Marco Carola

Marco Carola is an Italian techno DJ and producer. In a career that spans three decades Carola prolific output has been part of the backbone of the techno scene. Highly prolific, Carola’s sound has evolved and has covered many of the bases of techno music, more recently finding a new generation of audiences with a slightly slower, more minimal style. Carola has a number of his own record labels including Zenit and Design Music.

Early Years: 1995 to 2005

Born and raised in Napoli in the south of Italy Marco Carola started out as a drummer before eventually swapping his sticks for a pair of record decks.  In the early 1990’s he built his own studio and engineered releases for numerous labels including one for Masters at Work.  His first own production release came in 1995 with ‘Apollo 13’. 

This track and Carola’s other 1995 releases (‘Vol 2. Blue Energy’ and ‘Piece of Trance’) were driving, trance tinged tracks with quacking acid bass lines.  By the late nineties though Carola’s productions were unmistakably techno, such as ‘Peak’ from the Hypertension EP which laid a dark, filtered percussive riff over a pounding dull kick and a frantic hi hat pattern. 

In 1996 he launched his first record label Design Music, focused on releasing techno productions.  His first own release on it was ‘First Planet’ under the guise of Man Train.  Soon after Carola set up another label One Thousand Records. The label only had ten releases, starting with the ‘Nuclear EP’, and each release was limited to a pressing run of just one thousand each.  The majority of the releases came out in 1997 and Carola finished the project with his first mix compilation ‘The 1000’ in 1998. 

1998 proved to be a busy year for Marco Carola.  He moved to Frankfurt, he released the first of his 11‘Question’ EPs ‘1st Question’ and he also released his first collaboration with fellow techno stalwart Adam Beyer, the Fusion Frame EP.  And on top of all this he released both his first studio album in 1998 ‘Fokus’ on another of his own record labels, Zenit.

With Frankfurt as his base Marco Carola’s international DJ career began to take off with headlining gigs across the globe. By 2001 Carola moved to London, which remains his base.  The same year he released his second studio album ‘Open System’.

The next year he released the most successful of the Question series: the ‘9th Question’ EP, featuring a driving but more house influenced style that had started to showcase in ‘8th Question’.   But it was Kevin Saunderson’s remix of his track ‘Avalanche’ in 2003 that got him most attention.  Saunderson’s remix pulled the house leanings of Carola’s original firmly back into the realm of techno with a discordant electro lead all but drowning out the disco guitar lick from the original mix.

Later Years: 2006 to present

2004 to 2006 were quiet years for Marco Carola, including no single releases at all in 2006, a sharp contrast to his prolific output in the late nineties.  ‘Fabric 31’ - a mix compilation for London superclub Fabric – was Carola’s first album in five years and marked the start of a renaissance in his career.

This continued in 2007 with a series of releases that brought his sound to a new generation of listeners.  Tracks such as ‘Re_solution’ and ‘Pallegio’ saw Carola pursue a more progressive and less high octane but pure techno sound.  The 2008 releases ‘Jackpot’ and ‘Bloody Cash’ and ‘The Tribe’ in 2009 saw a continuation of the lower tempo dance floor friendly sound.

Marco Carola might not get quite the same recognition as the likes of Sven Vath, Richie Hawtin or Carl Cox but he is undoubtedly in the premier league of European techno DJs and producers.  His prolific output combined with a passion for the genre and willingness to push boundaries have been a key force in driving techno forward as a genre.  Now after a brief hiatus Carola has found a new generation of listeners and popularity.

Marco Carola is from Napoli in southern Italy and was originally a drummer before opting for turntables.