DJ Danko is looking for the perfect beat.
Cloud Danko, or DJ Danko, is a well known name in Italian black music scene, for several reasons. First and foremost, for the sophistication of its sound, the result of the never-ending practice of digging in the crates of which our friend is adept. Take a look at his social media and you will understand. Secondly, by the ability and the taste to create true soundscapes, unique atmospheres that set to make your listening a real voyage into sound, beyond epochs and genres. Even Nicola Conte, the famous jazz musician, adopted Danko as a collaborator, certifying tha the guy is highly skilled in keeping a low profile low and a high voltage. Ladies and gents, today with us for a new Wood’d Vibes > our good friend Cloud Danko!
Ciao Cloud: in a few words, who are you? Would you like to introduce yourself?
My name is Claudio, also known as Cloud Danko, I’m 34 and I live in Bari. I’m a deejay and record collector, mainly of funk, hip hop, soul, jazz, afrobeat and black music, generally speaking.
And how did you start with music? We know you collect a lot of original vinyls…
In my family no one is particularly passionate about music, so no one has really transmitted this love to me. It has been born naturally since I was a child, so my mother bought me a small “Penny” turntable, which I still keep jealously, to give me the opportunity to listen to the 7 inch records of cartoons I so much worshiped. At the age of 13, however, I had the first impact with the Hip Hop culture, and to this day I never stopped the hop. I was immediately fascinated by the discipline of deejaying and for this reason my parents decided to buy me a pair of belt turntables and a terrible mixer, instead of the classic scooter that all my friends had. Probably it made them feel more comfortable having at home to train as a deejay rather than in the streets. I will thank them for life for that.
Scratch has been a motivation for years, and I must say that I also attained a decent level so far. Scratching has been also the main reason behind one of the most important encounters with one of my closest friends, and source of musical knowledge: my man Mirko Dj Argento. It was through his guidance that I’ve started listening to funk and soul music, in addition to the rap. He gave me the first tips from a “collector” perspective. We’ve spent a lot of workout days doing scratch and spinning for my town’s disco stores, and not only that. So it’s basically his fault if I’m thirsty of vinyls in original press today. Let me say that the point of collecting “original press only” is a double-edged weapon, because if your music library is prestigious, on the other hand you already know that some of the disks you want, you can’t afford them. That’s why in recent years, especially after seeing the collections of various vinyl addicts, I can tell you that the perfect collector does not exist. Unless you have a wealth of hundreds of thousands of euros you can spend. That said, when prices remain to some extent, I always try to get the original copy, but in some cases I can cop with some reprint.
We know your hometown, Bari, is still an incredible spot for jazz and black sounds. How you would describe the situation right now?
During the Nineties 90, Bari was one of the black music capitals in Italy. Inspired by the London movement of that period, where acid jazz had exploded thanks to characters such as Gilles Peterson and Eddie Piller, my city has developed a great number of musicians, DJs and black music enthusiasts. All that movement was enclosed in three simple letters: FEZ by Nicola Conte, a club and a scene itself which was supported by other enthusiasts, some of whom are still active today. The development that had taken place in the 1990s, however, was a bit off at the beginning of the new millennium, when many “temporal” or simple fashion enthusiasts of the time gave away the records that were so cool 10 years earlier. Luckily enough, me, Dj Argento and other friends, we have taken advantage of this wave of excellent albums that we found at flea markets for just a few bucks, to increase our vinyl archives.
During the following years the city had some interesting situations where you could listen to good music, but always for a narrow niche, until in 2009 along with other friends like Vito Santamato and Vincenzo Altini we’ve created a crew called “Black Vibrations”. We’ve started to spin Funk, Soul, Jazz and Rap again in many local spots, also thanks to the BUG (Black Urban Grooves) association, promoting and hosting artists such as Grandmaster Flash, Ronny Jordan, Africa Bambaataa, Snowboy and many others, just re-igniting the outbreak that had switched off in early 2000. This situation gave way to young people of the new generation, but above all to many old school deejays to reactivate and resume to propose music to the city. In Bari, today, you can find interesting situations. For a few years a new jazz label has also emerged: A.MA Records by Antonio Martino, one of the pillars of the FEZ, which is producing great works that I personally invite everyone to listen.
To make a wrap, I can tell you that Bari, and Puglia generally speaking, today it is always one of the best regions of Italy in terms of black sound, also thanks to the big impact that various summer festivals and gigs are having. Especially in the last decade, we have hosted stratospheric artists. I invite everyone to spend their holidays in our region, because in addition to stunning scenery and beautiful locations, you will definitely have the chance to hear good music.
Also, you are now collaborating with jazz legend Nicola Conte, former Blue Note recording artist…how did it all start?
I am very happy about the friendship with Nicola Conte, and I am honored with the artistic esteem he has for me. Everything started a few years ago, as Nicola probably did not see in me the average music aficionado, but someone who tried to get to the bottom in search of the right sound, the one that comes from the soul, the one who is known to very few people. Our project is called “ Love Flower”, and by its name you can understand that the concept is to divulge the spiritual message that comes from the sound of African matrix, which has poured into jazz, soul and funk. In addition to the various mixes that you can hear on Mixcloud, we are starting to bring the project to the clubs, trying to give a sort of continuity to the FEZ project, with an evolution.
Speaking about inspiration: what are the main influences of your sound nowadays?
This is always a difficult question for anyone like me, who’s looking every day for new or old songs never heard before or forgotten. I can tell you that in recent years my plays have focused on Spiritual Jazz and Afrobeat but also to a lot of World music with funk and soul influences. Artists such as Pharoah Sanders, John and Alice Coltrane, Joe Henderson, Sun Ra, Tony Allen, Fela Kuti and many other musicians from all over the world. One of the last pearls I’ve entered in my collection is a 7 inch of Indonesian singer Irni Yusnita containing a killer version of Papa Was A Rolling Stone from the Temptations, sung in Indonesian, virtually unavailable. There is no trace on the internet. Very important, then, was the encounter with my companion Daniela, who was also genius of music, who opened me to listening to more modern sounds I already knew, but to which I probably did not give the right attention, being focused on sacred monsters mentioned before. I’m talking about current artists such as Thundercat, MNDSGN, Anderson.Paak, and so on.
What are you currently listening to?
Right now I’m playing a lot the first album from Ruby Rushton, Two For Joy. This is an album recorded in 2011, but released in 2015. It’s an English quartet formed by Tenderlonious (Ed Cawthorne) on the saxophone, Nick Walters on the trumpet, Aiden Shepherd on Keyboards and Yussef Dayes (of the late deceased project Yussef Kamaal) on drums. It’s a great fusion between jazz, hip hop and electronics.
Where you draw your main inspirations for the mix you have prepared for Wood’d?
The inspiration for the mix prepared for Wood’d has come from the listening of recent years, among new soundtracks and vintage albums. Different times, different generations, different technologies, but a single message. I tried to find a connection between different eras, trying not to put a date on the music you are listening to, almost to make it seem timeless. A bit like wood: in all ages wood has been a symbol of design, from ancient to modern times, and it continues to be one of the most used and trendy materials. The important thing is to find the right connection between past and present to project it in the future.