Phonat - The Quake

Michele Balduzzi the allusive, 7 foot, Italian maverick began making music in his rural home village of Tuscany, Italy. He was quickly spotted by MofoHifi Records, via the work he had uploaded on MySpace.The label bosses were so impressed with the 21 year old that they persuaded him to leave his parents' idyllic country farm and move to a bed sit in Dalston, London.So, in 2007 armed with a five year old laptop and a Fender Strat the young Italian moved to London where he spent two years recording his debut album in a small basement in London Bridge. The album encompassed French house, D&B, nu disco, mash up, metal, trip hop, ragga, down tempo, funk, fidget, electro, rock and was described as a "Acid House Bohemian Rhapsody".The album eventually received a global release , by Atlantic / Big Beat, which enabled Phonat to reach a wider audience. The likes of Rob Da Bank, Norman Cook, Annie Mac, Pete Tong and the music presss all began to sing his praises whilst numerous tracks were used in computer games and TV shows. To accompany the tracks several highly acclaimed videos were made by long term Italian collaborator Rocco Pezzella. With his debut album being critically acclaimed as "a landmark genre defining electronic album" Phonat has gone on to become, over the last couple of years, one of the most respected and esteemed electronic producers in Europe. Along with his album, Phonat has also released several EPs including the Cockroaches EP and has remixed artists as diverse as Skrillex and Dizzee Rascal. Phonat also began Djing across the globe with tours in Europe, The USA and Japan. The pinacle of which was performing to a crowd of 25,000 people on the main stage of the Nanomugen festival in Yokohama.

• phonat.net
• myspace.com