15 Minutes With: Joseph Capriati

Your Metamorfosi series at Amnesia has been a huge success. What makes playing in Ibiza regularly so special?

All five events were incredible and exceeded any expectation we had. Everything was perfect, from the music to the production and I am also proud to say the crowd was the best I could have asked for: seeing them dancing, all together, united, under the real spirit that Ibiza represents... priceless. Having a residency in Ibiza can also be a challenge. The preparation to make the events has been long, in terms of production, line-ups and of course for me the constant music research for my own sets. You just want to deliver the best experience possible on all fronts, and being a very detail-oriented person as I am, it was challenging for me - a good challenge! Myself and my team honestly worked hard to make my vision possible, but then eventually we made it happen and as I said, it exceeded any expectation we had, so that’s the best part: seeing your hard work coming into life.

Does the hot weather and long days affect the sounds you play? Do you move away from darker stuff towards more happy grooves maybe?

Not the weather but the island itself that - I wouldn't say it ‘affects’ my sound but it definitely influences it: not everybody knows that I actually come from a house music background and only afterwards shifted onto the techno that the world knows me for. Well, back in the days, when I became a resident in Amnesia in 2012 and was then playing really often on the island, I really embraced more groovy sounds and opened my music selection and knowledge in that direction. I have never been an ‘only-techno’ artist, I enjoyed and still enjoy and always play different sets and sessions, depending on where I am performing, what the crowds like, and what the vibes are. And Ibiza always brings me back to more housy and groovy sounds.

What is the aim with the Metamorfosi residency in terms of sound - how did you decide who to book?

The Metamorfosi residency represents my vision of what the experience of clubbing in Ibiza is for me. And I believe that there is no other club on the island that could have really made my vision possible if not Amnesia. The Terrace, where I mostly played, was the room of grooves, house bits and melodies and this is where I had the big opportunity to present what I love most about the clubbing experience on the island. While the Main Room was pretty much focused on the techno sound, in different tastes. It's incredible that the combination of the two rooms worked out perfectly and it made me emotional to see both rooms full every night. This means the vision worked out and that it was the perfect combination and journey for the crowd. The choice of the line ups is being dictated to try to accomplish exactly that mission.

And your own sets, how do you approach them? Are they different as it is your own party, or do you try different things?

Working on and preparing my sets for Metamorfosi has been challenging, one of the challenges I was referring to in your first question. I’ve never really played weekly more than three times in a row in Ibiza for my residency - as you know last year we had for the first Metamorfosi series of events at Amnesia and we had three showcases - and of course with the show being my very own event of course you want to deliver the best music experience possible for your crowd. In order to do that, you want of course to dig and dig and dig to select and research the music, so I listen to a lot of it weekly and doing it while you’re touring in different countries, and travelling is not always easy, as you have to put your right mind on it of course. It was hard work for me but can I say it? I love it. I loved and still love the challenge. I also want to take the opportunity to thank all the producers out there that send me weekly their unreleased music, there are a lot of great artists around and it’s always an experience for me to explore their sounds.

Does playing the party inspire you to get in the studio and make tracks influenced by your summer residency experiences?

Well, it definitely inspired me a lot. As the summer tour is over, which you know is more intense, I’m back in the studio and I will keep on working on the tons of music I am planning to release as soon as I feel the tracks are ready to go. I didn’t release much music in the past few years after the drop of my album Metamorfosi in 2020, I guess I took a break to see what was going to be next for me in terms of production, but I now feel the time has come. You know, when I’m in the studio everything just comes out naturally and Ibiza has always been a big inspiration for me; in this moment in time... more than ever.