Franco Fonato is a dj and collector based in Bari, south of Italy.
His obscure record collection is the result of a consuming devotion and life lasting exploration. 
Roaming freely from different sonic zones but always maintaining a stable focus on his very own story-telling, Franco Fonato represents clearly the idea of a chameleonic selector.
Over the last years he's been running a monthly show on Threads Radio UK named Explora where regularly hosts international artists orbiting different spaces of the sonic spectrum. "

| EPISODE 154 | Franco Fonato

El pasado 3 de enero Mr Wakanda, jefe de Luv Bar y Mau Mau Underground, organizó una noche "Tuff Luv" en el Laut de Poble Sec. 
Él y yo hicimos B2B antes y después del headliner de la noche, el capo de Clone Records y Clone Distribution en Rotterdam: Serge. 
El holandés se marcó un set memorable, de lo mejor que he escuchado últimamente. Empezó con Chicago house, a destacar el clásico "Drowning In A Sea Of House" de Laurent X y otros de Paranoid London, Mike Dunn o Mr Lee para pasar al electro con Dynarec, PRZ, Privacy... acabar con acid techno de Ten Lardell y cerrar con el "Emotinium" de Roy Of The Ravers. 

Pese a estar temerosos de cómo iría la noche por ser el 3 de enero y el hecho de que Serge pinchase de 2 a 4, a las 2 de la noche ya había ambientazo en la pista y acabó siendo una noche para el recuerdo.

Para acompañar este mix he hecho esta mini entrevista a Serge:

-When did you discover house music, and when did you start DJing?
-That must have been around 1986-87. I was listening to a lot of radio while doing homework, and I heard some really cool new dance music on a couple of shows. It was so different that I wanted to know more about it! It started with hip-hop, R&B, disco, and electro, but at the time, those sounds were mixed with house, wave, and early acid and techno. It was so powerful.

-When was the Clone label founded? What was your idea at the time? 
-In 1992. I was making music with a couple of friends and wanted to get it out into the world and play it myself (vinyl was the only way to play your music in a club). I decided to do it myself, just like the early house and techno labels that inspired me. I also wanted to keep creative freedom and experiment.

-If you had to recommend three essential Clone releases to someone who doesn't know the label, what would they be?
-I can’t answer that question because everyone has their own way into music. It’s personal for everyone, and I can only answer this question if I know someone’s preferences. Some people think Larry Heard’s music isn’t "party" enough and prefer trance. What can you do in such a case? 😊

I recommend spending time scrolling through the catalog and enjoying the pleasure of discovering music you’ve never heard before, all by yourself.

-How do you discover new talent for Clone Records?
-People in my network might recommend someone, I listen to demos, I discover new artists via social media, I hear a great new record by a producer I didn’t know, I connect at parties, or I meet people in the store.

-What advice would you give to someone who wants to start their own record label?
-Haha, don’t do it! 😆
It’s going to suck up a lot of your time, and there’s a fair chance it will make you poor.

But seriously… just do whatever you want to do. Don’t listen to others—just see where it takes you.

-Three gigs from your career at a club or festival that you remember as the best.
The Colundi party at Tapeley Mansion in Devon.
A party in an underwater aquarium, two meters below sea level, in 1992 in Zeeland (all the fish died at the end of the event from the heavy bass 😅).
An illegal acid party in an abandoned fortress, where I did a live set with my old O.R.X. project around 1996.
And, of course, the Acid Planet parties at De Blauwe Aanslag.


RHYTHM CONTROL BARCELONA MIXES 010: SERGE - CLONE RECORDS

27-02-2025 // Robert Bergman // Live recording from the Radio Hinter studio at Der Hintergarten, Amsterdam.

mastering: Victor Marbus

Robert Bergman // M>O>S Recordings // 27-02-2025

Hello greetings welcome, and relax.

Due to a series of unfortunate events, a very late night session at the HQ. New things (to me), favourites and things you were tired of hearing me play out, 12 times ago. The usual. 



Brew /w RB 


BREW RECORDS w/ Robert Bergman [02.04.25]

THE DJ PLANT TEXTURE SESSIONS With Layne & Franco Fonato - 08 Mai 2025

Next up on the GROOVE Resident Podcast are LNS (@lauransparrow) and DJ Sotofett (@sophatmixes), resident DJ's of Tresor's Globus floor. Go to https://bit.ly/GrooveRP64 for interview and track list.

GROOVE Resident Podcast 64 – LNS & DJ Sotofett

G String  - Wonders Of Wishing (from Tape)

In-studio: Franco Fornato

Beverly Hills 808303 - Acid Bunker at Club Smederij 31.01.25

Bookings I-F | Beverly Hills 808303 and Intergalactic FM club and festival hostings: carlos@pontoonbookings.com

Beverly Hills 808303 - Acid Bunker at Club Smederij 31.01.25

Haruka x Craig Gonzalez opened the Dance Room at I.T. presents The Bunker, May 26, 2025, Day 3 of Return to the Source, at Tangent, Detroit.

Craig Gonzalez – @craig-gonzalez:

It's one thing to hop on the decks with someone during peak time at a party in a packed room like the first time Haruka and I played together in NYC but it's another to open a party during the last leg of RTTS weekend. So we started talking about the set a couple of months beforehand, but nothing really prepares you until you're in the middle of RTTS weekend itself. We were texting and chatting about the setup and direction throughout the weekend and eventually landed on keeping things a little funky and fun.  Playing with someone with a similar approach to DJing and also range really made the set feel so effortless for me and I feel that cohesion and the fun we had translated quite well to those that were in attendance.


Haruka – @haruka_ptc:

2023, Good Room (Brooklyn)
We were both booked to play a Bunker party that night and with an hour left before our room was about to shut down, I asked Craig to jump on for an unplanned B2B.  Craig had already set the room up with a deep, super-diverse selection and then vibe in our room was so good, I will never forgot it. So when IT asked us to do it again we got hyped.

RTTS, Detroit
Our slot opened the last day of the three-day marathon, and other parties were running in the daytime too, so it felt like one long 72-hour session. Craig also played Movement. It was my first time in Detroit, so I wandered around, popped into a bunch of events, but spent every night back at Tangent Gallery with Craig—talking, listening to other artists, and getting a real feel for the room. That helped us lock in the vibe and refine the ideas we’d been tossing around for months.

The set
Two words kept coming up: funky and fun (maybe sexy too). I played only a few recent tracks but most were older finds with some electro slipped in naturally. In hindsight the whole thing was a back-and-forth between electro and deep, psychedelic techno, with extra flavours layered on top.




G String - Wonders Of Wishing (from Tape)

G String

Related tracks