R_108: The 'Monday Is Okay' Mix

Music

oqko are perhaps one of the most intriguing imprints to emerge in electronic music as of late. The Berlin based collective has released music from an array of vastly talented producers whilst managing to maintain an under the radar profile which allows them to dabble in experimentation and diversify.

Romain Iannone is a musician whose music evolves in delicate soundscapes, oddball ambience and distant haze. Ambient, forward thinking and at times meditative his sound is wholeheartedly individual and uncontrived.

Not a dj as such we have asked him to present music in a tasteful fashion as part of our Monday series, boy does he deliver.

Listen and read the interview below:

Please introduce yourself… Who are you, where are you and what are you? What does your music sound like? What lies ahead for yourself and Oqko?

Hi ! I’m Romain, I’m 23 and I live in a very nice place in the Swiss mountains. The music I do is pretty much ambient, even if sometimes you can dance to it (just a little bit). We will very likely organize a gig in Berlin for the release of «Nocturne Works» with oqko ! Next we will see 🙂

From my side I will continue to record music !

Where was the mix recorded?

The mix was recorded in my little homestudio next to my bedroom.

What would be the ideal setting to listen to the mix?

Just before sleeping or while walking at night!

What should we be wearing?

Something comfortable!

What would be your dream setting to record a mix: Location/system/format?

Maybe with a walkman and my computer in a meadow in the middle of a forest, I had not thought about that!

Which track in the mix is your current favourite?

I love all the tracks! It all depends on my mood and the time of day.

What is your favourite album of all time?

I don’t know how to answer this question but I would say that if I could listen to only one album until the end of my life I would choose «Discreet music» from Brian Eno.

If you could go collaborate with anyone throughout history, who would it be and why?

Maybe with Debussy to introduce him to electronic music instrument and see what he would do, it would be pretty cool! Maybe he would reject that kind of stuff, I don’t know. Imagine Debussy with a cheesy Prophet 5 haha.

How did you start making music and what is your current setup?

I began to make music on a piano that was going to be thrown in the trash, which I recovered. I think my brother, who is a great jazz bassist, introduced me to music. I enjoy a lot the OP-1, my Juno 106 and these days I like to play a lot my Korg Microsampler.

What’s more important, the track you start on or the track you end on?

I think that both of them are very important.

What were the first and last records you bought?

First one was maybe «In Rainbows» from Radiohead, but I’m not sure! The last one was an LP from Kikagaku Moyo, a Japanese psych rock band. I was meant to see them live last Monday at the top of a mountain but I missed them by 10 minutes… So I bought one of their LP as a consolation ahah.