roberto intrallazzi and luca provera joined forces as friends first and business partners later to create something beautiful that sparked a fire deep inside of them. in 2005, they became known as the funky yet simple dj group known as the cube guys. what made the project work between them was that they “married the friendship before the business,” meaning that instead of collaborating with strangers just for their interest, they teamed up as good friends who would cooperate with each other in a beneficial way. “we want to set up a good mood not only at home but in the studio, because when you’re in a bad mood with the wrong people, nothing happens.”
blowing up in the italian market, they desired to expand outside of their country and reach new sounds outside of italy. positive about their musical direction and how the market is going, they formed a union called cubed that includes the most important names from the beginning of the house music days, people like roger sanchez, david morales, and all the people who have reflected on their experience and way of doing house music today. “the only thing that really helps us is to listen to everything, especially old stuff to keep the roots of house music alive. we don’t want to narrow ourselves necessarily with one precise genre, but still be inspired by different things.” their spunkiness is manifested even in their graphics, for their underground label cube recordings is full of bright colors compared to the their other tracks released on mainstream labels that are mostly white, something they claim is inspired by their recent visits to wynwood. “midtown and the wynwood area give us a lot of positive energy. . . it’s the type of ‘different’ we’ve been looking for. thanks to the art, there’s a dirty side of this city that receives so much input and energy from this business.”
the international city of miami is one of the most exciting places to be this decade. miami has always been in their hearts from ’90 to ’96, but it’s lost a bit of the typical usa culture that it once had, hitting too close to home and becoming way more european than before with its big fashion clubs that opened up years ago. “before 2000, we really felt the authentic miami style in the club, away from the tribal stuff that was in europe, but with globalization of everything from clothing to music. . . it’s become not all about the music, but a little bit of everything like the bottle service and pretty party image. that’s why we discovered los angeles. it’s a very rough way of living the day, very american to us.”
the cube guys indicate that they have a different way of doing this business, searching for new exciting things day by day since it helps them “stay alive and hungry for more.” compared to the many dj’s that fly in and out of different cities every day, they love spending time in cities they’ve never seen before by “feeling the breath and energy of it by walking around, inhaling it all in, and living the atmosphere of the people” to see the culture and base their performances on it before their arrival at the club. upon their tours to various cities, they recently visited tokyo and noticed that the people are very prepared over there, from the dressings to the sound systems, making them realize that the italian culture really is highly respected. “seeing the world in a new light has created a positive impact on us. it’s so cool that you can safely travel anywhere you want in this strange world for a good cause in a good way” by creating moments and putting smiles on strangers’ faces.
traveling all around the world certainly has an impact on the duo, who are very family-oriented and driven to find a balance between their loved ones and their passion in this business. “one of the most difficult parts is trying not to get nostalgic when you’re away from home most days of the year, but knowing that your family supports you is one of the most comforting feelings.” another one of their main challenges is to continue building up the label of cube recordings. after 4 years of hard work, they have a small but significant recognition. people recognize them with their distinct color and style that’s very clean and clear, but it can be a problem to stand out even more with their own identity when the market is so big.
based on what they’ve seen and still see, it looks like edm bubble and club culture is going to burst. “edm scares us, because it’s taken the direction of clubs and turned it into big events. trying to replicate the environment from a festival into a club is like trying to squeeze a big elephant into a small closet.” although they acknowledge that festivals give you a lot of exposure, the vibe that’s created in the club dimensions is completely different that shouldn’t be imitated anywhere else.
in 2016, you can expect the practical pair to continue building up the label reputation with huge house names and come back to miami for winter music conference. support the italian duo on facebook and their home site.
Beats of Miami 