Michaelangelo L'Acqua Sets the Soundtrack for the W Hotel Brand

Michaelangelo L'Acqua spinning at the W South Beach during Winter Music Conference.

​This past Winter Music Conference, the W South Beach held a private party in the penthouse of the hotel which featured a live performance by the Golden Filter (a personal favorite) and celebrated the release of Symmetry, a CD compilation curated by music director of the W brand, Michaelangelo L'Acqua.

We actually missed the event all together due to unforeseen circumstances (damn our drunk friends!), but we caught up with L'Acqua after the WMC mayhem to talk to him about about what one exactly does when they are a musical director for a global hotel chain, and how it felt to work with the likes to Karl Lagerfeld and Tom Ford.

New Times: As musical director for the W brand, what does your role encompass exactly?
 
Michaelangelo L'Acqua: There are a lot of exciting initiatives I am working on as W's Global Music Director. I'm currently producing our live music concert series "Symmetry Live" as well as our global DJ series, curating our hotel play lists, producing our record series Symmetry. I am also involved with the music event production for W Hotel openings; we have nine openings this year around the globe.

You recently celebrated the release of Symmetry, a CD compilation for the W Hotels. How do you go about putting these compilations together? How do you think it is representative of the W brand?
 
When I work on compilations, I search for three specific qualities in a song: 1. That it's well crafted in terms of form and structure; 2. Melody; and 3. Rhythm.  When choosing songs for W's latest CD, I thought about how the songs reflect the W brand's passions for Design, Music and Fashion. When all six of these qualities merge, there is perfect "Symmetry". That's how the tracks made it onto the album - a blend of perfect musical symmetry and aligned with W's passions.
 
You've also been involved in the world of fashion, working with the likes of Tom Ford and Karl Lagerfeld. How important do you think music is to a brand?
 
Music is the only universal language spoken by all. If a piece of music resonates in one's heart, then an unconscious association will be created with everything that comes in contact with this feeling. Designers like Tom Ford taught me that.
 
Are there certain things you take into consideration when producing music events for a company?
 
I study very closely the people and brands who hire me. It's important to understand their creative past in order for me to paint their creative future.
 
What's else is coming up in your work with the W? Anything planned specifically for the South Beach locale?
 
We have so much, I don't know where to start. W South Beach is a flagship for the brand, so I can say that you'll definitely see other exciting music happenings occurring here in the future.  We enjoy surprising people.