Andrea Oliva’s current status as an established international
headline act is the result of an entirely organic journey.
Having taught himself to DJ at the age of 13, Andrea then
started working in a record store where he built his extensive collection of
upfront promos and white labels from Europe and beyond and he soon secured
bookings at some of Switzerland’s best clubs leading to residencies at Terminus
and Pravda. With his status in his home country growing, Andrea teamed up with
the owner of Nordstern in Basel, Agi Isaku, and the duo were soon throwing sold
out ‘Banditz’ parties across Switzerland. His reputation took him across the
continent and all the way to Ibiza, where in 2004 he was first invited to DJ at
Space.
Andrea developed his production style under the likes of VIVa
Music, Saved Records, Be As One and Cadenza, with two 2012 releases - the
‘Click Off’ EP on Cadenza and ‘Scene’ on Be As One - breaking into the Beatport
top 10 downloads and leading to him becoming RA’ s most charted artist in
February and March the following year.
2013 continued to be an important year for Andrea, landing
regular headline slots at ANTS in Ibiza - Ushuaia’s premiere underground party
- something he maintains through to this day. Indeed the ANTS brand has itself
gone on to tour the world, and Andrea ́s sets, which are synonymous with the
ethos of the party, have rocked stages far and wide from Miami to Dubai, from
Mexico to Argentina and from Croatia to the UK.
After an incredible few years of production whilst gigging
everywhere from Panorama Bar to Coachella, his reputation as a credible artist
continued to grow further. His Beatport chart-topping remix of Luciano’s ‘Rise
Of Angels’ made serious waves both on the Ibiza circuit as well as on an
international level, and he had noticeable releases also on Moon Harbour,
Defected and Suara. In 2015 Andrea decided to take on producing his debut LP.
‘4313’. Released via Objektivity, the album illustrated both Andrea’s
willingness and ability to explore conceptual themes within his own carefully
constructed house and techno framework. Centred around the promise of a ‘new
age’ and produced with a mix of both live and software-based instrumentation,
the album is a testament to Oliva’s continued desire to explore and experiment.
By 2016, Andrea had cemented himself at the heart of Ibiza
culture; he became one of seven all- night guests to regularly take over the
Space Terrace for Elrow, made his Music On debut at Amnesia, all whilst
maintaining his famed ANTS headliner commitments. His skill for crafting stand
out sets attracted the attention of Pete Tong, who helped Andrea to make his
Essential Mix debut with a set recorded live from Ushuaia. After an incendiary
back-to-back between the two DJs at the All Gone Pete Tong Miami Music Week
pool party earlier in the year, Andrea was also a natural choice to mix the All
Gone Pete Tong Ibiza 2016 compilation alongside the influential broadcaster.
Meanwhile, his underground credentials were further bolstered with
his debut EP on Desolat, ‘Get Down’. Displaying a skill for creating
tougher-edged tech to full effect, tracks from the EP were regularly heard
being played out by DJs far and wide, with label boss Loco Dice hammering
‘Elephant’ in particular. This was followed by a killer release on Hot Since 82
́s “Knee Deep” imprint entitled “Scream” - a track that became a summer anthem
and was credited as one of Pete Tong ́s Essential new tunes as well as one of
his top 10 tunes of the year. Shortly after Andrea unleashed the mighty
‘Vermona’ on Cuttin Headz, another Ibiza anthem with label heads the Martinez
Brothers keeping it on constant rotation at DC-10 and virtually every DJ on the
circuit hammering it far and wide.
Throughout the past few years Andrea has continued with an
everstrong release schedule, with EP’s released on Hot Creations, Desolat, Truesoul,
Play It Say It, Saved, Moon Harbour, Relief, Rejected, Kaluki, 7Wallace,
Rawthentic and Circus. Not forgetting of course his massive remixes of Thick
Dick’s “Welcome to The Jungle” (SONDOS), Groove Armada’s “House with Me”
(Snatch), Tiga’s “Woke” (Turbo) and Catz n Dogz “New Love” (Pets Recordings),
all of which were supported right across the industry and each of which also
became huge club anthems. His 2019 hit “My Way” on Play It Say It earned him
yet another Essential New Tune crown on BBC Radio 1, and his remix of Brit
Award Winner Tom Walker’s “Not Giving In”, which took Andrea’s production
skills in a more eclectic direction, has already been hammered across radio and
is scheduled for release on Sony’s Relentless Records label in the coming
months. Performance wise, Andrea
completed a solo headline “Andrea Oliva & Friends” residency at Ibiza’s
newest superclub Hï Ibiza featuring a string of high profile guests, as well
as maintaining an eye watering touring schedule including standout festival
sets at Tomorrowland, A Summer Story, Sunrise, Dreambeach, Medusa, Sonus,
Sunwaves, Kappa Futur and DGTL to name but a few plus tours across the globe
including several high profile long haul stints across the US, South America,
Asia and The Middle East . Other highlights include debut Boiler Room, Mixmag
Lab and DJ Mag sessions, another B2B set and live broadcast with Pete Tong as
part of the Radio One in Ibiza weekend, a second BBC Radio One Essential Mix
and a return to the huge Zurich Street Parade where he performed on the main
stage and which was attended by over a million people.
Needless to say, Andrea ́s dedication to the underground scene
has garnered him widespread support and his music is appreciated by a range of
dance music luminaries. His incredible sustained work ethic and his love of the
ever evolving scene means there’s no sign of this upward trajectory slowing
down any time soon.