Maurizio Ferrara has cultivated a discerning relationship to the critically adventurous surges and acutely innovative currents of underground club music and vernacular experimentation for decades now. Whether selecting as DJ Athome or working as a producer, Ferrara’s breadth of influence is surely felt and rarely drifts from being anything but mesmerizing, especially for anyone that likes to move. Time to get to know him a little bit better in our How’s Life? series.

How did you get into music?

As a Dj and as a producer I get into music by experimenting. It has started with a pair of turntables and a 6 channel mixer. I didn’t wait to know how to beat match, I started directly to experiment with different kinds of mixing, also using scratching, special effects, locked grooves and loops / special effects by using a Revox, adding soundscapes that I was recording myself, it was the time of minidiscs and CD-Rs which allowed you to enrich the mix with your own recordings.

In the middle nighties I started to play different percussions and I bought a Roland MC 303 which was my first approach to club music.

Favourite record to play in front of a crowd at the moment?

Paranoid London - Suck a Dick (vocal)

What was that one album your parents used to play?

Adriano Celentano – Svalutation (1976)

Any tips for beginners?

If you want to produce something different that makes you authentic: take a step off from established standards! Experimenting is the key for producing something new and enthusiastic.

Everybody has its guilty pleasure, what’s yours?

When it comes to good food(s) I tend to abuse!

What’s the number one thing on your bucket list?

Last eye surgery in the next days before going to play in some festivals this summer with Front de Cadeaux.

With which artist would you like to collaborate someday?

John Balance