We had a little chat with Italian Dj and producer Marco Faraone about his Ibiza season with Music On, his upcoming release on Drumcode and much more. Marco is a prolific and versatile producer whose incendiary live sets have earned him the attention of all the right people. Having earned his stripes as both trusted resident and a travelling headliner and with many high-profile dates behind him and the support of some of the most respected names in electronic music, Faraone has started running his own imprint. UNCAGE Music has already been creating plenty of noise and attracting attention from many of the most important artists in the scene continuously releasing HQ music since the day one with artists like Radio Slave, Skudge, Markus Suckut, Nick Hoppner, Eduardo de la Calle and of course Marco himself, giving also the opportunity to some new upcoming talents like Hertz Collision and Pablo Mateo to build up their own profile. Good reading !
WWD: Marco, thanks for chatting to us today. You just closed out the Ibiza season with Music On at Privilege. How has your summer been with Music On, and can we expect you to be their resident again next year?
This summer was very important for me, probably the most important ever. I played so many great clubs and events all around the globe and discovered many new places that I haven’t been before. The summer in Ibiza was next level, and I played loads of amazing shows on the island. 9 of those were with Music On, including their mega closing party at Privilege. It’s a pleasure for me to be invited and to be a part of Marco’s crew. He’s a real legend for me and a master of his craft. I have to say that I love Amnesia and the vibe there. It’s such a huge club and the production that Music On does it always the best I have seen at the venue. Everything from the lights to the sound system are perfect. I don’t have a favourite venue in Ibiza, they are all very different from one another, but Amnesia is magical. Privilege is bomb and so huge – if you throw a super big party, it’s a good club for that!
WWD: We hear your next big release is on Drumcode, with ‘Lunar Eclipse’ we took a listen and it’s got 4 mega tracks on it. Can you tell us a little about each, and what you wanted to achieve production and sound wise with this EP?
I spent a lot of time on this one, and wanted to make 4 tracks which had a big festival vibe to them but also created a journey of sound when all on one EP. I took a lot of inspiration from that old vitalics sound which used a lot of synths and groove and I think that can be heard most in ‘Never Forget’ which is reminiscent of the Italian 90’s techno scene. I tried to keep a melodic element to ‘Cruiser’ and ‘Lunar Eclipse’ but both tracks morph into a rolling beat for the dancefloor. For sure, ‘Take This Trip’ stands out as my softer side, with a lighter tone to it and closes out the release really nicely, keeping things balanced.
You can pre-order the EP here
WWD: You’ll be playing their infamous Drumcode party in association with LWE this Halloween at Tobacco Docks – one of London’s best venues. What do you think of it, and where else have you played in London that you love to head back to?
Yes, this weekend is going to be massive! This is my second time playing at Tobacco Dock for Halloween with the label and last time I played in the Car Park stage area, which was dark and very basement style! This year I am in another room, which I have yet to see, so going to be exciting as always. Drumcode’s London events with LWE are always crazy and they really go all out with the fancy dress which I think is great to see. In Italy we also have Halloween events, but no one goes to the effort to dress up at all! LWE also have the best and professionally run events in the city, it’s always a pleasure to work with them as their production skills are next level. I would love to also see what Printworks is like as a comparison, as I believe they are the two leaders and some of the photos and videos I have seen, it also looks amazing. Who knows if I’ll also be playing the Halloween after party somewhere too?
WWD: We know that you are heavily involved with the Tenax Academy in Italy, and will be playing a very special set at the club on the 13th October, can you tell us about this venue, what it means to you and your part in the academy?
Tenax Academy was born from the idea to communicate through the music with new people are artists who want a new experience. There is nothing better to know how you do something, and then be able to teach those skills to new people. Tenax is the club that I grew up with, so when they asked for my support with the academy and to be a teacher, I said yes without thinking.
It’s nice to see that a club which has been running for almost 40 years, is still evolving with new projects outside of just the club nights they host. This is something that I really respect and admire. Tenax is one of the most legendary clubs in the world, a place that’s had performances from international superstars and true icons of the scene, so it was such a big thing for me to be playing an ‘all night set’ last weekend. A dream come true, after many years for hard work and sacrifice. It was amazing and sold out – such a nice atmosphere and so many friendly faces and fans who have been supporting me since day 1 all came out for the night. Words can’t really express what I felt during and after that set, but it was epic.
WWD: We head into winter and a time to relax. Do you enjoy and plan to have time off? Do you think this is important for all artists to adopt during the quieter months?
Time off is so important and really necessary, not only for family and friends but also for studio time, with no interruptions. I didn’t have much time this year at all and the summer schedule has been crazy. I played almost 60 shows in 3 months, and the winter seems to not be slowing down yet either, as I am off to South America for a tour in early November and then over to Australia in December for another tour there. For NYE I think I have 3 shows that night! I think come January I need the first couple of weeks off, to detox, refresh and recharge! I think I deserve it.
WWD: What other releases can we expect from Marco before 2019?
A lot of going on! It’s a busy time. After the Drumcode release I have a couple of big remixes coming out. One is on DJ Hell’s Gigolo label on the 26th October, it’s my rework of his track ‘Mantra’ which sits on a remix pack with FJAAK, Eduardo de la Calle and Vril. My label Uncage has its next release in November from an amazing new talented French producer called Cèlome, which has a remix from the Zenker Brothers and myself. A new remix for Radio Slaves classic track ‘Grinshouse’ on ReKids too, but I cannot tell you more than that for now! Lastly, the final remix for me is for Phuture and will be out in 2019, it sits alongside a remix from the absolute master – Ricardo Villalobos. So I have a lot to be really excited about right now!