Mouth Water
Mouth Water, aka Lawrence Fancelli, is an electronic music act with a difference. Where music has a tendency to draw lines – sometimes necessary, often not – between technicians and performers, Mouth Water’s talent is to push both skillsets into prominence. As a multi-instrumentalist with a flair for production, Lawrence launched his Mouth Water persona off the back of playing bass with various bands in New York and Florence in his native Italy. He paired that with work as a sound engineer – something which eventually led him to founding his own studio in the heart of Tuscany – OSB (Officina Sonora Bigallo). As Mouth Water, Lawrence combines his production skills with intertwining instrumental components – frequently the bass or clarinet – to elevate his club-friendly dance music to the soaring heights that go with experiencing instrumental excellence.
We spoke to Mouth Water hot off the heels of a sizzling set at Primavera Sound and the release of his latest single, ‘Blackout‘.
FAULT: You’ve just come back from arguably your biggest Mouth Water gig to date: Primavera Sound, one of the world’s leading electronic music festivals. How’d it go?
Mouth Water: Yes, definitely the highest profile gig I’ve ever played but not the biggest in terms of audience, as the floating “Island of Joy” I was playing on had a limited number of people allowed – probably so it wouldn’t sink! The location on the sea was amazing, the technicians from Primavera were great, and the vibe was happy and chilled so the set was really fun from my point of view. It looked like the audience was having a ball too!
You threw out the DJ play book a bit by combining the decks with a bit of live clarinet and bass. To me, that suggests you’re committed to the performance aspect of a gig: you want to make sure the audience can engage with something more than a DJ who occasionally pumps a fist in the air. Is that a fair assessment, or am I reading to much into it?
Haha, yeah, I often tell people I’m not a DJ, even though I do use the decks and employ a few DJ techniques to create an uninterrupted set and keep the energy level high. I don’t have time for fist-pumping shenanigans (and I’m not capable of that kind of performance anyway). I need to keep track of so many other things during the set in order for everything to stay in sync and run smoothly, so I have to stay pretty concentrated throughout.
You’re a multi-instrumentalist as well as a music production artist, but which instrument is your greatest love (or does production beat playing)?
Right now I’m having a love affair with several synthesizers (including the Prophet 6 which I use live), but during other periods of my life I’ve had the same thing going for the clarinet and the electric bass.
Is there an instrument you can’t play that you wish you could?
I’d like to learn to play guitar. At the moment I can only strum some simple chords, but I don’t have the time right now to practice enough to get good at it.
Name some of your key inspirations, musical and/or otherwise?
Off the top of my head: French79, The Chemical Brothers, Jamiroquai, Pink Floyd, Giorgio Moroder, Radiohead, Moby, Lindstrøm.
We did an interview recently with an artist who said recording can be “tedious”. As a musician who also runs a recording studio (OSB – Officina Sonora Bigallo), what are your thoughts on that? Do you understand that perspective?
I guess it could be tedious if you’re a musician who just shows up to the session and performs his parts over and over again until he nails them while a technician runs the session. But I do all the recording myself and I’m hands-on with mics, preamps, converters, outboard gear, DAWs, editing and wires. Wiring everything up is one of the funnest parts for me! I love recording and have worked as a recording engineer for years.
Who would you most like to collaborate with and why?
Roísín Murphy. Amazing singer and performer. I’ve loved her music since the days of Moloko and recently saw her live at Primavera Sound. I was mesmerized.
If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?
I fear I would be working in finance…!
After the recent release of ‘Blackout’, what’s next on the agenda for Mouth Water? Anything you’re particularly looking forward to?
The ‘Blackout’ remix by Lindstrøm in July and the summer tour around Italy opening for Sophie and the Giants. Oh, and my new album which is almost finished and is coming out in the fall.
What is your FAULT?
Taking too much time to get Mouth Water rolling. I could have started 3 years earlier!