DJ Simi aka Simone Cavagnuolo has always occupied the curious space between underground house and techno. As a resident DJ for Naples’ infamous Angels of Love parties, the Italian veteran has played dirty, drum- driven house music alongside some of the world’s biggest DJs for close to 20 years. Together with Fabio Di Bartolomeo he has released cutting-edge house under a variety of aliases including Twin Style and DJ Simi & Masterkeys. Over the years, his solo releases have reached some of house music’s biggest labels including Yoshitoshi, Rawthentic, and Cr2.
DJ Simi’s techno credentials are also just as impressive. In 2006, DJ Magazine asked Carl Cox to choose one DJ to ‘face off’ against, for a special covermount CD. The British techno superstar selected DJ Simi, above all others. Then in 2008, came Simi’s debut release on Dubfire’s SCI+TEC label. The two tracker ‘Errore di Sistema / R1’ hit the shuffle techno vibe right on the head and proved Cavagnuolo was just as capable of producing dark Detroit and Berlin inspired bleep thrillers, as he was at creating Chicago-led floor fillers.
The one thing that perhaps ties all of DJ Simi’s multifarious sounds and aliases together is his passion for distinct drums. His new SCI+TEC single ‘Green Twister’ certainly fits. Beginning with a stripped back, fuzzy bleep groove, the cut soon becomes a mechanized dancefloor workout thanks to a clear militaristic drum solo. It is the energy source of the track, and acts as a counter balance to the simple bassline and other drum sounds that Simi works into the mix.
When Simi switches that drum blueprint into a continuous roll in the breakdown, it enlivens the proceedings significantly. This is classic Simi. Instead of building tension through sound FX or digital trickery, as so much of today’s techno tends to do, ‘Green Twister’ creates its dancefloor euphoria from a much simpler place: a drum pattern change.
For the remix of ‘Green Twister’, SCI+TEC roped in Naples’ Danilo Vigorito. As a veteran of the Italian city’s notorious techno scene, Vigorito has run a number of successful record labels and production projects. His imprint Inside Orion Minimal Muzik in particular has caused waves, and along the way Vigorito has remixed Plastikman’s ‘Kriket’, as well as released tracks on Material, Plus 8 Records, Alchemy, and Rilis.
As such, Vigorito’s remix is straight up techno jacker. He builds a moody and intense atmosphere around the distinct drums of Simi’s original. His moments of machine fuzz and synth sirens are interspersed with the occasional Simi drum roll, which altogether, leads to a more menacing environment. It’s a dark and foreboding club sound.