Gigi D'Agostino

Gigi D'Agostino
D'Agostino performing in Rimini, Italy in 2005.
Background information
Birth name Luigino Celestino Di Agostino
Also known as
  • Dottor Dag
  • Il Folklorista
  • Lento Violento Man
Born (1967-12-17) December 17, 1967
Turin, Italy
Origin Turin, Piedmont, Italy
Genres
Years active 1986–present
Labels
Associated acts
  • Luca Noise
  • DJ Pandolfi
  • Dynoro
Website www.gigidagostino.com

Luigino Celestino "Gigi" D'Agostino (born December 17, 1967), known also as GIGI DAG, is an Italian DJ, remixer, singer and record producer. In 1986, he started his career as a DJ spinning Italo disco.[1] His biggest chart successes include "Bla Bla Bla", "Another Way", a cover of Nik Kershaw's "The Riddle", "La Passion", "Super (1, 2, 3)" and "L'amour toujours", all in the period 1999 to 2001. The latter song also became popular in a 2018 remix/mashup produced by Dynoro, titled "In My Mind".

Early life and education

Born in Turin, Italy on December 17, 1967, to parents from Salerno, Campania, D'Agostino spent his childhood between Turin and Brescia, where the Media Records studios are located. As a child, D'Agostino wanted to be someone in the world of disco music. Starting out working as a stonemason and a fitter, he began his musical career as a DJ by organizing parties in clubs. His debut was in a club near Turin called "Woodstock".[2] He worked also in a small club called Palladio in Cascinette d'Ivrea (30 km north from Turin) from 1987 until around 1992 and in a club called Le Palace in the Valentino Castle Garden in Turin. He was resident DJ of an Italian disco named Ultimo Impero from 1993 to 1998.

Career

1990s

D'Agostino's first release was Noise Makers Theme, a double-A sided record with a track by Daniele Gas on the other side, which launched the Noise Maker label, under the direction of Italian house producer Gianfranco Bortolotti. D'Agostino would continue working with Gas, as well as Mauro Picotto's production team in the following years. As a DJ, D'Agostino is known as one of the "pioneers of Mediterranean Progressive Dance,"[3] consisting of minimalistic sounds and Latin and Mediterranean melodies. As a record producer, D'Agostino's uses the pseudonym "Gigi Dag"; he transforms a piece, originally destined for the discos, into a success for the mainstream public.

After successes like the track "Sweetly", he joined the team of Bortolotti, the general manager of Media Records and suddenly reached the top of the hit parades. His single "FLY", published in 1996 with BXR Noise Maker, the label created by Media Records for Mediterranea progressive house, reached the top of the sales in Italy. This was followed by his single "Gigi's Violin".

Subsequently, D'Agostino released the song "Angel's Symphony" with R.A.F. by Mauro Picotto, a friend from Media Records. His biggest project was the self-titled album Gigi D'Agostino, consisting of 19 tracks, which sold over 60,000 copies.

After his rise to success, D'Agostino's musical style changed, with his sound becoming more melodic, at midway between house and progressive, with more energetic and melodious sonorities and less obsessive rhythms, also known as Italo dance.

In 1997, he released the single "Gin Lemon", followed by "Your Love (Elisir)" (1998), "Cuba Libre" (1999), and "Bla Bla Bla" (1999). He later released the album Eurodance Compilation, which contained five unpublished tracks. With this compilation, he earned a platinum disc and was awarded "Best Producer in 1999" at the Italian Dance Awards. In October, D'Agostino released another hit single, entitled "Another Way".

In 1999, his album L'Amour Toujours (released in 2001 in the United States) included 23 tracks on two CDs, with the hit song "L'Amour Toujours" bringing him to the 10th position in the sales parade in Italy;[4] as a result, he earned another Platinum Disc. His 1999 single "Bla Bla Bla" became a major hit in Europe.[5] He described the single as "a piece I wrote thinking of all the people who talk and talk without saying anything!"[6]

2000s

D'Agostino performing in 2007.

In 2000, his remake of the Nik Kershaw song "The Riddle" sold 1,000,000 copies in Germany and 200,000 copies in France. He also released the albums Tecno Fes (August 2000) and Tecno Fes - EP, Vol. 2 (December 2000).

