Constantino Padovano may not be a name that rings a bell but how about Mix Master or Funky Junction. What about 740 Boys "Shimmy Shimmy" or Danzel's "Pump It Up?" With over 30 years spinning all around the world, Constantino blends his various musical production styles while reaching out to audiences of all types. Its rare to find a DJ who can spin 6 hour big room sets just as easy as he plays the sexiest lounge sets.
DJ Ron Slomowicz: So you've been DJing for a long time, what inspired you to
start?
Constantino Padovano: My parents and I moved here from Italy in 1976. That
was the beginning, when people were starting to get into disco. It was the right time – a
different decade from now and there were many more opportunities back then than a DJ would
have today.
RS: That seems odd that in its infancy disco offered more opportunities to DJs.
Constantino Padovano: I think there were better opportunities than today
because back then it was not only about disco music, there were many different styles –
disco, new wave, Paradise Garage sound and the beginning of the house music. There was
more space for work and there was more opportunities. Today it's kind of stuck in one
thing, DJs have one sound and that's the end of it.
RS: So you think it's bad today because people play one genre and stick to it?
Constantino Padovano: At least that's that what they are preaching, it seems
to me like they're almost too afraid to try something new. Back then I never had that
problem. Working at the Danceteria, I would start the night with something, maybe acid, and
then end with new wave. People enjoyed the music and the vibe and it was thrilling and
unique. Today you don't find that anymore, you're playing house or techno or tribal, so it
gets a little bit boring from my end. I like to be a little bit more funky, I like to be
open and a bit more creative. When I travel overseas, I see the same things. It's almost
like they're being afraid and they categorize themselves.
RS: So now when you DJ out, do you normally do a two-hour set or do you spin a
four-hour set?
Constantino Padovano: Tonight, I'm starting at twelve and I'm finishing at
six. Tomorrow, I'm starting at ten and I finish at eight.
RS: So in that set when you're doing six to ten hours, are you trying to do that
kind of wave like you used to?
Constantino Padovano: Always, always. I think it's the best way to keep the
whole dance floor alive, you have to give that wave and flow of music. You cannot be
repetitive for eight hours, it's impossible and it's not going to work. You're going to
lose the dance floor.
RS: I have been waiting for someone to say that in an interview for such a long
time. You go by Mix Master and Funky Junction – what's the difference?.
Constantino Padovano: .When I started in the production world, I realized it
would be the only way for people to remember me. Being only a DJ then you could become
popular but you'll always be a local DJ. There's no way in this world you would be able to
more unless you were a Tony Humphries and he has been doing that for fifty years, so
everybody knows him, so the majority needed to be a producer. So I first started, I
started with the name Mix Master because back then it was all about editing. I was able to
take tapes, reel-to-reels, and cassettes to edit songs, put them together and introduce my
own interpretation of the record. I used to be classified as deep house everything was
about being deep, funky, soulful or a lot of vocals. I started working with Buddah Bar,
Café de Mar, and Hed Kandi , so that was the interpretation and the kind of sound I was
representing every time I would have signed a production or remix as Constantino Mix Master
Padovano.
Then back in the year 2000, the whole sound needed a shake up and that's when I started
producing progressive. "Voices" come around and that was a huge hit but it was a whole new
direction for me so I had to come up with a different name. That's why I started with
Funky Junction which was more tribal, progressive and electro, it was another side of me.
So from that moment on I was working under two different names, Mix Master Padovano for
loungey, soulful and depp - what I call small rooms. Funky Junction was more like
mainstream big rooms - more dark, more electro, more tribal.
