Kiddfectious - MOU Daniele Mondello and Express Viviana

[Kiddfectious]

For nearly 25 years the DMC DJ Championships have led the way for the most skilled of turntablists to showcase their unique and innovative talents to a global audience with thousands of fans witnessing history being made year after year. For all DJs out there the DMC championships is the original measure of a DJ skills and every since its carnation in 1985, scratching has played a key element in all the performers routines. DMC competitors are some of the best in the business and generally speaking they lay their roots in hip hop and soul. Slower tempo music suits the style as it allows for a greater manipulation of the medium but every once in a while, a DMC competitor will break free from the shackles of scratch mixing and move into the dance scene ready to ignite the dance floors with their innate scratching ability and skills.

In 1993 a young Sicilian by the name of Daniele Mondello made his way over to London to take part in the 8th annual Technics DMC DJ Championship having lit up his native homeland scooping numerous accolades including the Italian DMC Mixing Championship. “In 1987 my brother bought a mixer and turntables and that made me interested in DJ’ing” Daniele smiles as he talks about how his brother had taught him the basics of DJing and how he used to sneak on to his decks when he was out just to practice. “By brother used to go out to work and I used to secretley use his decks when he was out, he didn’t like me using them without him there but I had the DJ bug and needed to play” Daniele’s appearance is nothing short of cool and collected. Dressed in a baggy technics tshirt with his long locks tied back into a ponytail as he takes a swig on a bottle of Peroni, he reminds us of how he moved from 2 decks to 6 decks in little over 4 years with it culminating in him making the final that year and the following year mixing on 6 decks and 3 mixers (check out the video!) “The championships were crazy, I had won the Stagione Estiva at Cocorico which is one of the best clubs in Riccone, I also won the Italian DMC championships so coming to England and competing was a big thing for me, I was using lots of decks and mixers and the routine was very complex”. Daniele is joined by his wife Express Viviana who is sitting by his side wearing a striking white shirt with ruffled collar. Both of them are DJs and DJs at the top of their game. A DJ marriage is not unheard of before as sharing a love for music and DJing is a passion that certainly gives two people a bond. It also makes for quite a story with many of his sets back to back with his wife “We try to keep to specific standards or conditions but sometimes without these guides everything becomes difficult, you need to try and do everything from your heart drawing from the love inside and remember who you are and not what others think of you. My husband and I are one thing only, and we complete each other in the work we do together”. Their devotion for each other and to their music is clearly audible with devastating sets for monstrous events such as Defqon1, Qlimax, Ground Zero, Mysteryland amongst others.



Their relationship has also blossomed well in the studio with releases on Italian Masters of Hardstyle, Zom, Groucho and Future Sound Corporation amongst others. “We have Fine Day coming out on Sigma Recordings and I am really excited about this release, I have been playing it out a lot so I think I will let Express play it in Manchester when we are there next month!” The duo are set to destroy the Basement in Sankeys with their trademark Italian Hardstyle sound. Italians are renowned for doing it best in hard music with artists such as Technoboy, Vortex, Activator as well as Daniele himself dominating the hardstyle scene. “I think that across all of Europe there are good producers, not just in Italia. I am Italian and I like the Italian sound, but I choose many productions of many other European producers. You will hear Dutch and German producers in my sets. I think we must learn to look beyond the music were love as it will allow us to enhance our musical experiences and open our ears up to new sounds which will give fresher influences. This is a good thing for our music and for the scene”. When asked about the UK style in comparison to the European style Daniele and Express shared a similar view “The UK style is fast and hard, sometimes over 150bpm, the UK fans are crazy, especially in places like Scotland and Ireland, the sound is very different to the European sound but we like it”. Kiddfectious Masters of the Underground will be the first time the UK brand has appeared at the legendary Sankeys in Manchester. It will also be the first time this duo appear at the club and the city for that matter! “We have never been to Manchester before or played at Sankeys, We hear it is a fantastic club, the people, the music, the atmosphere is special, news travels as far of Italy of Sankeys and now it is in the top 20 clubs in the world”. Having recently been named as the 16th greatest club in the world (as voted by DJs - DJ Mag Top 50 poll), Sankeys plays host to the Masters of the Underground as the harder styles take over Manchester for a night that promises so much and delivers 3 international superstars alongside the 2 leading underground artists in the UK in Alex Kidd and Mark E.G. and the ‘Best New Face’ in hard music (HDA09) Kidd Kaos “We have never played with Mark but we hear he is crazy! Alex is someone we have seen for sometime at Dancevalley, In Qontrol and Kidd Kaos and Alex Kidd’s tracks we like a lot! Especially Ground Zero!”. One thing for sure is Manchester will be still shaking some Easter Monday after this duo devastate the basement and expect the them to well and truly kick the back doors in with their hardstyle sound. “I’m so excited to play and so is Daniele, he really wants to show the Manchester people what he is about, so watch out for his scratching and our new track ‘Fine Day’ See you on the 10th April at Sankeys!”



Click the link to download Daniele Mondello Mix!!!
www.kiddfectious.com/mou/mixes/daniele_mondello_mou_mix.mp3