GOTTA

One of the most stylish multi taskers around, Philippe Arcostanzo pays attention to sensitivity and emotions when working with somone. As a DJ, he is GOTTA, and as the head honcho of GOTTA Records he also compose, and is adept behind the keys.

N-F : When was your first ever gig and what was your weapon of choice back then

G : I’ve been playing and performing since I was six years old…but if I think about my first paid gig, I was around 18 years old and it was a jazz concert with my own quartet. I played the piano in the Venue, in Marseille (France), the city where I was born.

N-F :What do you use now (instrument wise)

G: Fender Rhodes and the grand piano are my top preferences. Other than that, I play a Nord Stage as my main keyboard, and as synthesizer, I have a Mopho4 from Dave Smith Instrument. I, also, recently purchased an analog Synth, called Sixtrak from SequentialCircuits.

N-F :Are you particulars when it comes to riders? What would you usually request for?

G: As pianist, the instrument is very important and it can affect the way you play… We don't always have the opportunity to carry it from place to place, as opposed to a guitarist or a sax player. It’s important to request 2/3 options for model options in the rider. Usually (Korg Sv1 – Nord – Motif 88,). The most important thing for me is to have a weighted-keys piano as the main key with good hammer action with a good piano and Rhodes sound. Sometimes you have an older keyboard with good keys, but poor sound, in this case, I bring my laptop with Mainstage, and use my own sound.

N-F: Any festivals, venues that are in your bucket list, that you always dream to play for and why?

G: There are a lot of great places and festivals I would love to perform! If I'm a bit selective, it would be an honor to play at Montreux Jazz Festival. This festival has become one of the most culturally significant events in live music‘s history….the biggest and best artist have played there. I love Summer Stage in Central Park, for the ambience and energy of the crowd. It would be cool to play The Roots Picnic in Philadelphia, managed by one of my favorite all time hip-hop band, The Roots and QuestLove. I recently heard about the first annual Rhodes Festival happening this month! It would be great to play there as it's all about the Fender Rhodes piano.

N-F : You tend to do a lot of remixes, how do you select the tracks that you want to remix, or do you get approached by the artists?

G : It depends…every situation is unique. Either the artist's company approaches me or if I’m inspired by

their work, I reach out to the artist. For me the vocals are crucial and it’s what inspires me. I need to feel the vocals to be able to do work with the track, irrespective of the genre of music.

Gotta is currently working on music for several movies, advertisements and video games. Be on the lookout for his future projects. Visit his soundcloud page here https://soundcloud.com/gottarecords