From Italy
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^^ This Guy is behind Massive Remixes for big Hits btw, such as Insomnia for Faithless and tracks for AvB.
Techno is, more often than not, and impersonal world, faceless and without soul. For that reason it is especially reassuring to meet characters like Francesco Farfa, an Italian who still believes in the magic of music, who seeks out that disturbing emotion that emerges from contact with a work of art. Furthermore, as well as being a great disc-jockey, Francesco Farfa is an excellent person. And that, my friends, in an environment so often vacuous and vain as that of electronic music, is a simple and real pleasure. It has been explained on many occasions that Farfa comes from "farfalla" which means butterfly in Italian. And it is true to say that this is a great metaphor to describe the sensation we have when witnessing one of his sets. It is difficult to define clearly that ability Francesco has to lead his audience from one peak to the next, from torment to ecstasy, coiling and overlapping sounds which later explode in a multicolour rainbow.
Born in Florence, his first work as a DJ took place at the start of the eighties, enemy of clichés and labels, he concocted a varied and delectable mix, which included both funk and the first electronic rhythms heard before the arrival of house. Keen for that vital interaction between artist and audience to reach its height, Francesco Farfa has always achieved in his sessions a great feedback from the audience, formed by a "tribe" of friends and a generous family of followers, known affectionately as "farfanatics".
Over the last ten years, Francesco has produced a wide range of records, especially 12" singles under his own name or aliases and his collaborationswith his mate Joy Kitikonti (Farmakit, among others) with The Pleasure Teamand his good friend Tony Verdi. Grooves in which his exploratory and daneceable vision of electronic music remains absolutely clear. Throughout this time, there have also been a whole host of remixes for other artists (Caspar Pound, Charlie Hall, Dino Lenny, Robert Armani, Ekova or José Padilla, among others), the creation of his own record label (Audioesperanto) and, of course, the CD mixes in which our friend Farfa has shown great skill in rooting out the best dancefloor songs and great technique and instinct in mixing them. Check out records such as "Ascension Collection" (for Rising High), or the most recent "Music : Public property" (for Serial Killer Vinyl, his current label), and you will see that all the above praise is entirely justified. But if there's a place where Francesco Farfa shows his talent, inspiration and value it is on the decks. In fact, Farfa has toured around the world's most important clubs, raves and festivals: Insomnia, Ministry Of Sound, Drum Club, Back II Basics, Rex, E-Werk, Pachá, Space, Amnesia, Florida 135, Vinyl (invited by the king of kings Danny Tenaglia), Love Parade, Istant Karma Parties, Street Parade, Sónar, Dance Valley, Winter Music Conference or Groove Parade. A golden portfolio which would, however, amount to very little if it were not for Farfa's extraordinary ability to create something so vibrant and exciting form a simple list of names.
As for the music itself, there have been many attempts to define and categorise it. Trance? Cyberdelia? Progressive house? Psyhodelic techno? But no! Labels were not made for someone who simply (and fortunately) plays just where his heart leads him.
By John Bush-
FM-Mag
