Interviews

An Exclusive Interview with SofaTalk

SofaTalk, the innovative Italian artist, draws inspiration from a diverse array of genres, including house, neo-soul, jazz, broken beat,

By RaveArts Staff

February 27, 2025

SofaTalk, the innovative Italian artist, draws inspiration from a diverse array of genres, including house, neo-soul, jazz, broken beat, UK garage, bass, drum & bass, breaks, and downtempo. This one-man project has rapidly established itself as a respected force in contemporary electronic music, skillfully blending classic influences with cutting-edge electronic sounds to create a distinctive production style. As the founder of Cognitiva Records, SofaTalk also oversees the artistic direction of “Cognitiva All Star,” a series of itinerant parties across Europe that showcase a curated lineup of talented artists connected to the vibrant electronic music scene.

How many years have you been a DJ / producer?

I started to get passionate about DJ’ing in the 90s at the same time as sound design. After years of experimentation and studying sound synthesis I set up my first real home recording studio in 2013, my first album was released the following year.

Your new album ‘The Souls Code’ is out this month, can you tell us more about the album, why now, its ethos and inspiration?

This is my third album, five years after “South Side” released on “Broken District” and 9 years after the first “Diforisma”, on my Cognitiva Records.

The album is made up of 8 tracks that blend together different sounds including broken beat, UK garage, Detroit house, breaks, dub…I never follow a well-defined line in my productions, I try to find an alchemy between global sounds and rhythms.

It all started about a year and a half ago, I wanted to focus exclusively on a complete, intimate project that could tell something, a sort of storytelling, a journey through various “sound cultures”. I needed to experiment with sounds and rhythmic parts that I had not yet explored. I was therefore able to work in a very creative way, including songs that were less dancefloor oriented or with unconventional arrangements and compositional structure.

This album is the result of a very demanding and creatively very exciting work, I hope that the album arrives above all transmits positive vibrations to listeners.

Link: https://oathcreations.bandcamp.com/album/the-soul-s-code

In the studio, what’s your set-up?

My studio is always in a continuous morphological change, over the years I have changed things, but the creative process always starts from my MacBook connected to an Arturia keylab61 midikeyboard and an Akai pmc live. I work very well with Ableton live on which I create and record all the arrangements. Over the years I have collected several vintage machines such as: Roland Juno 106, Oberheim Matrix 6, Moog subphatty, Arp Odissey, Nord Rack 1, Korg M1, Roland Jx3p which I use a lot in my productions, then I have a Nord electro 4 with which I play all the electric piano parts and a Yamaha vertical acoustic piano which I am very fond of.

What’s been your biggest challenge as a DJ and music producer?

The biggest challenge was to be appreciated for my music even by artists that I respected the most, and followed for a long time. I must say that I am very satisfied with my artistic path, I have a great relationship with all the labels with which I have released and over the years I have been able to collaborate with many producers and musicians who have certainly made me grow in terms of quality.

Can you tell us one album you really have always loved (one that is not your own) and why.

There are some albums that I really loved; I have a hard time choosing one in particular but maybe “Black Market” by Weather Report is that album that I could never stop listening to.