It’s just a typical summer in the life of the beat-purveyor and Global Music Supervisor for W Hotels. A globetrotter at heart, the NYC-based L’Acqua brings a sense of exploration to all of his wide-ranging projects, whether it’s creating the music-scape to accompany Tom Ford’s collections for Gucci in ’99, keeping bodies moving on the dance floor of the respective hot spots mentioned above, or most recently compiling Symmetry, the W Hotels compilation CD including mind-bending mixes of everyone from The Gossip to Friendly Fires and Lykke Li.

The mix he’s exclusively created to help our Arcade Players ring in summer has one mission, and one mission only: to get you dancing. Appropriately titled “Up In the Air”, it’s got us feeling high.

Tell us about the inspiration behind this podcast.

I’m so tired of spinning downtempo music right now. I wanted to make a mixtape that made you get off your ass and dance.

As a lifelong music head, what was the moment when you knew you had to make music your career?

In second grade I was just about to be kicked out of a fancy private school because I’m dyslexic and they didn’t want that kind of student. Before they did I was given my first musical instrument, the violin. After six months of playing the teacher told my mother, ‘he might not be the student they want but please don’t let your son give up the violin. He was born to play music.’ My mother sent me to Manhattan School of Music to continue my education. I remember upon first touching the strings I felt complete. No matter what happened in life, music would never let me down or walk away. At seven I realized music was my destiny.

How has serving as the Global Music Director for W Hotels influenced
what you’re working on and listening to?

I try to remove my ego and approach listening to all genres of music with open ears. I apply the three basic fundamentals of music (melody, form/structure and rhythm) when judging if a track is noteworthy to offer out to the world for attention.

Being Global Music director is a delicate balance between being a part of what is cutting-edge and what listeners can adopt upon first listen. You want to educate but you need to understand the pace at which people can grow in their musical taste.

Your work touches on so many different aspects of culture. How does that fit your personality?

When I was a child I loved the stories of Ernest Hemingway. Later in life I came to realize that they weren’t just stories that he wrote but rather the tales of the many lives he lived. I guess I have modeled my own life experience and career after this philosophy. Each career path is a story that I want to find out more about. But only when they are all together do they define who I am and what my philosophy/personality and lifestyle is. Never conform, never say ‘what if?’ and believe that life is very short and we only get one shot at it this time around.

What’s got you excited about music right now?

The record labels falling apart! This excites me very much right now. Creative people are taking back music and creating creative business models. Once again music is for the people; something that the labels forgot a long time ago when they decided to call it ‘The Music Business.’

TRACKLIST //

1. The Asteroids Galaxy Tour – “The Sun Ain’t Shining No More” (33Hz Remix)
2. Crookers feat. Yelle – “Cooler Couleur” (Junkie XL Remix)
3. Shy Child – “Liquid Love”
4. Gorillaz – “Stylo” (Alex Metric Remix)
5. Louis La Roche – “Prick Stick” (Original Mix)
6. Flight Facilities – “Crave You” (Cassian Remix)
7. Hurts – “Better Than Love” (Jamaica remix)
8. Muscles – “Sweaty” (Shazam Remix)
9. Two Door Cinema Club – “I Can Talk” (Moulinex Remix)
10. Miami Horror – “Make You Mine” (Fred Falke remix)
11. Fenech Soler – “Lies” (WolfChild Remix)
12. Two Door Cinema Club – “Something Good Can Work” (The Twelves Remix)
13. Au Revoir Simone – “Only You Can Make You Happy” (PUNCHES Remix)
14. Grum – “Can’t Shake This Feeling” (Grum Club Remix)
15. KILL THE NOISE – “Perfect Combination”
16. Michael Jackson – “Say Say Say” (Moonchild Bootleg)
17. Yuksek – “Extraball” (Breakbot Remix)
18. Toecutter – “Best Party Ever” (Jordan Light Year & Jimmy 2 Sox Remix)
19. Señor Stereo – “Hot Damn”
20. Little Dragon – “RUNABOUT” (CRAZE’S CARRIBEAN REFIX)
21. Donae’o – “Riot Music-(L’Acqua’s Roll The Alarm Mix)

With roles in A&R and management, Demby has shaped the careers of everyone from John Legend to Black Eyed Peas, and is currently working with Quadron, Jessica Jarrell and Brenda Radney. He’s launching a new house release by Erik Rico on his own Lifenotes Music, and has teamed with fellow music heads to craft the new music blog iHearditOn.com. For his DREAM STATE mix, Demby says the inspiration “came from all the groups that made me believe in music again. All the songs on this mix are a sonic reminder of why I know that music is my soul mate.”

As a lifelong music head, when was the moment when you knew you had to make music your career?

I grew up as a musician and I was always the guy on campus in college who knew when all of the new albums were dropping so everyone would always ask me what artists they should be checking for. When all of my friends were headed the corporate route, I decided back in ‘95 to go the road less traveled at that time and focus on the music business. I secured my first internship and I was off to the races.

What’s got you excited about music right now?

My excitement is coming from the fact that music influences people all over the world and everyone in those territories have their own unique perspective. The definition of genre has changed now because all those walls are coming down and the mold has broken. I love artists like Theophilus London because he expands the boundaries of what we know as hip hop. Groups like Just A Band (From Kenya) and Quadron show us what funk, soul and electro sound like to them and it’s all relative. I feel like I have fallen in love with music all over again.

What is the vibe like among the editors at iHearditOn?

The vibe at IHearditOn is great because we all LOVE music. We all have very unique tastes which is great because we are constantly turning each other on to new music and I look forward daily to what everyone’s findings are. There is this artist named Million Young that Andrew Rosen turned me on to and his songs are like individual dreamscapes. Amazing. Our subscribers also turn us onto new music, which means that our model is working and we encourage that. Just recently, one of our followers who goes to Penn turned me onto this band called Flight Facilities and we all flipped out.

You’ve developed the careers of so many notable musicians. When have you learned something from one of your artists?

I learned a great deal from working with John Legend about perseverance. At one point, he had every door closed to him but he was clear about who he was and he was committed to win… and he did. I carry that attitude with me every day I get up. I want to look back at my life and know that my biography was written by me and no one else.

TRACKLIST //

1. Dam Funk – “Mirrors”
2. Sonnymoon – “Houstatlantavegas” (Melo-X Remix)
3. Miguel Feat. J. Cole – “All I Want Is You”
4. Aloe Blacc – “I Need A Dollar” (Kurc Remix)
5. Theophilus London – “Enjoy The Sun”
6. Ayah – “If He Don’t Want It”
7. DJ Center feat. Middlechild, “In A Song”
8. Gilles Peterson’s Havana Cultura Band Feat. Danay & Carina, “Think Twice” (4 Hero Remix)
9. Penguin Prison – “Something I’m Not”
10. Just A Band – “Extra”
11. Johnny Polygon – “The Riot Song”
12. Flight Facilities – “Crave You” (Bxentric Remix)
13. Quadron – “Pressure” (Andi Muller Dubby Remix)
14. Miike Snow – “Animal” (Mark Ronson Remix)