In 2001, he released L'Amour Toujours EP, consisting of three songs: two new versions of "L'amour Toujours" and "Un Giorno Credi", a single made in collaboration with Edoardo Bennato. "Un Giorno Credi" reached the top of the parades in Italy and became one of the most played songs in the national and international music networks. He was also awarded with "Best DJ-Producer of the Year" at the "Red Bull Awards" in Italy.

In 2001, he also released the hit "Super", as a result of a collaboration with Albertino (an Italian music artist), which won him the awards "Best Dance Producer" at the PIM (Italian Music Award) and "Public Award" at the Danish DJs Award in Copenhagen, Denmark. In December of that year, he released Il Grande Viaggio, a compilation of his favourite songs, including old electronic pieces and new rhythms and melodies. As a result, he was awarded with "Best Dance Producer" at the Italian Dance Awards. D'Agostino stated during an interview with MTV that he enjoys cycling with his pigs in Rome.

In 2003, he released the song "Ripassa" in the EP Underconstruction 1: Silence, a hit which is very important for his next productions. This song helped influence Lento Violento, a subgenre that had yet to be distinguished.

On 15 July 2004, his compilation "Euro Dance" won Platinum certification with 120,000 copies sold in just a few weeks.

In December 2004, D'Agostino released his fourth studio album, L'Amour Toujours II.

D'Agostino has played in some well-known clubs throughout Europe, including in Italy, Spain, France, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic at the Karlovy Lázně, Germany, Switzerland, and England (in 1996, he played at the Ministry of Sound in London with Mauro Picotto).

In 2006, he created his own new record label called "Noisemaker Hard" to differentiate the style of music released under his older record label, "Noisemaker".

In 2007, D'Agostino released Lento Violento ...e altre storie, a compilation which contains two CDs and his new 35 Lento Violento songs. Most important "hits" of the album are "Cammino" (a collaboration with Dimitri Mazza) and "Vorrei Fare una Canzone" (a collaboration with Gerolamo Saccco) according to YouTube views.

After some months, he released the compilation La musica che pesta under the name "Lento Violento Man", which contains two CDs for a total of 38 unmixed tracks.

From 2005 until January 2010, he had radio programs, on the Italian Radio m2o Musica allo Stato Puro (in English: "Music at the Pure State"), called "Il Cammino di Gigi D'Agostino" and "Quello che mi piace ". They consist of DJ sets played by Gigi, and featured new remixes of his songs and songs by Italian and international artists.

2010s

Gigi D'Agostino in 2011

In August 2011, he released a digital single Stay With Me. This was released a few months after he postponed the release of his upcoming album Mondo Reale.

In May 2017, CBC News reported that his music is popular in the remote Canadian Inuit community of Arviat, where D'Agostino's "slicing, bass-heavy beats have a lot in common with the music of traditional Inuit drum-dancing."[7]

Discography

Studio albums

Year Single Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales thresholds)
ITA
[8][9]		 AUT
[10]		 BEL
[11]		 DEN
[12]		 FRA
[13]		 GER
[14]		 NLD
[15]		 SWI
[16]
1994 A Journey into Space ————————
1996 Gigi D'Agostino ————————
1999 L'Amour Toujours 2511630—10353
2004 L'Amour Toujours II —6———65——

EPs

Year Single Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales thresholds)
ITA
[8]		 AUT
[10]		 FRA
[13]		 GER
[14]
1997 Gin Lemon ————
1999 Tanzen ——40—
2000 Tecno Fes EP —7—69
Tecno Fes Vol. 2 1414095
2001 L'Amour Toujours EP ————
2003 Underconstruction 1: Silence E.P. ————
2004 Underconstruction 2: Silence Remix ————
Underconstruction 3: Remix ————

