From her memorable sets at Burning Man to her live recordings with Mixmag Lab or recently at The BPM Festival, Francesca Lombardo keep surprising everyone by her versatile selections and her skills behind the decks.
2016 has been a great year for her and when someone like Uner says: “I wanna see Francesca tonight because I never saw her play” you gotta think, that lady must be special. She has a new remix that just came out on her label Echolette Records, with an original song by ultra spiritual Birds of Mind, called “Ankara” and at DHA we love it all.
We sat down with Francesca just before her shows at The BPM Festival allowing us a flash interview in the middle of a very busy schedule! Topics ranged from her massive gig at DC 10, her upcoming live set preparations, the place of the female DJs in the dance music scene and how she prepares for a gigantic show like Ya’ah Muul in Mexico.
“Good food with friends to put me in a positive mood and get me excited!”
2016 was quite a big year for you. What do you think were some key points in your success?
Despite everything that happened culturally and politically, 2016 was an incredible year for me in a professional sense. The launch of my new Echoe label stands-out and I’m happy to say we managed four releases in the year, all of which I am really proud of! I played some amazing shows around the world but I will never forget DJ’ing DC-10’s terrace for Circoloco, a massive career highlight for me.
I believe this is not your first BPM Festival…which one was the first?
You’re right, I first went in 2012 and am so pleased to be back, such a fun party!
You are playing at Ya’ah Muul along side Carl Cox, Art Department and more…how do you prepare for such an event?
Good food with friends to put me in a positive mood and get me excited! This always helps me connect with the crowd and be receptive to what they are feeling!
What makes the BPM festival so special?
Playa Del Carmen is such a beautiful place to be at, amazing weather and a lovely beach, you can feel this in everyone dancing, they are all in such a good mood! The production at BPM is great too and it’s nice catching up with other friends in the scene who come to play, a proper Mexican reunion!
Do you think female DJs have all the attention they deserve in the dance music scene?
Yes, and no. But this is a question that I have been asked many times, which shows me that awareness towards it has been raised. If female DJs still do not have the attention they deserve, then I really believe they will soon. I feel I have been lucky throughout most of my career, surrounded by good people that have shown me love, so I cannot complain about this!
What can we expect from Francesca Lombardo in 2017?
More music on my own and other labels. I’ll also be focusing on my album project, which is less dance orientated, taking influences from a wider musical spectrum with lots of my own vocals and you can hear my classical training in there too. I’m also spending lots of time on my live show, fine-tuning it. Really excited about 2017!!!
Francesca Lombardo will appear at SXM Festival 2017 in St Marten (15-19 March). Find information and tickets HERE
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Photo Credit: aLIVE Coverage for TheBPMFestival.com
