Diving deeper into “Cafe Futuro” // An Interview with FRANZ SCALA

• What are your earliest, most formative memories when it comes to music and sound?

I grew up surrounded by music, but not in a formal way. It was always around on the radio, at home, on auto trips, at small local bars. My first real connection came through curiosity rather than training. I remember being fascinated by how sound could change your mood completely, a melody, a bassline, even just a strange noise. Later, playing in bands as a teenager, I discovered that same energy in creating sound myself, and that’s what pulled me in for good.

• I read somewhere that you played in a noise rock band at the start. How and when did you begin and develop your connection with dance electronic music then?

Yes, I played in a noise rock band for a few years. That scene taught me a lot about freedom and energy. Around that time, I also started collecting records — mostly out of curiosity. Slowly, I got into early electronic stuff, New Wave, and House. I realized I could channel the same intensity from live instruments into machines. The transition was natural, just another way to explore rhythm, repetition, and emotion.

• When did you start DJing? Were you self-taught, or did you have an ‘art teacher’? Where did you use to buy vinyls?
  

I started DJing not long after I began collecting records. It was very organic playing at small parties with friends, trying to keep the flow right. I never really had a teacher; it was all trial and error. The best teacher was the party itself. In answer to the last part, I used to dig for vinyl everywhere I could, record fairs, small secondhand shops, flea markets. I was obsessed with finding music that felt a bit lost or forgotten, things with character. That search never really stopped.

• Let’s talk about your label Slow Motion, founded with Fabrizio Mammarella in 2009, how the “Italian dance wave” evolved and its future leanings and plans.

When we started Slow Motion, the idea was to give Italian producers a platform with space to express their sound without compromise, a place where 80s influences and more experimental ideas could live together. “Italian dance wave” now feels more like a mindset than a genre, it’s more like an attitude. The future is about keeping that energy alive while exploring new directions and discovering new artists.

• Let’s talk about how you arrived in Berlin, I guess, by chance, from a quiet and small provincial town of Central Italy, to the huge vastness of Berlin. As I’ve been a regular visitor since the very early 00s, you were lucky enough to experience the equally fleeting and electrifying unadulterated nature of a city in ongoing frenetic motion and change, where the clubs, the venues, apart from a few institutions, lasted a brief wink…
  

It was definitely a big change from a small town to a city that never really sleeps. At first, it was a challenge, but a very inspiring one. Berlin gave me space to experiment, to find my sound without pressure. The energy here is unique and full of creativity. I’ve seen the city evolving, and some of that early rawness is gone, but it still pushes you to keep moving.

• When did you start connecting the dots between a multifaceted array of different music styles in your own music and DJing?

I think it started naturally from my record collection. I never liked the idea of sticking to one genre. I was always curious about how things could fit together, even if they weren’t supposed to. Playing in bands and then DJing taught me that it’s all about melting together vibes, not labels. Over time, I developed a way of connecting sounds that maybe doesn’t belong to the same music style but somehow speaks the same language.

• Let’s talk about Italo disco, a genre both loved and hated in our country, considered too commercial and frivolous. It seemed to have fallen into oblivion, then, I think, thanks in some way to DJ Hell’s Gigolo and I-F’s Interdimensional Transmission, it made a vigorous comeback in the late ’90s and is still kicking. When did your passion for this style ignite? What does ‘Italo-disco’ mean to you?

I discovered Italo a bit later around mid ‘20s. Thanks to the names you mention and also thanks to the early release from Clone and Crème Organization plus other great labels like Radius, Dissident, Supersoul or Pigna to name a few. What caught me first was the mix of emotions in the sound, the signature melodies, strange synths, sound effects, catchy vocals and that mix of ecstasy and melancholy. It felt very Italian in a way I could relate to. Over time, I realized how creative and open-minded those early 80’s producers were. For me, Italo disco is not much about nostalgia, it’s about freedom of taking risks, being a bit dramatic, and having fun while doing it.

• What’s your perspective on using vintage equipment versus modern ones? What piece(s) of musical gear are the most important to you?

I use a mix of both. Vintage gear it’s somehow imperfect, sometimes unpredictable, and that gives character to the music. Modern tools are great for flexibility and workflow, but I like it when the machine has its own soul. The Bit99 is special to me, maybe because it’s Italian and has that slightly dreamy tone. In the end, it’s not about old or new, it’s about how it makes you feel when you’re in the studio creating music.

• How cerebral and how instinctive are your music and productions?
  

