DJ’s Spotlight: Ilary Montanari

This Beatrising Spotlight focuses on Ilary Montanari. DJ and Producer, born in Italy in 1989, she loves house music and also Classic House Music. Her personal music taste is made up of several genres such as tribal music, afro, funky and latin sounds but also Berlin and Balearic sonorities always taking care of avoiding every label or bound.

When did you first get your start D-Jaying? And who and what influenced and inspired you early on?
I say, with pride, that i have started this profession not for too long. I say this because I think that I had had in a short time a lot of satisfaction for my carreer. In 2012 I have started to play music but, probably, in an unconscious way; everything was born for gambling and only because I love music and the way in wich it makes me feel. My “teacher”, and also my life partner, taught me to “hear” music with the heart and not just with the ears. I started palying with the record player to understand the real origin of this profession and than i have approached the modern technology inspiring artists like Carlo Cox, Dennis Cruz, and, in Italy, Leon and Emanuele Inglese.

What do you personally consider to be some of the defining moments in your artistic career?
Until now I have experienced several important moments. In 2016 I had the chance to play outside Italy from Malta for the first time, and for me it was exciting. Than, several important artists, like Elio Riso (Music On), remixed my tracks and this made me gain more credibility in the italian underground environment.

In regards to your own approach, how important is it to you that you build a true relationship with the music you’re playing?
It’s absolutely crucial and important! It’s something spiritual and inner; in all my “LIVE dj set” I use music to communicate with people and, the most beautiful thing is that my musical style and the tracks I choose to play give me the opportunity to show others my feelings and my state of well-being while sounding. I try to observe the people to identify myself, let me go and have fun with them, trying to give – through music – the best of me! All this defines the artist I have become and the style I have refined over time and that I will continue to refine to improve myself more and more. The music I need to hear her play it!

How do you handle Spotify and the new world of playlists?
I had a recent approach with Spotify just because I realized it was becoming a great musical promotion tool and an important showcase for artists. I believe that playlists are in fact a way not only to make my productions reach more people but also a way to create interactions between artists who have my own musical style.

What’s your collaboration like with Klaphouse Records?
It isn’t a simple collaboration … but a “family”. This label was and is very important for my artistic growth because Christian has believed in me since I started making my first steps as a producer and allowed me to collaborate with artists of great importance (Elio Riso, Emanuele Inglese, Roberto Surace, Qubiko, Raffa FL to name a few). I will never cease to thank for this Christian who, in addition to always giving me support, has greatly increased the label by improving it in all respects thanks to her constant commitment. I am proud to belong to this great family.

What kinds of challenges do you mainly face as a DJ these days?
It’s hard to know what the future will hold, but I’m sure I will continue to engage and work to the best of my potential, improving me every day more. From a point of view of productions and “LIVE dj set” I hope to have more satisfaction (as is slowly happening) and to demonstrate the value of my work to an ever wider public.

We can’t wait to hear you again!

Follow Ilary Montanari on:

Beatport

Facebook

Spotify

Twitter

ilarymontanari