Ahead of their Sunburn performance, the Italian DJ duo speak about how the volcano inspires them, the future of AI in music, and why building an identity today is more difficult than before
Mathame are performing at Sunburn 2025 in Mumbai. Photo Courtesy: Special Arrangement
Italian DJs and music producers Matteo and Amedeo Giovannelli, popularly known as Mathame are in Mumbai for Sunburn 2025. It's not like they have been here before. They have. Only this time, they are playing in a different setting. It's not a club but a music festival.
With music that is literally an explosion of sounds, the duo carry their roots with them. Even if they roam the world, they remember their home in Sicily, at the base of Mt Etna, one of the most popular active volcanoes in the world. Growing up around these sounds has inspired their music in more than one way, and even if they travel the world, it will always carry a piece of Mount Etna.
Ahead of their performance at the iconic music festival, Amedeo dives into their music, the role of Artificial Intelligence in music, but not without the role of visual storytelling in modern music.
Here are excerpts from the interview:
Firstly, how excited are you to perform in India at Sunburn 2025 and is it your first time here?
No, it's not our first time. We have been several times to India, actually like at least four or five times to Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi and Goa. We love the crowd because you all like to party, that's what we like, the crowd is warm. We will play a little bit different than a club show; it will be a more energetic set.
The cities in India are different - Goa is a small multi-ethnic place, people from different places of the world, but mainly Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad are very similar. I find it hard to play in Delhi because it has a very strong vibe.
How have you seen electronic music evolve since the time you started out?
Electronic music follows technology. There's no electronic music without technology. In the last 12 years to 15 years, there has literally been a very fast revolution in technology, and the music follows.
I think the AI breakthrough of these last three, four years changed the cards a lot. First of all, the velocity of the quality of the music you can produce is insanely higher because we have AI like a brainstorming tool that helps you to find a good idea and it's very important. So that's why you see every week there are new, huge releases. I mean, 10 years ago was different because you had to wait months for a good release, and even a year or two.
Today, it is very fast. The scenario changed and the genre collapsed. I don't think there are any genres anymore. You can do dubstep, you can do dance, you can do everything. The most difficult thing now is to build a brand and manage your identity.
Before it was easier to manage the identity because there was the genre that defined the identity.
Now without the genre, you need to have a clear vision of your identity. So the most difficult thing is to understand who you are.
Do you think AI enhances the whole music-making experience?
Definitely. I have no regrets and no shame to say that AI is going to raise the bar of the quality because it's an answer, as you say, for human capabilities. It's like having a brilliant companion in studio.
And the most important thing that I think is under-evaluated is that it's breaking the barrier of the access. I mean, there's no cost; and for less cost, we have huge technology and results. So it's, in a way, democratising whole creativity. The chance to create now is for everyone. It's not just for who has money to do. And that's why we are embracing AI, because I think it is a tool for the people. Now, let people be creative and bring their own ideas to life.
The greatest revolution of AI is that access is for everyone, a few dollars, to think that was unimaginable before. Imagine doing a video clip in the traditional way. It's like a hundred thousand dollars. Nobody can afford a musical project, unless you are not a major label or you have big money. This will lead to a new, completely new scenario, completely new music. It's exciting, actually. That's why we are embracing AI.
In the years since you have been active, how has your music evolved with both of your expertise in violin and filmmaking respectively?
It's like having a blueprint, where you base your project, when we do like a track, we always start from that point, you know, the cinematic scene, the classical approach of composition -- so harmonies, chords and orchestration is always like the starting point for everything we do.
Now we are focussing a lot on the visual side. Our experience is like the first starting point. Visual storytelling is way more important because, as I say, there is it helps to build the identity.
The most difficult thing today is to have original identity, original voice, original tone. So the visual part, because we live in a society that is more visual, with social media and everything, we are immersed in visual storytelling all the time. So visual storytelling from a photo to video is much more important than before and how you use that defines your identity.
It's like language. So that's why it is important because it gives everyone the chance to do quality stuff but if you want to do quality stuff, you need to know the language. I mean, not everybody that can prompt instructions for an AI model can do something cool. AI doesn't mean automatic.
Growing up at the base of Mount Etna, how has the active volcano inspired you to create music?
We started from the geography, definitely but I mean, it's obvious that the place where you are defines the identity.
For us, the beginning when we were on the Etna, on the volcano, helped us to shape our sound because we get inspiration from the volcano activity. We often use the sounds that remind us of the explosion or the rumble of the ground and powerful volcano. It gives us the blueprint of identity. When you are touring, you are inspired by the place where you visit. I find Japan and the US very inspiring but the blueprint is always on the volcano, it’s 's like you build above that. We also love sci-fi and I'm a huge fan of sci-fi literature, movies and animation.
The good sci-fi has poetic meaning that is like a metaphor of our contemporary living to help us understand the present because projecting in the future and paradox of our world helps you to understand the contradiction of the world you live in. To me, it's more effective because it activates the brain.
I think it's also paradoxical and also in a way, like you said, it probably opens a side that you probably had in your subconscious, but haven't really brought it out or put it on paper.
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