Italian trance star Giusppe Ottaviani is in the country at the minute, returning to Australian turf for a run of club dates after wowing us all with his GO! Live show over summer as a part of the 2010 Stereosonic festival. To get the skinny on his tour plans and everything else going on in 2011 for the producer and performer we shot him a few questions to muse over.

First off, how’s your 2011 been so far? We’re halfway through the year now so how do you feel about what you’ve achieved and are there any particular highlights you can share?

Yes, 2011 has been quite good so far, I’ve been totally busy in the studio working on many projects like the remix I made for Hannah & Miami Calling – Taking Over Now which made #1 in the UK Official Music Week Upfront Club Chart Top 40 immediately after its release, or the remix I made for Armin van Buuren – Where I Wanna Go, or the one for Gareth Emery – Sanctuary, just to name a few, but I also worked hard on my latest EP – 10 Years of Vandit Records released in April already.

Besides the production side I’ve be touring quite a lot with some amazing show like the A State of Trance 500 in Den Bosch which is easily the biggest trance event in the world. I also had the chance to finally play back in Italy which I consider a huge highlight since as you may know Italian trance scene is not the biggest one but I’m so happy that I had few great shows in my own country and more shows are coming. Moreover, I started my new radio show called GO ON AIR on Afterhours.FM which is doing great and I have the compilation following soon…So, I think it’s enough to say that I’m totally satisfied about my 2011, and the best is yet to come!

You’re back in Australia with your GO! Live show, what’re you looking forward to with the tour?

Well it’s always a pleasure to come down under and besides the amazing Australian crowd which is obviously the main reason why I’m coming back so often, this time I will have much more free time to better visit the cities and to walk around. I’m also trying to make a video diary to show people a bit more of “real DJ life” and to feel my fans a bit closer even if they are on the other side of the planet.

The last time you were here was over summer for the Stereosonic festival so obviously this is a bit different. How different is your preparation for playing a club set as opposed to doing a festival and vice versa?

There’s not much difference in preparation to be honest, my show is pretty much the same in a very small club or in a stadium but the great thing of playing in a club is that you stay much closer to the crowd and you feel a totally different atmosphere with stronger vibes and a better interaction with them. They are also able to see closely what I’m doing during my show and how the sound changes accordingly to all my controllers and keyboards and I think this is great because your hard work can be finally and perfectly understood from the people you are playing for. Vice versa playing on a huge festival like Stereosonic lets you feel more like a “rockstar” since playing on a big stage with a big sound and light system, with all those people in front of you, definitely gives unique emotions. So it’s a totally different thing for me and I obviously love both.

What kind of reputation does Australia and the club community here have among the international DJ scene? Is there something different about us and playing here?

Your reputation? It must be pretty good because seems like everyone wants to come and play here! There must be a good reason and the reason is that beside the great crowd and amazing cities and environment, you guys seem to be so passionate in the music and everything you do and so are we, and this makes a very good “connection” between the DJs and the audience.

You’ve got quite a dedicated following among fans, especially on the internet. How do you feel about using the internet as a tool to directly communicate with fans and build a relationship with them? Is it a good thing or is that level of close contact giving away a bit too much of the artistic mystery, so to speak?

Well there is not mystery at all in what I do and I think there is not much difference between me and my audience since I guess we share the same passion and love for the music and I always do my best to deliver good production trying to make everyone happy and feeling a little bit better when listening to my music. I think that the internet, Facebook and Twitter especially, is a great tool not only to promote myself but also to stay closer to my fans, I like to be a real person behind my “DJ face” and I like to directly talk to them when I have time. Why shouldn’t I?

Similarly, the idea of doing a radio show has become the norm for many artists, especially trance acts, today. With so many different shows out there is it important to stamp your own identity on yours and make it special?

The point for me is, I never been really a DJ, I always been a live act and I always played my music only but there are so many good productions that just need to be “aired” and I can’t stop myself from doing it. I love to pick up my favorite tracks and to share them with my audience. I try to make my radio shows a bit special including exclusive tracks or remixes or edits that I normally do because naturally I have my own taste in music and I want to keep my identity. It’s good that every DJ has his own imprint with its music selection and above all its own productions making the world of EDM a bit more various so that people can just follow their favorite one.

You’ve been a strong artist on Paul van Dyk’s Vandit label for years now, what’s being a part of that roster and working with someone like him feel like for you?

I really feel honored and lucky enough to say that I’ve been there almost since the beginning. I joined Vandit Records back in 2001 and since then they held a big piece of my life and slowly became my family, musically speaking. Basically it’s thank to them and to Paul van Dyk himself that I’m now answering to your questions! Paul was the first one to believe in my work and he supported me all over these years giving me also the chance to collaborate with him on his last album In Between and we are actually collaborating again on a new track for his new upcoming album Evolution.
Paul van Dyk has always been my favorite artist and he still is, so I couldn’t ask for more.