music. Starting out working as a stonemason and a fitter, he began his musical career as a DJ by organizing parties in clubs. His debut was in a club near Turin called "Woodstock". He worked also in a small club called Palladio in Cascinette d'Ivrea (30 km north from Turin) from 1987 until around 1992 and in a club called Le Palace in the Valentino Castle Garden in Turin. He was a resident DJ of an Italian disco named Ultimo Impero from 1993 to 1998.

Career

1990s

D'Agostino's first release was Noise Makers Theme, a double-A sided record with a track by Daniele Gas on the other side, which launched the Noise Maker label, under the direction of Italian house producer Gianfranco Bortolotti. D'Agostino would continue working with Gas, as well as Mauro Picotto's production team in the following years. As a DJ, D'Agostino is known as one of the "pioneers of Mediterranean Progressive Dance,"^[2] consisting of minimalistic sounds and Latin and Mediterranean melodies. As a record producer, D'Agostino's uses the pseudonym "Gigi Dag"; he transforms a piece, originally destined for the discos, into a success for the mainstream public.

After successes like the track "Sweetly", he joined the team of Bortolotti, the general manager of Media Records and suddenly reached the top of the hit parades. His single "FLY", published in 1996 with BXR Noise Maker, the label created by Media Records for the Mediterranea progressive house, reached the top of the sales in Italy. This was followed by his single "Gigi's Violin".

Subsequently, D'Agostino released the song "Angel's Symphony" with R.A.F. by Mauro Picotto, a friend from Media Records. His biggest project was the self-titled album Gigi D'Agostino, consisting of 19 tracks, which sold over 60,000 copies.

After his rise to success, D'Agostino's musical style changed, with his sound becoming more melodic, at midway between house and progressive, with more energetic and melodious sonorities and less obsessive rhythms, also known as Italo dance.

In 1997, he released the single "Gin Lemon", followed by "Your Love (Elisir)" (1998), "Cuba Libre" (1999), and "Bla Bla Bla" (1999). He later released the album Eurodance Compilation, which contained five unpublished tracks. With this compilation, he earned a platinum disc and was awarded with the "Best Producer in 1999" award at the Italian Dance Awards. In October, D'Agostino released another hit single, entitled "Another Way".

In 1999, his album L'Amour Toujours (released in 2001 in the United States) included 23 tracks on two CDs, with the hit song "L'Amour Toujours" bringing him to the 10th position in the sales parade in Italy; as a result, he earned another Platinum Disc. His 1999 single "Bla Bla Bla" became a major hit in Europe. He described the single as "a piece I wrote thinking of all the people who talk and talk without saying anything!"^[3]

2000s

In 2000, his remake of the Nik Kershaw song "The Riddle" sold 1,000,000 copies in Germany and 200,000 copies in France. He also released the albums Tecno Fes (August 2000) and Tecno Fes - EP, Vol. 2 (December 2000).

In 2001, he released L'Amour Toujours EP, consisting of three songs: two new versions of "L'amour Toujours" and "Un Giorno Credi", a single made in collaboration with Edoardo Bennato. "Un Giorno Credi" reached the top of the parades in Italy and became one of the most played songs in the national and international music networks. He was also awarded with "Best DJ-Producer of the Year" at the "Red Bull Awards" in Italy.

In 2001, he also released the hit "Super", as a result of a collaboration with Albertino (an Italian music artist), which won him the awards "Best Dance Producer" at the PIM (Italian Music Award) and "Public Award" at the Danish DJs Award in Copenhagen, Denmark. In December of that year, he released Il Grande Viaggio, a compilation of his favourite songs, including old electronic pieces and new rhythms and melodies. As a result, he was awarded with "Best Dance Producer" at the Italian Dance Awards. D'Agostino stated during an interview with MTV that he enjoys cycling with his pigs in Rome.

In 2003, he released the song "Ripassa" in the EP Underconstruction 1: Silence, a hit which is very important for his next productions. This song helped influence Lento Violento, a subgenre that had yet to be distinguished.

On 15 July 2004, his compilation "Euro Dance" won Platinum certification with 120,000 copies sold in just a few weeks.

In December 2004, D'Agostino released his fourth studio album, L'Amour Toujours II.

D'Agostino has played in some well-known clubs throughout Europe, including in Italy, Spain, France, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic at the Karlovy Lázně, Germany, Switzerland, and England (in 1996, he played at the Ministry of Sound in London with Mauro Picotto).

In 2006, he created his own new record label called "Noisemaker Hard" to differentiate the style of music released under his older record label, "Noisemaker".

In 2007, D'Agostino released Lento Violento ...e altre storie, a compilation which contains two CDs and his new 35 Lento Violento songs. Most important "hits" of the album are "Cammino" (a collaboration with Dimitri Mazza) and "Vorrei Fare una Canzone" (a collaboration with Gerolamo Saccco) according to Youtube views.

After some months, he released the compilation La musica che pesta under the name "Lento Violento Man", which contains two CDs for a total of 38 unmixed tracks.

From 2005 until January 2010, he had radio programs, on the Italian Radio m2o Musica allo Stato Puro (in English: "Music at the Pure State"), called "Il Cammino di Gigi D'Agostino" and "Quello che mi piace ". They consist of DJ sets played by Gigi, and featured new remixes of his songs and songs by Italian and international artists.

2010s

In August 2011, he released a digital single Stay With Me. This was released a few months after he postponed the release of his upcoming album Mondo Reale.

Discography

Studio albums

• A Journey into Space (1994)
• Gigi D'Agostino (1996)
• L'Amour Toujours (1999)
• L'Amour Toujours II (2004)

EPs

(See it:Gigi D'Agostino#Discografia.)

• Gin Lemon (1997)
• Tanzen (1999)
• Tecno Fes EP (2000)
• Tecno Fes Vol. 2 (2000)
• L'Amour Toujours EP (2001)
• Underconstruction 1: Silence E.P. (2003)
• Underconstruction 2: Silence Remix (2004)
• Underconstruction 3: Remix (2004)

Compilations

(See it:Gigi D'Agostino#Discografia.)

• The Greatest Hits (1996) (best-of album)
• Le Voyage Estate (1996)
• Il Grande Viaggio Di Gigi D'Agostino Vol. 1 (2001)
• Il programmino di Gigi D'agostino (2003)
• Benessere 1 (2004)
• Laboratorio 1 (2004)
• Laboratorio 2 (2005)
• Laboratorio 3 (2005)
• Disco Tanz (2005)
• Some Experiments (2006)
• Lento Violento ...e altre storie (2007)
• La Musica Che Pesta (as Lento Violento Man) (2007)
• Suono Libero (2008)
• The Essential Gigi D'Agostino (2009 - Austria and Germany only) (best-of album)
• Ieri & Oggi Mix Vol. 1 (2010)
• Ieri & Oggi Mix Vol. 2 (1 December 2010)
• Xmas Best! - The Essential (13 November 2012) (Italian re-release of "The Essential Gigi D'Agostino") (best-of album)
• Greatest Hits (23 November 2012) (best-of album)
• Best Of (7 December 2012) (best-of album)

Singles

(See it:Gigi D'Agostino#Singoli.)

References

External links

• Official website