The World Watches MoBlack and His Exportable Afro House (DJ Mag Italia -Translated from Italian)

It will be a hot summer for the Neapolitan DJ. And infinitely interesting when it flows into a hot autumn

Mimmo Falcone is MoBlack , someone who immediately believed in afro house so much that he became its disciple. He left from Sant’Antonio Abate, a town half an hour’s journey from the city of Naples, with the intention of conquering the world. He did it with his house, his grooves, his experience of him. He did it above all with passion, bravado and cazzimma that only those who live in the shadow of Vesuvius can boast.

Yet, twenty years ago Mimmo lived in Ghana . You ran a tomato processing plant. The degree with full marks in Oriental Languages ​​had remained in the drawer, as if it belonged to a temporary parenthesis. Mimmo in Africa began to be interested in more and more ancestral African sounds producing songs of a genre that still did not find a place in the playlists and wish lists of fellow DJs. Ten years later Mimmo gives life to the MoBlack project and his record label MoBlack Records. The rest is history, made up of DJs who adore him and insiders who compete for him. We talked about it for a long time with him.

For you, afro house represents the materialization of an idea of ​​sound that you already had in mind well before 2013.

Over time, the sound has shaped itself to become afro melodic . It always takes time to get people used to new things and to change their musical tastes: we are now in a historical phase in which this genre is taking over also because its ethnic matrix creates a common language with young people from all over the world . Thus it is possible to create the same vibe in a party in Europe, in the Americas, in Africa, all over the world.

As a producer and label manager, do you spend more time with the label’s artists or yourself?

More to others. Every week we come out with new releases and we are always active in the creation and development of new musical projects. A collaborative production with Africanism (Bob Sinclar) will be released in August : it will be titled Africanism & MoBlack present DJ Gregory ‘Tourment d’Amour’ (remixes) and includes a remix by Afrotech and Amapiano of the DJ Gregory classic.

Is producing music still the best business card for a DJ?

Yes. I think that’s the case because productions are considered the fastest way to get ahead: you produce records to become a DJ and play around the world. Few really like to lock themselves in the studio to produce , especially in the summer.

Are there precise skills to make the difference between djs?

Personality, your own style or profile, if you prefer, and a vision. Mixing and producing music is becoming easier and more accessible to everyone, so only personality and one’s own musical style, to be understood as a refined taste in the selections, can make the difference in the sector.

What potential do radio broadcasters have today in terms of communication and in the midst of the social era?

The radio always has the power to influence the musical tastes of the youngest, although today there are many other ways to listen to music, just think of social networks like TikTok. I think offering more dance genres is the key to retaining listeners . Especially by those radio stations specialized in electronic music.

How to propose a sound like afro house through radio stations?

I am convinced that good music reaches everyone and at any time, regardless of musical genre. A valid speech therefore also for afro house: if the radios know how to offer quality tracks, they will certainly get excellent ratings. It all lies in knowing how to choose an appropriate selection according to the time slot : afro house more than any other genre has many nuances ranging from soulful to techno, passing through deep, progressive and melodic.

Meanwhile, club music from the nineties to today has greatly changed. As?

In the 1990s there was a clear distinction between underground and commercial music. Not anymore, for two reasons: today’s young people are more open and willing to listen to everything and to find entertainment in different ways and situations, a trend that has increasingly taken hold after Covid; on the strictly musical front this barrier has fallen thanks to our afro house and melodic style, which is precisely a meeting point between commercial and underground . A genre that is placed in this intermediate range and is able to satisfy everyone. Now club music is less underground than in the nineties: it’s a fact.

Should we still be afraid of what sells or is it better to stay holed up in the comfort zone of the underground and clubbing?

We no longer have to be afraid of what sells. All electronic music is undergoing exponential growth , so even staying in the comfort zone of the underground you can sell. And viceversa.

What, on the other hand, would the recording market need today, in terms of management and creativity?

Surely to innovate, while in other countries we are always at the forefront. All this is also reflected in Italian artists: we find more and more space abroad and not in our country.

The concept of summer for an international DJ changes from country to country. How do you think?

At any time of the year it is summer somewhere in the world, with many beach clubs that are increasingly taking over other venues. Ibiza included. This summer I will play in Greece, Albania, Lebanon, Morocco, Egypt, Belgium at Tomorrowland and I will be back in the US, especially in Denver and Miami.

And your autumn will be hot too, like a summer that never ends. What will boil in the pot?

My releases and those of my label, the showcases for the first ten years of MoBlack Records and my personal evenings. I will be present as every year at the Amsterdam Dance Event with my temporary club, as for many years now.

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