Prolific and versatile DJ/Producer Marco Faraone, whose incendiary live sets have earned him the attention of all the right people returns to Egg LDN to play an Exclusive 4 hour set at Familia this Saturday May 14th. DJ-ing from the tender age of 14 and breaking into proudctionlater, Marco’s “big break” was the 2010 EP ‘Strange Neighbours’ on Moon Harbour, and when label boss Matthias Tanzmann played the title track at DC10 in Ibiza, it prompted a huge reaction resulting in a dancefloor sit-down!
Since then’s Marco’s developed a worldwide reputation as an extremely skilled producer, with releases ranging from the warm analogue house grooves of his most recent Moon Harbour EP ‘Next Level’, to the relentless, hypnotic techno of his latest EP for On Edge Society, ‘Black Air’. It’s thanks to this versatility that Faraone has released on so many respected labels in a relatively short period of time – Drumcode, Desolat, Be As One, Sci+Tec, Moda Black, Holic Trax, Get Physical and Truesoul have all provided a home for Faraone’s productions. As a DJ, Faraone is equally busy. His popularity back home in Italy is plain to see, with 4 years as resident at the famed Tenax club in Florence. Having earned his stripes as both trusted resident and a travelling headliner, Marco has now launched his own event series in Italy, ‘Marco Faraone and Friends’, which recently saw 4000 clubbers invading the beach in Sicily, demonstrating the extent of Faraone’s loyal fan base at home.
Now perfectly placed to run his own imprint, Uncage Music which kicked off with Marco’s ‘Rotaryknobs’ EP, Marcus is a multi-talented young DJ and producer, who’s still adding strings to his bow with his label and new party which is a sign of true staying power in this fast-paced industry.
Interview: Nick Tcherniak
Your latest EP for Drumcode has been quoted as having captured the very essence of what Adam Beyer’s label is all about. When you produced the tracks did you have Drumcode in mind?
Releasing my second EP on Drumcode is a great pleasure 🙂 As you probably know the first time I released on the limited label with my “Uncompromised Mood EP”, which was vinyl only and the sound was more dark and introspective, perfect for vinyl lovers. For this EP, I wanted to create something different, more epic. I really like to produce with different musical shades, from house to techno, even tech house and deep stuff. The way I produce is also reflected into my DJ sets and I always think that a DJ must be versatile and play a bit of everything depending on the situation – this is how I grew up. From the beginning I wanted to do this release especially for Drumcode and for most of the EP, I worked on it step by step with Adam and we decided on the tracks development together working out what was missing to complete it. The first track I sent him was ‘Climax’, then straight after “Over The Clouds” which is perfect as a closing tune.
At that point, a “hard” tune was missing and I produced “Spectre” which is more Techno than the others, and then “Boost” being the last piece of the puzzle which sits between house and techno. I was really satisfied with the EP and how it came out as it’s 4 tracks with different musical shades that can perfectly fit into one set.
You started DJing at an early age but was there a stand out moment that made you know you wanted to play and produce House and Techno?
I started very early at the age of 14 and I didn’t even know what I wanted to do musically. I was just a confused young boy that wanted to have fun playing music. That was the most important thing for me, even living in a small hometown without a musical club scene. I started with Hip Hop and moved to Drum’n’Bass after a while, just because I wanted to play something faster and learn some crazy skills. I still remember that I was buying records in a small shop that was selling second hand vinyls for cheap, but for me the important thing was to learn how to DJ. After a while I found out that some of those records were very expensive on Discogs and I payed €2 for many of them.
I understood that my musical taste was evolving into house and techno when I listened to Laurent Garnier for the first time in 2004. He’s still to this day one of my heroes. As I’ve said in many interviews, for me he’s the real DJ – an artist who is able to play everything in a set jumping through many different styles of music with superb class. This is in my opinion, the message that a DJ must communicate to the crowd.
You’re a fan of the Roland TB -303, when did the love affair start? It’s not the easiest bit of equipment to make come to life, did it come naturally to you?
Roland TB -303 is one of the main parts of my basslines, that machine has an UNIQUE sound that no others can copy. There are a couple that are similar but they’re not the same. I always add on top some effects and compressors to give more character to the sound, and make it more dynamic, but the sound of the 303 is simply amazing!
Tell us about your long history with Tenax, you’ve been playing in Florence for many years there?
Tenax is the club where I grew up. I was born in Lucca, a small town 70km from Florence, which is very beautiful, but being passionate about music, it was hard to find a club scene there. So the only chance to find something was to move to the seaside of Tuscany, “Versilia” or Florence, where the legendary Tenax club is. I had the chance to listen to so many artists there and learn a lot of things, technically and of course grow in my musical tastes. I still remember that when I was young I just wanted to see the DJs play and sometimes the security didn’t want to let me up on the stage, which is really funny :-). Now I’ve been a resident at Tenax for 4 years and I’m proud of it because in my opinion, it’s one of the best clubs in the world.
We’ve checked a video of an incredible ‘sit-down’ in Bolgia at the end of the night when the crown went crazy to your own track on Drumcode, appropriately named ‘Climax’. That must have been an incredible feeling to orchestrate the energy in that room at that moment with your own production?
When the people react like that with a track you produced alone in your studio, there’s no words to describe that feeling. I spent so many hours producing this track and the first time I played it, I still remember the crowd’s reaction…they had goose bumps. At Bolgia, I always have an amazing time playing, the people like the Techno vibes there, and it’s for sure one of the clubs you have to visit.
You’ll be playing a 4 hour set at Familia on 14th May. Are you looking forward to returning to Egg LDN?
Of course I’m looking forward to it, I’ve played at Egg LDN many times and always have much fun there, the club, the sound system is amazing and the crowd too… This time, I’m playing 4 hours which means that we’re gonna have lot of fun!
Do you have friends in London you know will come to see you?
Sure, many of them! One of the beautiful aspects of my work is to meet new people. Today I’m here and I’m doing what I love. It’s the same passion I had on the first day I started. I always feel the support of many people and friends around me, that gives me the best energy to keep going and reach my dreams.
How does the Summer look for you? You’re playing alongside Nina Kravitz and The Martinez Brothers at the Loveland Drumcode Event at Off Sonar, any particular highlights we should look out for?
Yeah, the XL Day open air event we do in Florence in June will be amazing, like last year! For Off Sonar, I’m going to play for Drumcode on Friday 17th and Elrow on Sunday 19th, 2 massive shows. Some big news for this season in Ibiza is that I’ll be playing for the first time at Amnesia’s Terrace invited by Marco Carola at Music On, and I’ve confirmed 2 gigs with Elrow at Space Ibiza! Really looking forward to all these!
Also there’s many good festivals ahead like Extrema Outdoor, The Social Festival in the UK and a new tour in North and South America in June. I can’t wait, this summer wlll be huge!
’m still working hard on my new label UNCAGE and we just released the 2nd EP from Eduardo de la Calle, which you must check it out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRGIKfeXe00
Marco Faraone plays an Exclusive 4 hour set at Familia alongside The Advent Live, Julien Jeweil, this Saturday May 14th at Egg LDN.
For all info please go to www.egglondon.co.uk
