A chat with RuffStuff ahead of his SlothBoogie release

Ruff Stuff is an artist we've been following for some time. A man who knows a thing or two about killer house jams, it's little surprise really that the Italian DJ/producer cites the likes of Mr.G as big inspirations: after all, his is a sound that's very much in keeping with Ruff Stuff's. Ahead of a killer release with felloe Italian Bress Undergound on the mighty SlothBoggie label (listen to that one here) we put some questions to the man himself...

‍

Hey Gianfranco, How are you today? Whats happening in the world of Ruff Stuff at the moment?

Hello everyone and thanks a lot for hosting me! I’m doing well, closed in my studio, making some beats, outside is snowing and cold, so it’s a very good sensation to be here.

At the moment I’m working on some new music for 2024, preparing the next Ep on my own label plus a couple of collaborative projects that will see the light next spring. A part from that, always digging to find some new and old interesting music to play in my sets.

You're about to release your second EP on SlothBoogie Recordings... What was it that attracted you to the label and how did the collab with Bress Underground come about?

Yes, this is my second EP on Sloth Boogie and I’m back on the label after 3 years more or less. I met the Sloth Boogie guys few years ago in a party at Sisyphos in Berlin, we were both playing there and we felt a good connection between us. They knew my previous works and asked me if had some fresh material for their label. I send them some tracks and we managed to make the first Ep that went very well.

The process for the second one was a bit longer, as I was busy with other projects in the last few years, but as soon as I send them the track Foundations last summer they immediately told me they want to sign it for a new Ep.

I worked on the second track Sliding Sine as I was thinking that could be a good fit with the first one and then I sent the 2 tracks made together with Bress Underground. We both understood that we had enough material to make a nice record and voilà… the Ep was born.

With Bress Underground we know each other since many years, as we come from the same place in Italy. I really love his productions and last spring I had the opportunity to spend some weeks in Italy in my hometown. It came naturally to meet in the studio with Bress Underground and make some beats together. We both have a similar set-up with the MPC Live playing a central role in our actual productions, so the tracks came out very quickly and I feel they show a good mix between our personal sound. They have a very garage feel, but also some deep and catchy elements that makes them interesting and with a nice dancefloor appeal.

‍Where was the EP made? Can you expand on some of the notable gear/plugins you used on this?

The Ep was made between Italy and Berlin. The A side tracks I made them mostly on the MPC Live and Ableton, using samples and few plug-ins. Foundations as this pad I found on an od Akai library from the 90’s I could put my hands on few months ago and I passed trough my old Mackie mixer that is giving his characteristic dirty sounds to almost all my productions. The bass is a sampled Solid Bass and the drums are all made with samples I selected over the years.

Mostly the same process has been applied to the second track Sliding sine, where the groove has been made completely in Ableton with samples, the bass comes from my long lasting friend the Moog Minitaur, the stab and the disco sample comes from the MPC.

I record everything in Ableton Live and then I have my standard tools for the mix: the Soundtoys Decapitator for some tiny saturation, the Plug-In Alliance Bx-Console SSL 4000 g for Eq and compression, the Kiive Audio Stressor for the drumbus and Izotope Ozone 10 for some additional corrections on the master.

The tracks with Bress Underground were born in his studio in Italy: The Community came out completely from his MPC, he was jamming with it and recording a video. When I saw it, I fell in love with it completely, I asked him to make a track together out of it, so we recorded everything into Ableton Live, we arranged it, added some more elements and mixed it sharing the projects while I was back in Berlin.

Something About It, has been made from scratch during one of our jam together. Here we started on the MPC for the beats and then we added all the synths sounds and the bass via Ableton Live, and mixed it all in the box.

As a producer, what message do you hope to convey through your music? What themes or ideas do you find yourself returning to again and again in your work?

Most of the time I want to make tracks that I can play or I can dance if someone else is playing them.

During the creation process I mentally project myself into the club: is the groove I’m making danceable? If I can visualize myself playing or dancing to it I keep on going, if not I just shut everything down and start again from scratch.

Doing dance music, for me it’s fundamental to have this feeling and often I notice that I return to make the same kind of patterns that makes me feel the groove. For example I always have certain clap pattern in my productions that is not completely straight and it always have a variation at the end of a 2 bar loop.

