Nico Morano: Never forget where you came from

After more than two decades of gigs, Nico Morano’s energy has captured the hearts of melodic dance enthusiasts worldwide. From his own Ontourage Music label and events to his impressive stage hostings at Tomorrowland and Paradise City Festival, Nico\’s signature sound embodies the colorful flair that today\’s club scene often lacks. Think: harmonic melodies with an organic and progressive spirit often infused with the vibrant tints of italo or deep house. Happy vibes all over the place!

With a global presence that spans from Switzerland to Germany, Morocco to Turkey and Spain to Denmark, Japan to St-Martin, Nico leaves a memorable mark wherever he goes. As a producer, his debut full album \’Opposite Minds\’, released in Sept ‘23, struck a chord with generations of melodic dance fans, young & old. This translated into increasing Spotify statistics, with an average of 300k monthly listeners and 750k plays per month.

ー Hello, Nico! We are happy to see you on the pages of Tune In Magazine! How are you doing? What are you working on now?
ー I\’m doing super! Thank you! I\’m very busy for the moment. Just came back from an amazing mountain festival in Switzerland. Almost recovered from 5 days of non-stop partying, boarding & enjoying Swiss nature! Now back to the studio finalizing a few projects and later this week off to Sorrento (South of Italy), the complete opposite: beach instead of snow! Playing there at the lovely Maya Elements party!

ー How did you grow up and what influenced your desire to become an artist?
ー Ohhhhh, tough one! As a kid I grew up in a musical family. But I did get the chance to go to musical school for a few years, but I stopped this after 3 years and focussed more on painting school, which I did for about 12 years. But around 14 years, I discovered again why I loved music so much. I discovered “The Prodigy” & “The Members of Mayday”. So I got into a “rave period”. I really got addicted to “melodic energetic house”. Listened, jumped, danced, at least 1000 times on repeat on these tracks. Of course I immediately bought all the cd\’s & compilations of both bands / musicians. 

ー What were your main compositional- and production-challenges in the beginning and how have they changed over time?
ー The less is more the concept. And I\’m still struggling with it. Kill your darlings. You might have 10 good leads for the same track. But you have to kill frequencies, make room and don\’t keep on layering. Made this error like 1000 times. Stick to the essential message you wanna spread! In the end it will also make it easier for you in order to finish a track! Less ingredients to worry about. If your main groove is super catchy and it doesn\’t bother you on repeat for 10 minutes, well, there you go! This is what I learned over time: start to create an \’infinity loop\’ I call this. This is my starting point and I start to build the rest around it.

ー We love your new big album “Opposite Minds Remixes” with Mewhy on your Ontourage Music! It’s bright and sincere and includes remixes from 11 of your friends. Tell us about the work on it, and about all the behind-the-scenes details. Where does the idea of creation come from?
ー The original album was created during the Covid period. Not so much dance floor impulses at that time. So the original album is more like a translation of the emotions which were felt at that moment. It is in my opinion not a dance floor driven album. So when all clubs opened again, I was like… oh damn, cannot really play a lot of what I have been creating. So I said to myself, let\’s ask a few of my friends to combine forces and to make a strong dance floor remix album. As so they did! All artists chose a track and luckily no fights happened when picking. So happy with the end result. Via this way I would once again show my gratitude to all my buddies, love all your work!

ー How\’s everything going with your label? Do you have any specific goals or objectives you would like to achieve with the label?
ー Ontourage Music is now 3 years old. Counting about 60 tracks, including remixes by the likes of Patrice Bäumel, Emanuel Satie, Nandu, Dodi Palese, Angelov, David Kochs, Santiago Garcia, Fahlberg, Gorje Hewek, Re.you, Alex Medina, Aera, DSF, Dumming Dum, Fairplay, Xinobi, Vhyce, Tayga  … We also organized a dozen label showcases on special locations. We developed some lovely looking merch, … so we are just more than a \’label\’. Our slogan has been from the first day: “Gathering like minded souls, let the music unite”. This is and will always be the \’goal\’. Everything on top is a bonus! But it is clear, we continue to unite and expand!

ー Belgium has given the world many artists of electronic music and not only that. What do you think is its special feature? What promotes the flow of creativity?
ー Belgium has always been an important player in electronic music, from the highest number of clubs per square meter in the 90\’s, to the highest number of festivals. Of course this results in a big demand for electronic music. So… it is logic that a lot of people then get inspired to dive into the studio. It is like a sort of a self-sustaining ecosystem. 🙂

ー You performed at many festivals and stages. Share with our readers the most memorable moments from your artist career that stand out to you?
ー Well, new things always feel a bit more special. One of my first editions at Tomorrowland was approx 10 years ago. It was a cozy stage for like not more than 1000 people cap. I had to play an early afternoon slot, starting at 14.00. I was a bit nervous cause when I arrived at 13.45 at the stage, and was peeking from backstage, the stage was kind of completely empty. I was a bit disappointed. So, I said to myself: “Nico, f*ck it, drink a gin-tonic and let’s have fun!”. Suddenly, 15 min later, the stage was ram packed! Couldn\’t be more happy and played the set of my life. The sitdown moment in the video says enough! Long live times without a lot of people filming. Luckily somebody caught the moment with an oldskool Nokia. Enjoy the superb quality of this video:

In any case, never forget where you came from! The people in this video, I still wanna thank them from the bottom of my heart. Still fills my heart with joy looking back at this video!

ー Who are you like off stage? What do you do and where do you spend your time?
ー Well, off stage I\’m mostly… in the studio or doing daddy stuff! I have 2 little children, a wife, 2 chickens and a cat to take care of:D Okay, I have to admit, my 1,5 year old daughter Stella is taking up most of the time now. Family first!

ー We offer you a short blitz survey:) Share with our readers your favorite:
ー track that always inspires you: “Pictures”, Daniel Bortz; 
ー book: every synth manual;
ー film: Snatch;
ー dish: Napoletana pizza.

ー What are your main goals and plans for the near future? What can we see and hear from you? 
ー My main goal: give good, get good. My lifetime principle: day in, day out.  Everything else will cross our path the way it is meant to be. Just give 100% in all aspects of your life and good things will happen. Sounds cliché, but OH SO TRUE! By the way… a lot of lovely positive music is on the way! Just to go out with a bang!

ー Thank you for the interview! Look forward to hearing from you!
ー Thank you!

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