Mostly instinctive, I’d say. I don’t plan too much when I start. I like to follow where the sound wants to go. Of course, there’s a bit of thinking involved when you shape the final arrangement, but the first spark has to come naturally. Sometimes a small mistake or a random loop can lead to the whole track. For me, that’s the magic and most inspiring part. 

• What are the differences in production and sound-wise for you in the new album as compared to your first one?

“Mondo Della Notte” was more directly built for the dancefloor, with a strong club energy. “Café Futuro” is still connected to that world, but it goes deeper into storytelling. It’s more cinematic, more reflective. I wanted each track to have its own little scene, almost like a memory or a dream. The production also changed. I used vocal collaboration for the first time with a wider palette of sounds, softer textures, and took more time to let things breathe. It still moves, but with more space and emotion.

• The vocal tracks seem to be strategically placed, at the start, at the bottom, and a couple in the middle. Did you have a certain criterion about how you stitched the tracklist together? How did you choose the vocal collaborations?

The structure came very naturally. I wanted the album to flow like a night out, with moments of movement, reflection, and emotion. The vocal tracks help guide that mood. Each collaboration came from a personal connection, people whose energy fit perfectly with the sound I had in mind. I like it when a voice feels human and adds a story to the music, not just a melody. It brings personality, something that pure electronics can’t always express alone. The final tracklist was made with the help of my label partner Fabrizio Mammarella, who helped me a lot during the album making process. 

• The new album is a heartfelt homage and soundtrack to the influential Neukolln bar and meeting point for Italo and Cosmic disco heads, Cafe Futuro, please take us to those times…

Café Futuro was a special place. A small bar I was running from 2010 to 2016, it quickly became a meeting point for artists, DJs, and music lovers. The atmosphere was very open, you could walk in on any evening and find people talking about records, making new connections or just sharing ideas. It had this mix of nostalgia and discovery, just like the music. The album is a tribute to that spirit, not just the physical space, but the feeling of connection, of creativity happening naturally.

• What’s your take on the evolution of the dance electronic sound, the club culture, and life, for better or for worse, in Berlin?

Berlin has grown and shifted in many ways since I first arrived. The energy is still there, but it’s different now, maybe a bit more polished, less wild. Back then, everything felt more spontaneous, more unpredictable. But that’s the natural cycle of big cities and scenes. What’s important is that the spirit of freedom survives, and I know first hand it still does in smaller spaces, in people doing things for love rather than hype. The sound also keeps evolving, producers and DJs are mixing styles and sounds in new ways, and that’s exciting. Change is part of what keeps Berlin alive.

• What other interests do you have besides music, and how do some of them influence your production? 

I love design and visual art, especially older Italian graphic and design from the ’70s and ’80s. Those aesthetics influence how I imagine music, the colors, the atmosphere, and the sense of time. I also enjoy cooking; it’s another kind of creative process that I find therapeutic and keeps me in balance. All of that feeds into how I make music — it’s about creating emotion and a personal world people can step into.

• Which of your tracks are  you particularly proud or fond of?

It’s hard to choose, because each track belongs to a certain moment in my life. But there are a few that stayed close like “Grauzone”, my first ever release on Dissident and “Claudia”, released a few years ago on Fauve Records.  They represent turning points, where I found a sound that felt really mine. And of course, many tracks from “Café Futuro” are special because they carry so many personal meanings and memories, the people, the bar, the atmosphere. It’s like a diary in music form.

• Records that can’t leave your DJ box?

It changes all the time, but there are a few I always come back to, music that connects eras and moods. Like Alexander Robotnick, any Pigna Records with tracks from Francisco, Passarani and Riders of the Lost Arp, plus any Fabrizio Mammarella remix. I also love mixing in lesser-known Italian tracks from the ’80s alongside newer underground releases. I like when a set feels like time travel, jumping between music genres and surprising people.

• Which are the treasured records that deeply affected and possibly defined you as a producer?

There are many, but a few stand out. Artists like Gaz Nevada, Ministry and Manuel Göttsching really shaped how I think about music and the balance between classic and experimentation. Also, many early Italo and Cosmic records from the ’80s, which showed me that you can be playful and deep at the same time. Those still echo in everything I do, even if the result sounds different today.

• Many Thanks for being our special guest. What’s next after the album? or (your final words) as you like

Thank you, it’s been a pleasure. After “Café Futuro”, I want to slow down a bit and focus on creating new ideas without pressure. Maybe explore different production ways and possibilities. I normally don’t plan too far ahead; I prefer to let things happen naturally. Music always finds its own way when you give it space.