There are some artists who are special to us. Among these, a front row seat is for the Italian Dj and producer Leon (aka Ruggero). Let’s say it straight away, between the Ibiza by Night team and Leon (in the picture below) there is a great friendship, made up of parties, after parties, nights together in the consoles around the world…We have known each other since the early years of Music On and our friendship never ended.
And, as good friends, we met and talked about music, the particular moment that the entertainment sector is experiencing, and future projects.
IBN: Who is Leon, tell us something about you…
LEON: “I was born in Italy, and I live here in Abruzzo with my family and my friends.I am a simple boy, but I can never stop, from morning to night… I am always doing something, I can rest little, between music , family, sport, friends. I like to read and I like movies, but also to eat well and drink something interesting. I’ve been a DJ for a long time, more than 20 years now.I started when I was 15 and now I’m 40 , I really love traveling and being in contact with people. When I play it makes me feel really good, even if then going back home and having your peace is another important thing to recharge and relax. I started as a DJ and then I became a producer , I have been resident of several important clubs and I have played in the best festivals and clubs in the world except in Australia where I never wanted to go because the journey is too long for me, I break my balls. I had the pleasure and the good fortune to play with many important artists and to have produced several hit houses and tech houses on very important labels. I like animals I have had several dogs and lately a cat, I love the sea and I don’t really like the mountains. I like to drive and I’m not a racist, that’s more or less you know everything about me!”
IBN: Well with all these informations we could stop the interview right now, but we want to continue…let’s talk about the white island…Ibiza and Leon, tell us about your relationship with the island…
LEON: “My relationship with the island started in 2000. It was the first time I went to Ibiza, I went to Space Ibiza and I said… “wow”. I immediately began to feel that magic, and from 2000 to today I have never failed… 20 long years of love with Ibiza. The first ten I went to Ibiza to hear the DJs I preferred, I met people and I understood how it worked, then the last ten instead I played in all the Ibizan clubs and of course as a resident of Music On. All the details of these twenty years you will soon find them in the bookstore, (laughs)… I could write a book, but I know very well that… what happens in Ibiza remains in Ibiza. All my years in Ibiza were unforgettable. The island gives you so many emotions, captures you, takes you where she wants, Ibiza becomes your woman, your drug, your fixed thought, is a playground for everyone, in my opinion Santa Claus lives there!”
IBN: Ibiza is an island where everyone has special anecdotes, do you want to tell us your own?
LEON: “One anecdote in particular that I can now tell (laughs) is this… it was the night before the opening of MUSIC ON and when I say opening it means THE FIRST BIG NIGHT, when everything was about to begin. I was together with Marco Carola the dj of the terrace, together also to Marc Antona. The night before instead of staying quiet in bed, I went around between clubs and parties and went to bed the following day around lunch, so much so that I was about not to wake up to go to play at the premiere of Music On. Everyone was looking for me, phone off, at I don’t know who’s house, no memories, lost… they were thinking of calling someone else in my place and kicking me out before the beginning … Luckily they tracked me down, they got really mad at me, but … at the end they forgave me and I went up to the terrace to play … everything else is history!”
IBN: Marco Carola wanted you by his side for years at his parties. What does the Music On experience represent for you?
LEON: “Marco Carola has been taking me around the world for 10 years now, and I’ve been a resident of his Music On party for nine years. This thing still excites me, and it has definitely made me a better DJ. Marco is an impeccable artist, being around him has taught me a lot, he has taught me both technically and humanly. Music On is a great project, and there have been years in which we were fixed in Ibiza, New York, Miami and Dubai… they have been incredible moments of great notoriety and success. For me having been there is really a lot. I can’t wait for everything starts again to get excited and to play with Marco.”
IBN: You have played in many places in the world. What is the indelible party in your memories for you?
