Napoli, 1993, and the enduring flame of the Italo house sound had begun to smolder. The|young DJ Marco Carola had at this point been spinning house music for a number of|years— but as commercial club music began to assert a stranglehold over Italy, and the|hopelessly insular media of the country’s north continues to shun the south, a change is|afoot. Fuelled by a groundswell of local DJs, clubbers and promoters; visits from DJs like|Richie Hawtin and Jeff Mills; and Napoli’s long held propensity for underground music, the|city’s techno scene enters into its embryonic stage. Marco along with friends Davide|Squillace, Gaetano Parisio, Danilo Vigorito, Rino Cerrone and Random Noize are at the|vanguard of this early movement, and with no one outside of the city to take cues from, the|Neopolitan scene becomes a force unto itself. If they’re doing their job properly every DJ will have a calling card, and as Marco puts it, he|was “born” with a three-deck style of mixing. This fast and furious approach also lent itself|to use of a sampler, which would later provide the grounding for Marco’s work as a|producer. By 1995 he had amassed a considerable body of music, but with no indigenous|labels to put-out his creations, Marco was forced to take matters into his own hands.|Design Music was set up with a humble aim: for people to experience the music of Marco|Carola. But as sales on its initial release, First Planet, entered into the tens of thousands|and Sven Vath became an ardent early supporter, it was clear Design, and by extension|Carola, were set for far bigger things. Aiding this ascent was Marco’s concise approach to the release of music. The remainder|of the ’90s saw him establish the Zenit, Question and One Thousand labels—all with a|clear musical aim, and, in the case of the latter, a defined number of releases. In 1998 he|relocated to Frankfurt in order to further his advancement in the burgeoning techno scene.|This new home base unlocked myriad opportunities for him to export his now famous|three-deck style to clubs across the globe, although by 2001 he was already seeking a|fresh challenge and thusly moved on to the electronic music stronghold of London. In|retrospect the year proved to be pivotal. Marco released his second album, Open System|(following on from 1998’s The 1000 Collection), to widespread critical acclaim. Key German|publication Groove deemed its multifarious, texturally rich approach to broken beats,|techno and electronica worthy of their album of the year accolade. Renewal: for a 20-year veteran such as Marco, shedding your creative skin and following|your instincts are fundamental means of remaining relevant. By 2004 he had reached a|plateau of sorts, and was torn. The harder techno sound he’d been pushing for so many|years had elevated him to the scene’s top tier, but inside he harboured a burning desire for|musical upheaval; a lust for refinement, to slow things down and get back to the groove.|Now residing back in Napoli, Marco began a process of reinvention, starting with a focus|on bookings at smaller clubs with more underground sensibilities that better suited his new,|more considered style and offered the opportunity to hone it over the course of longer,|extended sessions. Domestic Minimal Noise was set-up as a bridge between the Marco|Carola of old and new, evidenced by the label’s pacey yet undoubtedly funk-fuelled output.|The encapsulation of this transformation came a couple of years later, however, as Marco|reneged on his stance of not recording mix CDs (he always felt his three-deck, club-ready|style was inappropriate for the form) and agreed to contribute to London club fabric’s|seminal mix series. Fabric 31 was a lesson in sleek, future-facing minimalism. The disc|introduced Marco to an entirely new audience and clearly illustrated an artist revelling in a|fresh creative perspective. 2007’s Apena would also prove to be hugely significant. The release heralded his first|collaboration with Richie Hawtin’s Plus 8/Minus stable. This family environment has since|established a platform from which Marco has been encouraged to express himself with|unbridled creative freedom. The most widely recognized example of this was 2008’s|undeniable earworm “Bloody Cash” which garnered Plus 8 with one of that year’s biggest|techno tracks. Both Minus and Plus 8 have continued to host his 12-inch productions at|regular intervals (Plus One, Plus Two and Walking Dog to name a few), and in 2M Marco|has been granted his own sub-label (strictly limited to 2000 copies per release) to curate as|he sees fit. Ibiza has become more and more of a key destination for Marco through the years, and in|2010 this was solidified by his residency at Cocoon’s Monday night Amnesia sessions.|Party ringleader Sven Vath showed further faith in Marco by asking him to mix Cocoon’s|Party Animals CD alongside Nick Curly, building on the foundations laid down by Marco’s|double-disc Time Warp 2009 mix, which married the deeper house end of his range with|his now trademark groove-ridden techno. When it came to following up Open System Marco knew it must be with something|exceptional. “I’ve been working like crazy on Play It Loud,” he says on the travail behind his|latest full-length. “I’ve never been working like this, not even when I was a kid and I wanted|to be known!” The resulting album is the perfect amalgamation of Marco’s DJ and|production sensibilities. Play It Loud’s 18 tracks are presented in mix form and explore|what proved for Marco to be a highly fertile middle-ground between home listening and the|dancefloor—a reduced tempo and complete creative license from Minus allowed Marco to|burrow deeper into his sound than ever before. “I always try to do something new,” he|says. “When I produce, or when I DJ, I don’t really think about where I want to go|musically, I just start to feel.” |Naples, Italy| |
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