AS a producer, Piero Pirupa isn’t one who sticks to the same formula.

His recent run of releases across Elrow, Glasgow Underground, Armada SBTRKT, VIVa, Crosstown Rebels and more recently, Solotoko, have each shown a very different side to the Italian’s style and sound, and this is reflected in his live sets too. Ahead of a headline B2B set at EGG with Leon, his recent Elrow-collaborator, we caught up with Piero Pirupa to find out just how London and the UK has influenced his career, and how he keeps up with such a hectic touring schedule…

Hi Piero, thanks for talking to us today. You’ve had a busy start to 2019 with touring and releasing music, what have been your highlights so far?

January was super – I had an amazing US tour: played for the first time in Utah, Salt Lake City and it went off, San Francisco, Miami, Orlando with Max Chapman for Kaluki Showcase and El Paso. All the gigs were amazing with great crowds, I wasn’t expecting it – the scene in America has grown a lot in the past months. I ended the month playing at Amnesia Milan and for the guys behind Kappa Futur Festival in Turin, both gigs were amazing, I love to play for them. February started with Fabrik Madrid and was one for the books, what a club. Hell yeah, it was a great start of the new year, unbelievable.

You’ve played shows in the US, Italy and Spain already and now you’re coming to London to play at EGG, how do you find the travelling? What tips would you recommend to get through tough travel schedules?

Eat and drink good, healthy food if you can, and don’t stress a lot – just enjoy the traveling and the gigs. When I started touring many years ago I was more anxious, eating loads of fast food and getting drunk so many times during my gigs and it wasn’t good for my body and soul, I was a rookie. Now, in the past 3/4 years I totally changed my mindset, I’ve become more professional and take care more of my body and soul – I know my limits very well and don’t want to risk it any more, I just control myself 100%.

What are your experiences of playing in London? Can you tell us a fond memory you have of the place? 

I remember I played b2b with Riva Starr at EGG in 2013, we did 10 hours back to back, it was a crazy session – I was fucked up, I was a kid, I went to dance many times in the dance floor while I was playing and other crazy stuff. But it was really an unforgettable night.

London has a long history with underground dance music, are there any other cities which have had a big impact on you as an artist and you career?  

London and the UK in general help me a lot; I learnt a lot from UK DJs and producers, all the 90s scene and early 2000, from Underworld to Carl Cox, from The Chemical Brothers to Groove Armada. But there are other cities that influenced me a lot too, like New York, Chicago and Detroit – the whole US scene gave me a lot and then there’s Ibiza where I spent many summers in order to listen to my favourite DJs.

You’ve been playing shows off the back of a big release with Leon – ‘Our Sound’ has been all over the radio and received great support – are there any particular DJs you look to get support and feedback from, who do you look up to?

Depends on the releases I make – I don’t only do tech house, but also house, techno, minimal… I just try to take as much support as possible by doing different styles of music because I wish I was supported by everyone.

‘Our Sound’ is just one of many examples of your varied production styles. How do you decide what style you’re going for? Does it occur naturally in the studio or do you spend time planning it out?

Even here it depends, I alternate between sessions where I am inspired and where I already have an idea in mind to be developed, while other times it is all natural, at random… Just follow the flow and the vibes.

Are there any future releases you can tell us about, what do you have coming up?

I’ve got some releases coming in the next few months – an EP on Solotoko, Sonny Fodera’s label, which is two tech house cuts coming the end of February. March I’m back on Crosstown Rebels/Rebellion in collaboration with Alex Kennon, also with two great house / deep tech cuts.

Finally, describe what people can expect from your gig at EGG in three words:

Dance All Night.

Catch Pirupa at EGG tonight. For more information click HERE.