Blending emotional electronics, detailed sound design and a constantly evolving musical vision, Pietro Pavan is part of a new generation of Italian producers reshaping the boundaries of contemporary electronic music. Drawing inspiration from both intimate songwriting and club culture, his work sits alongside a growing wave of artists bringing a fresher and more personal approach to the scene. We spoke with him about his creative process, his influences and the making of “paper thin” with Iris Khain.
1. If you had to define your sound in just a few words, what would you say? More emotion, more research or more instinct?
“This is actually a very difficult question. It’s always easier to define someone else’s style than your own. I think I’m still an extremely young artist and fully in the middle of musical exploration. I listen to a huge variety of genres and that naturally pushes me to experiment all the time and end up making tracks that are very different from each other. I still have a lot of music to release and many ideas that will slowly shape my musical imagery. What really matters to me is staying faithful to your own taste and sensitivity, which is not always easy in a world where external judgment often seems more important than anything else. The most important thing is the emotion a track can create. A song can be extremely detailed and technically refined, but if the final master doesn’t spark imagination, then to me it becomes meaningless.”
2. Listening to your music, it’s easy to hear connections with artists like okgiorgio, camoufly, Fenoaltea, jjitz or swimming Paul. How close do you feel to this wave?
“I really appreciate this new generation of musicians. In the last few years they’ve brought an important sense of freshness to the electronic scene — and beyond that as well. I always admire artists who move away from the usual formulas and structures to create something original while still remaining musically meaningful. That’s not an easy challenge. One thing I’ve always hoped for is that electronic music won’t always be associated only with clubbing and nightlife in the public imagination. There are so many styles and nuances within the genre that come from chords, melodies, acoustic instruments and deeply intimate lyrics that have little or nothing to do with nightlife culture. In that sense I do feel close to some of the artists you mentioned, even though I don’t feel like I belong 100% to that genre. I still have many other things to say, and I hope my next releases will make that clearer.”
3. Developing a personal signature sound is becoming increasingly important. Is there a specific detail in your productions that listeners might not notice immediately, but that feels essential to you?
“I think the real common elements across my tracks are harmony and sound selection. Of course I often end up using the same synths and samples throughout different productions. Getting a bit more technical, one sound I really love and often use is the same one Radiohead used in the iconic intro of Everything in Its Right Place.”
4. Does being from Venice influence the way you make or experience music?
“There’s actually an important clarification to make here: I come from the more peripheral side of Venice, far from the water and very different from the postcard version people usually imagine. I study composition at the Venice conservatory, so I spend a lot of time in the city, but my real home is the countryside around it. The Venetian province deeply shaped the way I think and see the world. Most of the landscape here is just fields and emptiness. Someone sensitive and maybe overly romantic like me is almost forced to imagine distant scenarios and different worlds — music is my favorite tool to do that. Still, I remain deeply in love with Venice. I’ve traveled to many places far from here, but nothing has ever given me the same feeling as this city.”
5. In recent years Italy has seen the rise of a more emotional and hybrid electronic scene. What do you think is really happening? Is it just a trend or something deeper?
“I think it’s simply a generational shift. Traditional EDM has been boring for quite some time now, and many of the genre’s stereotypes feel outdated. The kids who grew up listening to artists like Skrillex, David Guetta and all the big names from the 2000s and early 2010s are adults now, and they’ve started making music on their own terms — away from the logic of massive festivals and the obsession with drops and heavy kicks. It’s the combination of a love for dance music with more intimate and refined genres. That’s what makes it exciting, because we all grew up with different artists and records, so the combinations are endless.
This new scene has also erased the classic distance between artist and fan. Just look at the communication style of Fred again.. or okgiorgio — they’re always humble and directly connected with the people listening to them. One of the reasons I’m working with FANKEE is exactly because of that mindset.”
6. Your music is becoming increasingly recognizable through atmosphere and attention to detail. How did this track come together, and how did the collaboration with Iris Khain happen?
“If I played the original demo, people probably wouldn’t even recognize it as the same song. I was stuck creatively and I didn’t like where the production was going, so like I often do, I muted almost everything, left only the drums playing and started writing chords. Those chords eventually became the most important part of the entire track. While I was working on ‘paper thin,’ an Instagram video randomly appeared on my feed — it was a guy singing a cover. I was immediately impressed, and since I absolutely needed a voice for the song, I messaged him. As soon as he accepted, we started talking and he did an incredible job in a very short time. There’s a good chance we’ll collaborate again in the future.”
With a sound that moves between introspection, experimentation and emotional depth, Pietro Pavan represents a new generation of Italian producers redefining electronic music in a more personal and genre-fluid way. A project still evolving, but already moving in a very clear direction.
Rudy (32) currently based in Bergamo, here since 2019.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rudy-cassago-522452179/