In the 80’s when just 14 years old was hangin’ around with oldest friends in the most influencial clubs of the local area (east north Italy) discovering various styles of dance music. When 19, just after the army (it was mandatory, in 1985 you had to serve the army for one year, no escape, no money) I had an offer from a friend, Leo, who knew my sickness for club music and night life, to start working in his radio station, here in the city of Udine, where I live and run my software company. He and other two guys were running a small business radio station, based on commercials for the locals, covering the region. I began. I was mounting commercials on tapes all day long, it was hard, not frustrating for it was a job, but, not what I wanted to express my creativity, I kept on. In a couple of months, however, things changed. The radio station was playing top 40 songs 24/7 with no speaking, just jingles, commercials and music. A tune changed the whole scene. We, me and the other guys at the station, were trying to insert some club music into the programs, but that tune “Promised land†in conjunction with other cool records gave us the opportunity to start turning up the whole club scene of the country. We wanted to make a Club Music chart, playing club music all day long, no more top 40 songs like many other radio stations.My DJ career begins in a small club, however it was an exclusive club, people came from the cities around to listen to some cool stuff. Leo, one of the 3 owners of the radio station, was running this club, also, and, noted my skills for playing records on air, ask me to became the Dj of that club. Panic. It was my dream, it was my favorite Club but I never play in front of more than 10 friends at parties before. My stomach relaxed after two or three months, it was both a great and painful experience. I was playing 8 hours, sometimes, without stopping a moment, the whole weekend, for 3 years. That experience left a sign and the knowledge I was ready to try something more important.In the meanwhile the radio station was growing. We created a club music chart called “Los Cuarentaâ€, Spanish scene was influencing our CEO at that time, and we were brodcasting during peak hours. The name of that station was “ITALIA NETWORK†and in few months it became the major authority and most influential radio station for the whole club scene in Italy. The growth of the network was exponential, small local radio stations were offering their frequencies to play our programs, so we covered the whole country in months. Initially recorded, then live. The power of house music was so strong that almost every Club in covered areas had to change from dance to house. 5000 clubs were playing house music from nothing, many of them opened for the growing request from the audience. Even other famous radio station had to include house tracks into their programs. We were the main media for sponsoring events of the best and most influential Clubs, also. Our charts were the reference for Djs, record stores, distributions, importers and record labels. Naturally I didn’t get a cent from that, I was an employee, with nice ideas and good intuition, but nothing more, even though I was managing the whole stuff. There were days I had to listen to more than 200 records, and the things went worse when the majors began to send CDs of every kind and style of music.I went to Miami and NewYork for a couple of months for I wanted to know where all those records came from, so I began to visit the record labels and met some "nu" friends. Oh yes, I would like to thank Ms. Liz and all her beautiful friends for being so kind (and that wild guy of Costantino Padovano for introducing her to me and for hosting me at his home, also) and for taking me to the best underground places of NY city, discovering the real house underground scene. The Sound Factory (not the Sound Factory Bar that came later !!!) was my school for learning the subtle magic that creates between a Dj (Junior Vasquez? was he?) and the crowd, through rhythm brakes, atmosphere brakes and beat starting. I was in the crowd every Saturday Night, me and Liz, the only white persons in the middle of 3000 friendly, nice, cozy, lovely, fly, black guys, feeling vibes powered by the best sound system ever. Priceless. Unique.I had to build my career from zero, however, I had the idea to start recording during free time the first mixed program transmitted on a nation wide radio station in Italy, the executives were not happy about that idea and I had to fight to obtain 45 minutes at Saturday night. All that while I was still playing during the weekend at the small club. The name of the program was "The Mastermix". I imported the name from NY, I was listening to WBLS and someone was spinning the records... So you know the phrase “... sta girando I dischi per te†o “Girano I dischi di ...†comes from a translation of "... is spinning the records for you" from WBLS. At the same time not only Clubs were interested to advertise but record labels also wanted to play their records. I had many offers to remix and produce tunes, my first production was “Entity†made by me with Paolo Bisiach and Christian Hornbostel (partner and friend for 4/5 years of production), we made many productions such "Tales from the Underground", "Desert rain", and even though it was not properly house we made "Virtualmismo" which is now back again. So I received many invitations by labels to the main events, such Winter Music Conference in Miami, Music Seminar in NY. It was there that everybody was calling me Mr.Marvin (my last name, French origins even though I am born in Gorizia, a small town on the Italian and Slovenian border) and everybody start calling me that way when back in Italy.Probably moved by listening to the Mastermix, a lot of art directors was inviting me as guest in their clubs, so I left the Medea club (the small club) and started to travel the country. The first great season was at the Area City (Venice) with Massimino, Alex Natale and Dj Ricci, then a winter season at Alter Ego (Verona), summer at the Cocoricò (Riccione) in the privè, Movida and Matilda Jesolo, but the greatest place I remember in Italy was a small absolutely not famous club, the Lemon Light in the suburbs of Naples, even though I went to Naples just a couple of times the atmosphere and the alchemy there, in that small club, was unique. Thanks to Tony Maione and who organized the events. Well, my tuning, vibes and music was working fine in unformal places where people were going for enjoing dancing and uplifting soul though eveolved ears rather than ego or worse mouth intaking. Just to let you know what I think about. Then everyone is responsible for himself about that. I never got to a compromise with such situations, and that was the reason I was probably not good for some of them and their clubs. Fortunately.Something about the producer career. In 1991 I met Christian Hornbostel, Paolo Bisiac, and Enrico Santacatterina the bassman, the firs one was introduced to me trhough Mauro Ferrucci and the others came thru him. With those guys I made the 90% of the productions in those years. We were producing for Expanded Music in the beginning and I founded some labels that acquired audience year by year in the club music scene, Progressive Motion, Mantra Vibes, actualy still running under management of Expanded. We try, after many invitations from Giovanni Natale, CEO of Expanded music, to produce some trance tunes also, like Mismoplastico by Virtualmismo which is getting a certain success again after 12 years with new remixes. Remixes were my speciality, though. I made many for Flying Records and his unforgettable manager and that time friend Angelo Tardio, ACV also, I made some in cooperation with Joe T Vannelli for productions like the Fanny Cadeo (cute girl) series, and Tribal America remixes, and many other cool labels you can see below in the discograpy list.I would like to list all the places and events I was participating, there are many places I would like to mention, but it would be too long listing 15 years. I have to thank everyone that invited me to his club and his events, all DJ friends and Art Directors, well, Pietro Villa was number one. If you all are reading send me an email, please. I will be happy to reply and enjoy and remember past time together. I had many other satisfactions, probably due to remixes and singles, I was invited around the world. I have, however, to apologize with a lady in Miami (I was playing at one of the Winter Music Conference events organized by my unforgettable friend Joe Issa of E-SA records in 1993 - not sure about the year, though), she waited for me to get my details to contact me (professionally) more than 1 hour, I was so deep in mixing, I did not realized the time was gone, and when I finished with my performance, she was gone, also. Sorry please forgive. Ultimate dream was to play in NY city and Ms. Stace Bass from Orlando (actually in LA) gave me the chance to play at the Shelter (formerly the Quick and the original Shelter, before) sorry again for not having any tape with me to left to those who asked. Then I left, for the things at the radio station changed This was many time ago. But due to friends insistence and perseverance, especially in the last year, I decided to produce some tunes again.Hope you’ll enjoy.
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