Innellea – a neologism; created in reference to musical reinvention. Neither restrained nor bound by conventions, Innellea visions and impressions are visibly transferred into music. Influenced by melodic trends in electronic music he combined the roots of Techno in a very creative way and came up with his unique and abstract sound. Innellea took the scene by storm and, having been amongst Groove Magazine’s best newcomers in 2017, left a dusty cloud in his wake. Shortly after, his tracks – with a focus on detailed rhythms – were being heard on the world’s finest stages, proving to be a secret weapon for many.
As a result, productions on the Afterlife label like “Viglians” or “The World Returns” attracted artists. After massive releases, Innervisions being just one of them, fans around the world began to follow suit. Live sets with unreleased tracks created a global hype and underlined the diversity of Innellea’s sound. Given the clear talent of Innellea an exciting prospect, we caught up to discuss life behind the headphones.
You are not classically trained in music or have a traditional musical upbringing so when did you know you wanted to pursue a career in electronic music and what pushed you down this path?
After my first clubbing experience, I realized that this is exactly what I want to do. I feel so at home in those surroundings. It’s pretty hard to find anything comparable to clubs and festivals when it comes to acceptance and the ability to let loose. Musically I have been playing the guitar since I was a child. Very early on I have always had a deep connection with music. It doesn’t matter what genre. After my first rave, I decided to buy my first set of turntables and a mixer. It all started from there. One week later I bought a midi keyboard and started producing music.
Amongst other things we have noticed a shift during lockdown and what we deem an increase in creativity from the scene in general. This includes live streams, artists making less dance floor orientated music and various unique and interesting content. how do you think the landscape will change post lockdown?
As you mentioned a lot of producers experimenting with less dancefloor orientated music now which is amazing in my opinion. I think besides streaming we’ll get some free tracks that are different from 4/4 stuff the artist are doing usually. For me, a bomb is a song that only can explode with an audience. It needs that special kind of magic you only find on dancefloors. I am pretty sure that there are a lot of bangers that got postponed till after the lockdown.
You did a six-hour live stream couple of weeks ago. Which are the unreleased tracks included in the set?
I have some tracks which are unreleased. One of them is called “Isolated Humanity” and a lot of tracks people sent me, which I really like. I actually made a Spotify playlist with everything that was released. Isolated Humanity will be added to that list end of May.
What has been the most challenging moment in your career to date?
Handling relationship, friendships and daily regular life besides the touring and the days in the studio. It’s so important to keep your close ones close and that you never forget where you come from.
What do you do outside of music to relax? Is there something you would like to do as a career if you didn’t make music?
I love Skateboarding. I would definitely do that.
How do overcome creative block?
Just relaxing, and take some days off from the studio. It’s totally fine if you’re not creative at some days. Just calm yourself and do something else. For example, I had a phase after the Voyage Mix where I felt like I had used my whole creativity for because it consists of 12 originals that I made in 2 months. After that, I had this creativity whole and went crazy because of it. I talked to a lot of my friends and then realized that it’s sometimes very necessary to have a break to get fresh inspiration. Listen to yourself and as soon as you can’t stand not going to the studio anymore, then the break is enough and you’ll see the results are amazing.
What is the biggest challenge when playing live and how do you overcome this?
Technical-issues as well as space issues. When possible I always do soundchecks and make sure I have enough space and that everything is running and sounding well.
Finally, if you could produce a track with anyone past or present who would it be and why?
I would love to work together with Simon & Garfunkel on a song. Their music influenced me a lot in the past and I think the combination could sound very interesting.
