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Burn Baby Burn
The four-month search for BURN Residency's winner has ended
Spanning the globe and attracting entries from 26 countries, BURN Residency has spent the last few months searching for the best undiscovered talent in the DJing world. In its sixth year, over 9,000 aspiring DJs applied for the chance to receive €100,000 to help progress their career. The thousands of applicants were then whittled down to just one candidate from each country, before being sent on a three-week Bootcamp experience in Ibiza. There, competitors attended lectures, workshops and DJ master-classes and undertook numerous challenges, from which three finalists emerged and were handed a 10-week Ibiza residency to fight for the winning spot. BURN Residency’s mentor and judging panel, which included Philipp Straub, Carl Cox, UNER, John Digweed, and Dubfire were all on hand to lend their support and come to their final decision...
After impressing initially with his all-vinyl DJ set in the Italian qualifying rounds in May, 30-year-old Lollino embarked on an impressive run to become the winner of BURN Residency. “I started with vinyl because I love playing with it. When I started to DJ there were no computers or USBs, my only option was vinyl,” he explained.
Lollino’s journey began over 10 years ago in his home town of Torino. Having picked up DJing from friends, Lollino, real name Lorenzo Gianeri, went to the owner of local club Centralino on his 18th birthday and begged for the chance to play that night. While only given the undesirable morning slot of 7–8am, it kickstarted his love of DJing. “I never wanted to stop. I understood when I put my first vinyl on the deck that this was a special moment.”
He went on to play regularly in his home town and further afield, picking up a weekly residency at Chalet in Torino, playing in Florence, Barcelona and more. He also was a resident DJ for the legendary Movement festival in Italy, and while grateful for the unique experiences it offered has always dreamed of seeing his own name up on the posters. And now, thanks to BURN, he will. Since winning, he’s already rubbed shoulders with the greats. Robert Hood, Matrixxman and Speedy J, just a few of the names he shared the bill with when he played HYTE at ADE in October.
His time in Ibiza saw him benefit from the mentoring of such figures as Carl Cox and Dubfire. “Carl is a legend, one of the best DJs in the world, but he stayed with me thirty minutes more to speak and I just tried to catch the passion in his eyes,” he says. “You understand why these people are legends and why they changed the music world when you see their passion.”
Having played Sankeys every Sunday over the course of his 10-week residency in Ibiza, Lollino has proved a worthy winner, the experience culminating with a set at Amnesia on the final night. “When I was younger I would go to Ibiza every year to go dancing in Amnesia. So this year, to enter and play, it was like a film.”
For now, Lollino knows he needs to make the most of this opportunity. “Now is the moment to start my DJ life and now is the real test,” he says. “All the big DJs say ‘Be careful, Lorenzo. You have a lot of work, but stay focused. Try to study every day and start to build the base of your career. This is the real start and not the finish’.”
Once there was a time when Lollino had posters with Loco Dice and Carl Cox on them in his room. Now, he speaks to them and works with them. A real dream come true.
[Sponsored editorial]
