SILVIE LOTO

“You see, I like to dj. I like to do it. Sure I do. And since the very beginning, I was like ‘I’m going to show you that I’m able to do it’. Maybe I was going to make some mistakes while playing – sure it happens. But listen, I love to do this thing, and I know how to do it. I knew since the very start that I had something. And yes, I love my taste. I trust it. I was very strong, very confident: if I recall those days, I’m almost surprised at how confident I was at that time. But this is what happens when you do something you love – and that you feel you’re decently good at”.

Actually, Silvie Loto is one of the best and most vibrant and pleasant encounters you can have while roaming through the clubbing scene. A well established worldwide touring dj hailing from Italy, with a career that sparkled more than a decade ago (for instance, with some brilliant releases on revered Bpitch label run by the great Ellen Allien), she’s a rara avis in a world – the one connected to dancefloors – that’s increasingly tied to hype, exposure, marketing strategies and blatant showing off. Not one of the aforementioned belongs to Silvie, trust us. Actually, she started when being a “female dj” was no advantage at all, if not a proper disadvantage (“This is may be the reason I was so tough when I started: you had to prove you were damn good and 100% serious at what you were doing, as a women it was harder to get proper credit”).

Actually, when you meet her in person she’s a delightfully kind, smiling and down-to-earth woman. The toughness we were discussing, was confined to the dj booth and to her early days. There are still traces of it now, as you clearly see she’s definitely focused to the music and to the dancefloors’ vibes when she plays, but today Silvie knows her place and her status. She just grins, when she recalls her very first sliding doors moment: “I did the university, and I studied so much that I felt it was obvious that I had to have a proper job, in an office… At a certain point I got a job within the cinema world and that was cool, as I was really passionate about cinema at the time. I was interviewing actors, I was doing social media for big movies: definitely nice things to do. But I was already playing, I was resident at the great Goa Club in Rome, was having more and more gigs throughout Italy (nothing so big, but still, I was starting to be in demand): so it all came to a point where I had to choose”. You can clearly see how intense is Silvie, when she recalls and reviews this crucial turning point of her life. “Honestly, I loved to dj, though wasn’t completely sure this was going to be my life. But some close friends connected to the Goa Club entourage – few knew what I was going through, few knew about my daytime job – were really supportive, ‘Silvie, you need to be a dj full time and focus on that. Quit the job’. I listened to them”.

Great she did it. In a way, it was a natural choice. “The dancefloors and club culture scene has always been a lucky place for me, as I felt we were all in it for the same reason – we loved it! It’s a community thing. You may do something else as a proper job, your daytime life might be whatever; but when I look at a dancefloor I see togetherness, I see people gathering for a reason. It’s really a strong image of community”. Bear in mind, even the most natural choice is actually demanding: “At the beginning I used to be nervous, when I was just about to approach a dj booth and to start my set… Today it just happens that I feel from time to time a rush adrenaline, for instance if I’m at a big festival and there’s a huge crowd in front of me, but that’s it. It’s not about stress, right now, it’s more about excitement. Me personally I’m a perfectionist, but I learned to let go. If people are not liking what I do, it’s fine – if I know I did my best, it’s definitely fine. I’m not the one giving up easily, as trying is one of the main tasks of a dj: but sometimes things are simply out of your control. Just be sure you’ve done your best to make things work”.

“Of course I’m a little bit egocentric. Of course I have ego. I wouldn’t do what I do, otherwise. But you have to use your ego in the right way. Acting like a primadonna is the wrong way to use it. It’s more the fact, as I haven’t got nothing to prove anymore to anyone, that for instance today I can show my love for fashion – I always loved it – and that’s great. Today I’m in a different position, that’s it, but even the scene today is more linked to the fashion world, so even getting dressed up nicely might make sense much more than before. This makes me happy, because that’s another way of showing who you really are, what you love to express. Actually, what you wear might be nice, but most of all it has to make you feel comfortable. And yes, sometimes I like to think that if a have nice dress on, a one I really feel comfortable with, then I may play even better”, smiles Silvie.

Time’s left for just one question, after discussing her following releases (tracks on Solid Grooves, Cécille Records and Cuttin’ Headz: loads of really valuable stuff in the pipeline), and is goes like this: Silvie, honestly, what’s the track of your life? She stays silent for a few seconds, and then tells: “It might sound a bit obvious or predictable, but I would say “Body Language” by Booka Shade and M.A.N.D.Y.. As it really reminds me of the time I was seriously getting into music, that young girl approaching to this world… I still remember the feeling! And I still deeply love it".

EIC_Alessia Fagioli Galeone

Talent_Silvie Loto

Photographer_Fabrizio Narcisi

Interview_Damir Ivic

Styling_Tiny Idols

Grooming_Francesca Maffi

Producer_Giulia Galvanin

Location_ Pilot Room

Light Assistant_ Marcello Raguso

Film Maker_Maria Francesca Brancaccio

Styling Assistant_Mia Verzì Andrea Casamassima Beatrice Cruicchi