By Ian MacKenzie
Enzo Siragusa is something of an institution in London’s expansive nightlife scene.
With his FUSE night and imprint (as well as its sister, Infuse), Enzo Siragusa quickly built up an intensely loyal following, evolving its own unique dub-house sound which the FUSE faithful call ‘Fusic’, pushing Enzo’s sound worldwide along with other reputable labels who have come calling for his production and remix talent, including tracks This & That and Welt Recordings.
Enzo is not only a Londoner, though, he is also very much in-demand DJ across the globe, with notable gigs for ENTER, Circo Loco, and the much missed Bar25 in Berlin, and, on 28 February, Enzo brings his sound to Amsterdam alongside the one and only Ricardo Villalobos, as well as Apollonia and more, as HYTE and FUSE descend on the Warehouse Elementenstraat.
Anticipating that event, and what is surely to not be Enzo’s last time in the city, we caught up with him to speak on all things FUSE, HYTE, production and more. Enzo Siragusa also has a new EP out on his FUSE imprint, entitled “Sanctuary”, available now in both digital and vinyl versions.
“It´s no secret that jungle has been a big influence”
When did you begin releasing music?
My first track was Himba Raindance around 2008, but it took a few years to release it. I couldn´t find a home for it until 2010/2011 when Nima Gorji signed it. I started producing a long time before that but I was just learning, so probably around 2001. I started playing around with stuff but the final product didn´t come until 2008.
Tell me about Fuse.
We started Fuse in November 2008 as a weekly small Sunday after-party but it´s grown into something much bigger over time. Back then, we opened at 11 in the morning and went on all day. Playing every week in the same venue really shaped our sound which was deep and dubby. If you listen to our back catalogue you can really hear it. As we’ve evolved as DJs and played in different places, our sound has naturally changed also. I think when you’re a weekly resident at a club it really affects your sound.
Tell me about your drum and bass influences…
It´s no secret that jungle has been a big influence and you can hear it in my sound now. Record labels like Good Looking, Moving Shadow and Ram Records have been a massive influence on my sound, so there is a lot of bass in my productions. If you listen to my recent ‘Desire’ track you’ll hear the junglist in me: the basslines and pad are very much mid 90’s drum and bass sounds. You’ll know it when you hear it.
How do you approach making music?
I’m sampling a lot of my old records, not just drum and bass, but a lot of old house, garage and 90’s rave stuff, thats where I get a lot of inspiration from.
What are you using in the studio right now?
My sound is about beats and bass, so use a lot of drum machines. We have a Jomox 888, MFB Tanzbar, Vermona, TR8, and 3 different Korg Electribes along with an SH-101 and JU-06. I love using the new Korg Electribe 2, easy and fun to use. The new Roland JU-06 that just came out is great too. I’ve got 4 machines synced through the ERM Midiclock. This clock allows me to jam the machines and change the swings of each one to get some interesting grooves. I’m a DJ who makes music, not a music producer as such. My approach to making music is very much how I approach DJing, creating tracks in much the same way as a set. All my tracks are different and dependent on my mood, just like when you play as DJ.
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