Gabriele Beretti: the face and artist behind OECUS

Picture Hedon Sonance // Annelies Kietselaer

Gabriele Beretti, or in the scene better known as Monovsn, and founder of OECUS Artist and Booking Management: a Berlin based collective and agency for multidisciplinary artists, running events and podcast series. That’s what the Italian-born DJ and Producer wanted to introduce me to when I met him. I had the honor to spend an afternoon with him in his studio to find out more about his journey from the very beginnings till what OECUS stands for today and the Face/Artist behind it.

It’s a rainy day in Berlin when I meet Gabriele. We take the tram to go to his studio in the outskirts of Lichtenberg. We enter an old building filled with music studios. Electronic music in the front and bands in the back. Obviously, we go to the electronic music section in the front.

As soon as we entered the studio, Gabriele starts to plug-in all the instruments. While I am taking pictures, he starts to sequence the machines and gets into an accustomed workflow immediately. The techno is pumping from the speakers and a catchy loop is creating a trippy and hypnotic atmosphere. In my opinion a perfect way to spend a rainy Friday afternoon. It’s clear that he is not only knowing very well what he is doing but also enjoying it at the same time.

“I layered a groove with the Elektron Rhythm 2 and my old Roland MC303 using Kicks, Toms and Drums sounds, then I created the atmospheres with the Blofeld wavetable synthesizer. I added some extra noises with the Minilogue XD and with the Roland JP 1080 I created more rhythmic parts. When all the elements came together, I felt the idea of the track was there”, he explains. It always inspires me to see someone working so passionate, very impressive.

Gabriele discovered his passion for electronic music at a very early age, he tells me. “I was introduced to electronic music by my parents, who used to listen to eighties records and later to electronic music from the early nineties. In 2005, when I was fifteen, I discovered Detroit techno and the European techno scene. A year later I started to learn about production, and I got very interested in sound design. Ever since then I have been mostly self-studying and collaborating to improve and expand my knowledge in studio. It has been a long and challenging journey from where I started. During these years I had some creative blocks which took hard work and obstinacy to overcome but eventually I am very satisfied with the results. I am still constantly striving to improve my skills”

In 2012 he moved from Milan to Berlin after finishing his studies. “I think moving to Berlin and getting in touch with other artists to share knowledge in the studio was an important step for me. Through all this time it was inspiring to experiment, share ideas, grow, and experience the flourishing Berliner scene with like-minded people, in the studio or in the club. Being part of an artistic and musical community keeps you connected to your own passion and is very important.”, says Gabriele.

When it comes to producing music, he gets inspired by a lot of things. “Surroundings, nature, dreams and my own emotions. Producing music is my natural way of expressing states that I could hardly describe with words. My personal sound is defined by moody synth riffs, driving and hypnotic grooves with atmospheric elements, usually combining old and new school techniques. When I’m DJ-ing I like to mix groovy stuff with more abstract sounds to create climax and always deliver something unexpected.”

When we are starting to talk about what techno means for both of us, we discover that we are on the same page. “The sense of freedom. Freedom of interpretation where emotions are dictating how the body moves through the groove. A space-in-time where to connect to yourself or simply just letting go and forget about everything. It’s a universal language that unifies people through feelings where words are unnecessary.”

Gabriele always thought about himself as unconventional, and techno reflects this perfectly. “This kind of music really empowers me as it gives me freedom of expression. I generally never liked labels or genres and this characteristic of mine bonds really well with the style.”

In 2015 with three other friends, he started releasing podcasts of local underground artists on OECUS SoundCloud and soon after, they started organizing events; ’OECUS’ was born. When I ask him what the name of the project stands for, he explains: “OECUS in Roman times, was the space, usually a large hall surrounded by columns, reserved for special guests, where secret celebrations were happening. We liked the idea of it and wanted to connect that with a clubbing experience moved by electronic sonorities.”

After they collected experience in the field for three years and the collective found its niche in the scene, they decided it was time to open an agency with their own roster of residents to combine with the events. “With OECUS we wanted to provide a platform for newcomers and established international artists. We envision and represent a community of multidisciplinary artists and our base in Berlin gives us the opportunity to showcase our roster and to bring international acts to our events.”

OECUS is covering a wide-range in the electronic-techno spectrum. "We value artists from all different backgrounds, gender, ethnicity or age and we prioritize the artistic value in the music we receive and promote. Artists need to have consistency, the pure drive for music and need to align with our musical vision. The music must be impactful, properly mixed and must give any sort of emotions. The background is also important but not a must. We also like to keep an eye on newcomers and listen to a lot of new material which we receive every day.”

Since the beginning of the pandemic, a lot has changed regarding the event industry, obviously. “This is not one of the best moments for the booking business. Clubs are closing again. However, we work every day starting in the morning with replying to emails, arranging, and organizing bookings, podcasts, premieres, posts. Everyone in the team has its own task and generally I’m making sure that everything runs smoothly and developing ideas or problem solving, besides taking care of the communication with the artists.”

The way the Covid-19 crisis affected the music business has been devastating. “We had a year planned ahead already, which took us months of work. The positive side? Hard to find honestly, but I would say it gave us all time to calibrate our focus on what’s important. Get rid of the superficial, forget the hypes and everything around it; essentially to reconnect to what makes me happy, which is being creative and not to feel forced to ‘fit in’ a system or a scene and returning to create music without any biases.”

How would OECUS develop let’s say in ten years? “Ha! I like to dream. I see OECUS becoming a real club and a concrete base for local and international artists… We also have other plans which I’m excited to share soon in 2022.”

After two hours of taking pictures, making music, and talking, Gabriele is just as surprised as I am, that meanwhile he made a whole new track. He called it ‘Nodeh' (Hedon backspelled), which will be released in January 2022 on the next OECUS VA.

At the end of our techno session, Gabriele mentions that he is also working on an ambient project. By attaching sensors to the plant, he had in the studio and routing the ensuing signals to synthesizers, the sounds that come out are literally the sounds of the plant. I am amazed. If I touch the leaves, the sounds also change. It’s the first time I hear a plant ‘talking’ and we talk another hour about this project called ‘Aural’. It’s mind blowing. I would suggest reading this article if you want to know more about this. https://mnmt.no/magazine/2019/02/27/interview-as-analog-as-it-gets-aurals-plant-music/

It is sure, Gabriele always delivers the unexpected.

As with all our interviewees, we ask to name three tracks that are somehow important.

“Within the 80’s vinyl collection from my parents, Depeche Mode was indeed one of the most played and they quickly became one of my favourite bands”

“One of my favourite Italian bands. They always inspired me for their unconventional style merging rock, ska, and electronic music. Absolute classic track for me”

“One of the timeless electronic pieces to which I connect lot of emotions and memories”

Text Annelies Kietselaer