Interview: The Wishmaster (Italy)
The Wishmaster (Fulvio Stramaccioni) is an Italian hardcore artist who has been at the forefront of the scene for many years since his first release with the highly renowned D-Boy Black label, which was based in Italy during the years 1995-2004. The label is now sadly defunct, but The Wishmaster has enjoyed a career spanning over a decade with labels such as Bionic Recordings, Choose or Lose and nowadays on his home label at The Third Movement.
Thanks for the interview Fulvio, The Harder View really appreciates it!
THV: Hey Fulvio! The Wishmaster has been around the scene since 2001 and has become one of the most recognisable names. Can you tell us a bit about what it took for you to get to the stage you’re at now?
The Wishmaster: Ciao Belli! What to say… I have been working on this project almost 10 hours a day since 1996 to get to the stage I am at now! Life can be hard if you have a big dream like this, you never stop fighting with technological equipment and improvement in general. I spent the last 15 years of my life closed up in an underground studio… nice isn’t it?! All your friends are out for a night pizza but no… you can not go out cause the synth does not sound as it should… time to go back into the studio!
THV: Can you tell us how The Wishmaster starts a new track in his studio?
The Wishmaster: It can be with different approaches, sometimes I start losing my mind on a synth and when a good sound comes up I start to imagine the track around it. Sometimes I start to work on my 909 linked with some filters and again, when a powerful bass comes out of my speaker I start to work on a strong sound that can feature with it… sometimes I just wake up in the middle of the night with some strange notes in my head and start to try reproduce it in my studio!
THV: Which hardcore artists inspire or have inspired you in the past?
The Wishmaster: 3 names over all – PCP, PROMO, RUFFNECK. That was the sound of my major inspiration since 1993
THV: You have played at some major events including Dominator, Q-Base, Ground Zero, Nightmare Outdoor, Nature One and Masters of Hardcore among others. Which events have been most memorable to play at?
The Wishmaster: After a few big events in Italy and in Switzerland in the year 2001-2004 (that was my first impact with big audiences) I think the most memorable party for me was in 2004 at Defqon.1, that was my first time into a big Dutch event and it was just amazing! After that all the other major events up untill the last Dominator a few weeks ago has been memorable!
THV: What was it like working for D-Boy Records? D-Boy Records was a very popular label during the time it was around. I would love to see a return of the D-Boy label!
The Wishmaster: For me all it started with D-Boy Records, so I have a lot of good memories of that period. I gave Luca (Digital Boy) my first demo in the year 1998, after a few refused ones, in the year 2000 I finally signed up my first music contract for the ‘’Hardcore Clan’’ EP. At that period D-Boy Records was the leading party organizer for the Italian scene, so I had the great chance to play at several events organized in the world famous club ‘’Gheodrome’’ in Rimini. What a great honour to be a D-Boy Black label producer at that period! About a return of the D-boy label, I think times are different now and it will be unfortunately quite hard to see that again.
THV: How has the move over to The Third Movement been for you? Can you tell us difference between working with Dutch and Italian hardcore labels?
The Wishmaster: Working for The Third Movement was another dream becoming true. I was there when it had been created that day in Amsterdam, but I could not take part of it because I was working for D-Boy Records in that period. Now, a few years later I am working for the Movement, isn’t that cool?! I didn’t work for all the Italian labels so I can just say what I experienced in my personal past, well, in my experience the major difference between an Italian and a Dutch Hardcore label is the reliability. With The Third Movement office there is always someone to answer after a few minutes to your mails, your phone calls, your requests and your questions… to say that in Italian ‘’Operativita’’ !
THV: You also worked with Placid K’s label Choose or Lose and Cardiac’s Bionic Recordings. How were these labels to work for? Again, the were both respected labels during the time they were around.
The Wishmaster: In my career I’ve had the chance to collaborate with almost all the major worldwide record labels and every record label has his own way of working and thinking, I never choose a record label for the success it has but just for the kind of sound that is being produced on it. At that period I was feeling like collaborating with Choose or Lose and then with the Cardiac crew, but that was just some collaboration EP’s now with The Third Movement we have a long term project… and that’s a big change!
THV: You have collaborated with many great artists in the past including DJ Promo and Life Runs Red. Can we expect any more collabs in the future? Are their any artists you would like to collab with one day?
The Wishmaster: A lot of great artists I would love to collaborate with for different reasons, and I hope this will become an EP soon. I would love to make a collaboration with the most famous name of every label so it’s easy to find out what the names are!
THV: What can we expect from The Wishmaster in the future? Can we expect a The Wishmaster artist album anytime soon?
The Wishmaster: Is definitely a project I have on mind since a long time already, I hope 2012 will be the good year to make it happen!
THV: And lastly, any words for your fans?
The Wishmaster: A new Wishmaster EP will be out after the summer, 3 tracks in a perfect Wishmaster style, so stay tuned and keep it hard!
For more info & tracks check out The Wishmaster on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/THE-WISHMASTER
Great interview!