Compilations

Singles

Year Single Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales thresholds)		 Album
ITA
[8]		 AUT
[10]		 BEL
[11]		 CAN
[17]		 FRA
[18]		 GER
[14]		 IRE
[19]		 NLD
[15]		 SWI
[16]		 UK
[20]		 US
[21]
1995 "Sweetly" ———————19——— Gigi D'Agostino
"New Year's Day" 12——————————
"Gigi's Violin" 4——————————
"Angel's Symphony" 9——————————
1996 "Elektro Message" 22——————————
1997 "Music (An Echo Deep Inside)" 24—————————— Gin Lemon
"Gin Lemon" ———————————
1998 "Your Love Elisir" 5———73—————— L'Amour Toujours
"Cuba Libre" 15——————————
1999 "Bla Bla Bla" 6356—15423431687—
"Another Way" —13——3316——61——
"The Riddle" 21144874—48——
2000 "La Passion" —11—18221213——
"Super (1, 2, 3)" 214—4624—3455—— Single only
2001 "L'Amour Toujours" 63211—318125—78 L'Amour Toujours
2004 "Silence" 231037——20—21——— L'Amour Toujours II
"Underconstruction 2: Silence" —39————————— Undercontruction 2: Silence E.P.
"Gigi's Goodnight" (with Pandolfi) —17———81————— L'Amour Toujours II
"Summer of Energy" 1726———77————
2005 "Wellfare" 1428———41—————
2006 "I Wonder Why" 1420———81—————
2011 "Stay with Me" ——————————— Digital single
(Previously part of Ieri & Oggi Mix Vol. 1)
2018 "In My Mind"
(with Dynoro)		 11
[25]		12525815
[26]		315—
  • IFPI AUT: Platinum[24]
 Single only
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

References

  1. ↑ "DanceAnni90.com :: Il portale della musica Dance anni 90 - Area recensioni - Gigi D'Agostino".
  2. ↑ "Gigi D'Agostino". IDP - Italo Dance Portal.com. Retrieved 2018-06-07.
  3. ↑ "Yahoo! Music". Archived from the original on 2005-01-21.
  4. ↑ "Hit Parade Italia - Indice per Interprete: D". www.hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 2018-06-07.
  5. ↑ Hung, Steffen. "lescharts.com - Gigi D'Agostino - Bla Bla Bla". lescharts.com. Retrieved 2018-06-07.
  6. ↑ "Confidanza Forum".
  7. ↑ Cahana, Kitra; Ou, Ed. "How teen dance competitions are helping Nunavut youth fight suicide". CBC News. Retrieved 2017-05-16.
  8. 1 2 3 "Italian peaks". Italiancharts.com. Archived from the original on 2014-07-26. Retrieved 2012-06-06.
  9. ↑ Billboard: "Hits of the World" section
  10. 1 2 3 "Austrian peaks". Austriancharts.at. Archived from the original on 2017-01-14. Retrieved 2012-06-06.
  11. 1 2 "Belgian peaks". Ultratop.be. Retrieved 2018-08-03.
  12. ↑ "Danish peaks". danishcharts.com.
  13. 1 2 "French peaks". Lescharts.com. Retrieved 2012-06-06.
  14. 1 2 3 "German peaks". Musicline.de. Retrieved 2012-06-06.
  15. 1 2 "Dutch peaks". Dutchcharts.nl. Archived from the original on 2016-03-10. Retrieved 2012-06-06.
  16. 1 2 "Swiss peaks". Hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2012-06-06.
  17. ↑ "Canadian peaks". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-06-06.
    • "In My Mind": "Gigi D'Agostino Chart History: Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 2018-08-21.
  18. ↑ "French peaks". Lescharts.com. Retrieved 2012-06-06.
  19. ↑ "Search for Irish peaks". Irishcharts.ie. Archived from the original on 2010-01-05. Retrieved 2012-06-06.
  20. ↑ "GIGI D'AGOSTINO | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2018-09-26.
  21. ↑ "American peaks". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2012-06-06.
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Gigi D'Agostino)" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 2011-06-09.
  23. ↑ "French certifications". Disqueenfrance.com. Archived from the original on 2012-03-13. Retrieved 2012-06-06.
  24. 1 2 3 "Gold & Platin". IFPI (Austria). Archived from the original on 2013-07-01. Retrieved 2010-08-14.
  25. ↑ "Top Singoli – Classifica settimanale WK 41" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  26. ↑ "Benny Blanco scores first Irish Number 1: "That's insane!"". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
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