A very recurring elements in my tracks is also a 909 ride sample. I recorded it years ago from a 909 clone and I passed trough my mixer for that raw feel, I continue to use it and it always brings a lot of energy. I can’t really do a track without my 909 ride.

‍
We hear you're a fan of Mr G who's an inspiration for the sound of this EP. Could you give us your favourite Mr G Track?

Well… if you’re into this kind of raw house and with a techno touch like me, how you can not like Mr. G? He’s the master of this sounds and it’s not a secret that he had a big influence on my sound.

I really admire the way he can bled sounds together, and the kind of sonic palette he’s able to create with just few sounds. That’s really close to the way I interpret dancefloor oriented music: few elements that fits well together are much more powerful on the dancefloor than track filled with many layers of sounds. There’s much more space for making every single sound sit well into he mix and the results are incredible. But this is not an easy task, you need to carefully select the sounds, make them fit together well and arrange them in an interesting way not too repetitive.

Regarding my favorite Mr. G track, that’s a not easy… he’s so prolific that you can’t choose just one track among his huge discography. However if I have to choose one, I will say the one that I’m listening more often at the moment, that is Antipodes. Here you can really understand his mastery in blending samples together.

‍
Whats next for you after your SlothBoogie EP? Can you tell us about any upcoming projects or collaborations you have in the works? Are there any new directions or sounds you're exploring in your music right now?

At the moment I have planned a track on V/A on Aterrall, the label of one of my Berlin friends Carlo, that will include tracks from very good artists like Black Loops, Tour Maubourg, Caleb Jackson, Baloo and Carlo itself, plus much more.

Early in 2024 there will be a split EP with Rogue D on the Italian label Stolen Goods and as I was saying before I’m working on the next Ep on my own label Ruff Stuff Music.

I will continue to jam with Bress Underground in the forthcoming weeks, so you can expect something more from us for sure.

I’m also working on some different music at the moment, coming back to where I started more than 20 years ago with my productions: I’m experimenting again with IDM and Ambient music…maybe I will come out with a new alias focused on this side of music that is the one who shaped my tastes when I was a teenager…. will see!

Hows life In Berlin since your move? Can you give us your top 3 tips by the way?

Life in Berlin is going well even if the city changed so much since I moved here 7 years ago. Unfortunately inflation is hitting hard in Germany and the life cost is increasing very much especially in cities like Berlin where the average salaries are lower than the national average. This is creating an increasing amount of people living in poverty and general sense of insecurity.

Rent prices for apartments are skyrocketing and it’s almost impossible to find an apartment nowadays even if the are construction sites everywhere. There are so much new buildings all over, but with empty apartments to keep the market prices high… sooner or later this bubble will explode.

My 3 tips for Berlin are those:

1 - if you are moving here be sure to have a sort of income or a job, otherwise it will be very hard. There are still opportunities to live by doing music and djing around, but there’s a lot of competition and the fees are very low.

2 - keep in mind that find an apartment is like a full time job… you need to invest a lot of time and energy for it.

3 - networking is easy in the city, so live the clubs, meet people, be kind… you will get different opportunities to get involved with the music business.

Give us some other Italian producers we should be listening to right now.

Hard question.. there are many Italian producers that I admire and of course I also already collaborate with them like Black Loops and Bress Underground.

If I have to make 3 names I will pick producers that comes from Apulia, the place I come from:

First one is St. David that is doing amazing old school flavored House music. He has his very own style, powerful and soulful at the same time, so it’s very natural for me to always have in bag one of his records.

The second one is a very good friend of mine, also coming from my town: Earwax. A very good techno producer with great taste and talent that’s emerging in the techno scene. His Ep Tar 11 on the Tar Hallow label is one of my favorite techno records of the year

Then I would like to mention Nico Lahs another house head from Bari that is doing amazing music under different alias and on very good labels such us Moods & Grooves or Local Talk. His style is very Detroit oriented with an attitude towards soulful sounds that makes his productions the perfect opening tracks for my sets. I really suggest to check his “Got Me Coming Back” , soo good!

Finally, Which are the three records that you’ve been putting in your bag recently without hesitating?

DJ Honesty - Camarque EP (Syncrophone Recordings)