So what does being a fully certified chef and an international dance music DJ have in common?
Well, if you combine the two and you get my next guest…
This is the “Creme de la Creme” of DJs… His start was in the late 80’s winning 1st place in Switzerland’s national DJ championship, to moving to Miami and owing residencies at the infamous Space, Opium, Nikki Beach, Treehouse and more to hosting audiences such as Madonna, U2, Prince, Lenny Kravitz, Mick Jagger, Jamie Foxx and P-Diddy, and the list will go on…
So grabbing him for some “good ole” Italian food and expresso’s was how I bribed him for the interview you’re about to hear…
We know a way into a DJ’s heart…It’s food and music!
Let’s get into the mind of Ivano Bellini…..
About Ivano Bellini
Few DJ/producers ascend to the heights of greatness, where their live sets are considered as valuable and inimitable as those of skilled orchestral conductors. Having been a professional DJ since 1986, Ivano Bellini today exemplifies the term *superstar DJ* with his long-running “Sunrise Sessions” after-hours residency. A weekly resident DJ on the famed Terrace at Miami’s Club Space for seven years (since its inception in the original Space), Bellini was nominated as “Best Resident DJ” at the 2006 Club World Awards.
Ivano Bellini’s sound is intoxicatingly sophisticated, irresistibly sexy and full of hidden pleasures. At a time when advances in technology produce fledgling producers at a dime-a-dozen, Bellini is among the rare breed of *global DJs* whose name on a club flyer is enough to draw crowds from far and wide. With a catalog of his own artist tracks, popular remixes, compilations and a full-length artist album on the way, Bellini has established himself in the dance music industry as a penultimate professional.
Lifting his listeners to exhilarating highs on buoyant blasts of audio dynamite, Ivano Bellini is the DJ’s DJ. He speaks four languages fluently (his native French, Italian, Spanish and English), and he never tires of the arduous task of finding, producing and playing the world’s best electronic music. He also can’t imagine his life without DJing. He says, “I’ve been DJing for more than 25 years. If not for the love of it, I would’ve left this business a long time ago. That’s what I always tell ‘kids’ when they ask me about what it takes to succeed as a DJ: Do it for the right reasons, or you’ll get burned very quickly.”
Born in Lausanne, Switzerland in 1966, the young Bellini was influenced by his father’s jazz performances, as well as the sounds of funk, soul, disco and pop music. In 1989 Bellini won first place in Switzerland’s National DJ Championship. In 1991, Bellini moved to South America where he lived briefly, but it was a year later when he flew to South Beach on vacation that his life changed. Falling in love with the sultry rhythms and exotic flavors of Miami’s stylish inhabitants, Bellini decided to stay and helped form the “South Beach sound” with residencies at nightclubs Le Loft, Van Dome, BarRoom, Living Room, Opium and Nikki Beach, hosting such high-profile audiences as Madonna, U2, Prince, Lenny Kravitz and Mick Jagger. More recently, celebrities like Academy Award-winner Jamie Foxx and P-Diddy have been regular guests at Bellini’s parties in New York and Miami.
Word spread about the sensuous, fun-loving atmosphere created by Bellini’s DJ sets, and soon, respected nightclubs in Amsterdam, Ibiza, London and the U.S. were clamoring to have him play at their venues. Bellini says, “I moved to South Beach in ‘91 and started to make a name for myself there, and I really started to travel in 1996. The feeling was awesome. I’d always loved to travel, but the best part was to know that my music was appreciated all over the world and that it could touch people’s souls far away from where I lived.”
Joining forces with DJs Pierre ZonZon and Marc Sacheli, Bellini created SFP Records (Sounds For People Records) in 1996, the label that today houses a diverse array of talented artists and sub-genre imprints. As SFP Records’ label chief, Ivano Bellini is in the enviable position of discovering the best new artists, playing their music out in clubs, and finally releasing them on his own label.
In 2000 club-promoter Luis Puig asked him to take part in Puig’s latest nightclub undertaking: the ambitious nightclub in downtown Miami which spawned the area now housing Nocturnal, Twilo and other superclubs. Puig’s venue Space would go on to win the coveted DanceStar Award for “Best Club,” and undeniably, Bellini’s celebrated Sunrise Sessions sets on Space’s open-air Terrace significantly contributed to the club’s success. Over the years, Miami’s Space has hosted every global DJ under the sun, including Paul Van Dyk, Deep Dish, Danny Tenaglia, Tiësto, Paul Oakenfold, Steve Lawler, Sander Kleinenberg, Erick Morillo, Roger Sanchez, and an endless list. But before any of these world-famous DJs came to play at Space, Ivano Bellini was already its resident.
House music legend Danny Tenaglia was a regular visitor at Space, and in 2001, he witnessed one of Bellini’s marathon sets. A journalist for DJ Magazine wrote that Bellini’s performance was the “Best Surprise DJ Set” of the entire Winter Music Conference. Tenaglia soon invited Bellini to spin with him at his “Be Yourself @ Vinyl” parties in New York, and the city’s demanding crowds quickly embraced Bellini for his exceptional DJing skills.
Ivano Bellini’s sound is intoxicatingly sophisticated, irresistibly sexy and full of hidden pleasures.
In March of 2016, Ivano Bellini took upon a new challenge when he was offered to be the Music Director at Pawn Broker Lounge in downtown Miami, a new project from rewarded hospitality moguls Andreas Schreiner and Jose Mendin of Pubbelly restaurants. He was put in charge of creating a musical identity and vibe for the new project starting from day one, including sound system design. Teamwork with the Pubbelly Guys and his musical vision helped make Pawn Broker an instant and lasting success being praised by patrons and winning multiple awards from industry publications. For the next 18 months, Ivano Bellini managed the whole music programming and also took on a weekly residency, something he hadn’t done in quite some time. The Pawn Broker music programming/residency was followed by a similar partnership at River Yacht Club in Brickell starting in October 2016.
Ivano Bellini has also been busy producing with producing partner, Gianni Ruocco. He’s working on a new set of projects soon to be released and made available for the public. In October 2018 Ivano Bellini released his remix of Kanye West & Lil Pump’s mega-hit “I LOVE IT” in collaboration with long-time friend/partner Armand Pena. In 2020 / 2021 Ivano Bellini released 3 new projects with producing partner Laurent C from Ibiza under the label AventuraBlack. All 3 tracks we charted on Traxsource’s “Progressive House” chart.
Ivano Bellini’s latest and current venture is called SUN GODDESS. It is both an event and experience happening on Sundays all over Miami. It features an amazing array of local talent and Ivano Bellini as well. It has been so successful that SUN GODDESS is about to become a new Record Label to be launched later this year.
Stay tuned….
http://www.facebook.com/DJIvanoBellini
http://www.beatport.com/artist/ivano-bellini/2910
http://soundcloud.com/ivanobellini