BlackyII is Bobby Picciotto, a DJ living in Brooklyn who's been spinning for a few years now and just returned from mini-tour of Puerto Rico. He makes the kind of ravey music that's good in a club, or great to put on at 3am when you and your friends are ready to get weird and dance.
Picciotto's been described as the 'main music doctor' for the Blade-like dance party RINSED, and last month you could've seen him bopping on stage in his metallic makeup with with Peaches at 'Good Units' in the basement of the Hudson Hotel, for MeanRed's monthly Dark Disco Party. "I was so excited for the show that I did a modern re-make of her classic track "'Fuck The Pain Away'" a track that Peaches liked so much it ended up in an impromptu performance with Smoking Kills. "Needless to say," he says, "we destroyed the crowd." Which is a good thing, mind you.
HuffPost: So what's new in the world of BlackyII?
BlackyII: I've been working hard. I had my first remix released in January. I've just had a very succesful fourth installment of my monthly party 'RINSED' which I throw with my buddies 'Smoking Kills'.
I've been staying on my mixtape grind.
Explain what you do.
I make it rain blood. I write, produce, and perform original music (my own instrumentation, vocals, etc.), and I remix, remake, and re-edit other peoples music. When I DJ, I mix all of these things together in a frenzy of sonic manipulation designed to mentally and physically stimulate large groups of people.
So you are a DJ above all?
I am a DJ, but I don't limit myself to only DJing, during a "live" (non-dj) performances I play all original work; perform live vocals, play keyboards, use sequencers, samplers, drum machines, and a laptop.
What kind of music do you 'spin' (do you say 'spin'?)
I usually don't say 'spin' but I'm not opposed to the terminology. I 'spin' a mix of techno, tech-house, experimental, electronic, and industrial musics. I also like introducing elements that people who don't normally listen to techno would recognize. I call the style of music I play "Chillrave" and I predict it to be the most relevant new genre of 2k11.
Let's pretend for a minute that I don't know what Chillrave is -- remember, for pretending's sake.
Chillrave combines elements of techno, rave, psychedelic, electronic, and synth-pop, while maintaining a familiar aesthetic.
As opposed to chillwave it's what, more--
Definitely more dance oriented than chillwave. Higher energy. More about crafting synthetic sounds than effecting organic ones.
Who are your main influences in said music?
Underworld, James Holden, Four Tet, Erol Alkan, Caribou, Modeselektor, and Ivan Smagghe. Some artists that I've really been inspired by recently are Leo Zero, Siriusmo, and Applescal.
What do you want people to do when they come to your show
I want them to make it rain blood with me, I want them not to sleep (because of the snakes), I want them to blow magic from the palms of their hands into the air. I want them to cry in each others' mouths, throttle fashionistas, make babies, exterminate all rational thoughts, cry in the bathroom and wash their hands, and hopefully by the end of the night they will advance to making it rain blood diamonds.
How should they feel?
Privileged.
How do you feel RIGHT NOW
Like a dirty stop-out.
Which is...
Someone who has not slept in their own bed or not slept at all, usually because of some questionable sexual encounter.
Most importantly, what do you wear when you are on stage, and why
I usually just wear some jeans and a cut-off sleeveless hoodie. These are usually either black, white, or shades of grey. I then like to add something metallic either an accesory or some make-up (in the style of Bladerunner, Adam Ant, or David Bowie)
Explain 'Blacky II'
My ex-roommates used to call me "Blacky" after I was once caught ordering my coffee "black as midnight on a moonless night". Also, When I was a little kid, I named a horse Blacky. And lastly, I feel a special affinity to the Stealth Bomber aka The B-2 Spirit.
The name is kind of inspired by all these things.
----
Blacky II is playing at Dark Disco on March 26th at Santo's Party House and his next RINSED party is on April 15th at Public Assembly