LEON: “Well it’s a bit difficult, there are some places that are very special like Sunwaves, Amnesia, DC10, Fabric, Space in Miami but also South America … There are several parties in my mind that will never go away, but maybe a closing party a few years ago with me and Marco Carola on the terrace at Amnesia Ibiza is the one who is on the podium in first place! MEMORABLE!”
IBN: The last months between the lockdown and the interruption of the holidays have been complex, how did you live them?
LEON: “Initially I lived them well, because I broke off a very stressful routine. I was always around… travel, hotels, stations, airports, clubs, often in a hurry, and things don’t always go well. So I was at home with my family and I also started to produce tracks with another spirit with more tranquility, mental freedom, without stress and things came out that I hadn’t done for years. But then I started to be afraid, to understand that it was going to be a difficult year for my sector and for myself. I did not fall into depression, but I often thought about the future and did not see anything good. But fortunately at the end of July until the middle of August something was unlocked and I was lucky enough to have several beautiful dates, with Marco Carola, with Jamie Jones, a mid-August at the beach, my birthday party also. In short, I had fun and I wanted it, but then now we are almost like before, the second wave and I’m scared. I hope everything passes as soon as possible, the world of the night and entertainment has been hit hard. At times we have been treated as invisible and this is shameful, our sector is full of people who WORK because it is a job like any other, but our politicians have just forgotten it, it is a shame I repeat!”
IBN: How do you imagine the clubbing scene after this substantial phase of the lockdown? Will there be any changes or will everything resume as before?
LEON: “The topic is delicate, I have thought about many things in recent months, but in the end the truth is that I just don’t know how it will be, at worst everything will be as before !!! At best … more space for those who deserve, more space for residents, less costs in general, less money for international DJs, more attention to sound systems, consoles, bars, the aesthetics of a club… more attention to selection at the entrance, more collaboration between the promoters and less trust in the bookings agencies. It would be time for the promoter together with his trusted collaborators to do the programming of his LOCAL and not totally entrust it to the bookings agencies that know nothing about your club. They don’t breathe the same air, they don’t know your sacrifices, they don’t know your territory, your customers, your ideas and beliefs. Italy needs to be more like London and Berlin where DJs go to play there because they like to go there and not because they put fame and money first! Perhaps when the covid passes, people will have lost the desire to go wild on the track, so it will be the right time to re-educate them, then propose other types of concepts.”
IBN:We know the DJ and producer Leon, instead the “Ruggero” in private life what person is he?
LEON: “Exactly, in my private life I am a different person than I was 10 years ago, when I had much more time for myself and without many responsibilities, since my son Isaiah was born and I went to live with my partner and his daughter, like you can well see I have a large family that gives me a hard time, keeps me very busy. However overall a fairly normal private life, I dedicate a lot of time to music and childrens, in fact my partner gets angry because she says that I have never some time for her (laughs) anyway I love all this. The family gives me the strength to go on. The family believe in the things I do and put body and soul into it they are the beauty of the world.”
IBN: What suggestions would you give to a young Dj who wants to become like “Leon”?
LEON: “Useful tips could concern passion, tenacity, courage, devotion, sacrifice. It also takes time to get to be a good DJ and producer, experience matters a lot, because it fills, enriches your skills and talents, today it’s easier to show off thanks to social media. You can be yourself or someone else. But in music being fake is something horrible that sooner or later comes out, so I recommend always being yourself. Then I recommend doing a lot of musical research, and not being afraid to discover new musical worlds, versatility in a DJ today is more important to me than technique.”
IBN: Tell us something about your future projects…
LEON: “Future projects are sure, and they are important, a track with Pirupa released on Toolroom Rec is already climbing the Beatport chart and is now in the top ten. Then there will be my long awaited first release on Jamie Jones Hot Creations label and some other cool stuff about com label Do Not Sleep, Moan and Council Rec. There is also a new streaming for an important Milan production, it will be really special, and a podcast for a very popular radio show that will need no introduction! We have many projects ready to start … if only this Covid went to fuck up !!!”
Thanks Leon!
#leon #ibiza #ibizabynight
