After an absolutely high-energy set at the Atmosphere Stage at 4 PM, we met BIIANCO backstage, still blown away by the energy they had brought to the stage. Even more impressive was the energy they were radiating after finally achieving a long-held dream: playing Tomorrowland for the first time. New York-born and now based in Berlin, BIIANCO has been a musician since childhood. After exploring different genres, they found their perfect fit in techno: emotional, acid-driven, high-energy, and deeply rooted in hardware and storytelling.
Interview With BIIANCO:
Hello everyone, I’m very happy and proud to be here with BIIANCO! How are you feeling after your amazing gig at Tomorrowland?
Oh my God, I’m on cloud nine. I’m a bit tired though. Yeah, but it was amazing.
The crowd was dancing a lot, and they were screaming. So how does it feel? And actually, have you been here as a guest before? Had you ever dreamed of playing here?
Yeah, actually I’ve never been here as a guest, so it’s my first time at Tomorrowland, and it’s also my first time playing. But when I first started DJing, I had this manager who said to me, “Well, do you want to be playing the underground, or do you want to be playing Tomorrowland?” And I was like, “I’d like to play Tomorrowland.” And he was so surprised that I said that. I was like, “Yeah, I don’t think you’re the right manager for me.” So yeah, I would say that when I first started DJing, I was like, “I’d love to play Tomorrowland.”
Was it on your bucket list, let’s say?
Yeah, definitely.
What’s on your bucket list right now? Where would you like to play?
Monegros Desert Festival, Glastonbury, because I lived in London for four years. So I’m like, okay, we’re going back to the UK now. Yeah, Glastonbury, because it was an off year this year, so next year, let’s go. And I think maybe Knockdown Center in New York because I’m from New York.
Do you have any dream collaboration that you really want to do?
Yeah, but I feel like it’s kind of awkward for me to say because I know him now. But, like, Boys Noize, I love you, hit me up. And maybe Gesaffelstein, anybody who uses hardware.
When was the first time you decided that the music scene would be your life?
I’ve never actually been anything other than a musician. I started playing classical piano when I was five, and I went to university for music. I was in a band throughout my whole twenties. I’ve not done music, but when I realised dance music was my whole life, it was kind of like that children’s story, Goldilocks and the Three Bears. You know, “This one’s too hot, this one’s too cold.” I tried all these genres of music, but then when I found techno, I was like, “Oh, wait, this is just right.” It’s the perfect blend of virtuosity, lots of hands-on stuff like hardware, fast-paced drama, toughness, and a lack of ego because there are fewer vocals involved, less storytelling involved—you let the synths do the storytelling. So I think that was probably around 2020.
How would you describe your signature sound to somebody who doesn’t know you?
I’m an extremely emotional, acid-driven techno and trance artist, and I’m very high energy. Everything is the drama, the storytelling, the energy, the sounds; it’s all about drama.
What can we expect from you in the near future? Do you have any new music coming out soon?
I’ve actually been writing what I consider to be my first real body of work that I’ve ever thought of conceptually. I’m releasing two EPs, Near Sight and Far Sight. I talked about this in my DJ Mag cover interview. They’re five tracks each, and I’ve thought of the whole thing as a conceptual human-versus-machine body of work. The first single drops next month.
If you weren’t a DJ and producer, who would you be?
I’ve actually never been anything other than a musician. Maybe I would build motorcycles for a living because I like that too. I’ve always been someone who does things with my hands. That’s why I chose a genre of music where I can do things with my hands. So I’d probably be an engineer of some sort, but I wouldn’t make music.
What would you like to see happen in the electronic dance music scene in the near future? What’s your hope?
I would love to see AI vocals die. I would love to see them be banned. I’m actually very upset because my entire catalogue of music has been parsed for Suno and lots of other things. And I’m like, “Hello, I’m still here making music. You don’t need to make mimicry of me.” But everybody’s talking about AI, so I’m going to talk about something more existential. I would love to see the world hold women to the same standard that they hold men. We expect women to be the best vocalists, the best mixers, the best stylists. We expect them to be a moment, but we let Fred again.. just wear a T-shirt. Not to discredit Fred again.. He’s a fucking genius, right? But I wish we could hold women to the same standard, where she’s just the fucking genius. She doesn’t need to be a fashion icon as well. I’d love to see that level out, where people are known for their skills and women don’t need to be everything.
Well, do you have any message for your Tomorrowland crowd today?
I’d like to say thank you guys so much for being so infectious. Your energy was so contagious. And thank you for letting this little American who now lives in Berlin feel like they belong in Europe.
You live in Berlin right now?
Yeah, I do.
I’m going there next week. Can you recommend some good parties there?
But I would probably be better at recommending some restaurants to you because I have the most wholesome experience in Berlin. I just go to wine bars, go to my studio, do Pilates, and water my garden. Then I go to different cities to play on the weekends. But my whole crew can recommend amazing places to hang out in Berlin. I have a very innocent relationship with Berlin.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
