Alex Picone

Italian-born Alex Picone's passion for deep analogue-sounding grooves is all consuming. Ever since he was a teenager, his whole life has been devoted to feeling, sharing and shaping hip-rolling house and techno. And of course, it shows. Whether he's laying it down at top Italian clubs like Flow or il Muretto, or blasting it out in Berlin where he's now based, his ego-free approach to DJing attracts true underground party heads in droves.

Alex (aka Alessandro Picone) was born and grew up in Padova, where he started DJing in the mid-90s – when he was just 15 years old. His skills soon landed him regular slots at La Scala in Padova, and from there he began to organise his own house parties before bagging key residencies at Flow and il Muretto. Playing regularly at these clubs, alongside such international talents as Luciano, Richie Hawtin and Ricardo Villalobos, added a momentum to his musical evolution that later propelled him into the world of production.

It was in 2004 that Alex took his first steps as a producer, hooking up with Kay Sand (Francesco Sperotto) to form Chronic Flakes. Their funky-assed tracks quickly earned respect from the likes of Alex Neri, who released two Chronic Flakes' records on Bustin' Loose in 2005/6. Neri then unleashed Chronic Flakes' tech-house extravaganza, the Omnadawn EP, complete with a remix by Guido Schneider, on Tenax Recordings – and included 'Galicia' from the EP on his 2008 il Muretto mix.

Alex was on a roll and after six years of living between Padova (in winter) and Ibiza (in summer) he finally adopted Berlin as his new home in late '08. Here he built on an existing relationship with a fellow Italian in Berlin: Lucretio, the label manager of Detroit's Mixworks. Lucretio had already been mailing Alex's output to the mastermind of the Mixworks network, Buzz Goree, which led Alex to release 'Berlin Dub' as a part of the Persistence EP, Mixworks' debut release. He followed this up by returning to Mixworks as Chronic Flakes and nailing 'Numalbix', which came out on the Dance Tactics EP. 2008 also saw Alex put out his first full EP as a solo artist, Furby Floppy, on Luciano's Cadenza Records. This won him nods from both peers and press, and 'Floppy' went on to feature on Luciano's Fabric 41 mix, while the slow-burning 'Berlin Dub' was included on Âme's Fabric 42.

Bringing a warmer, more human feeling to mixing than many of his contemporaries, Alex has now played at such clubs as the aptly named Underground in Ibiza and Fabric in London. Plus Cadenza showcases around Europe, from Cocoon Club and Watergate in Germany to the buzzing Black Sea Coast of Romania. He also felt firsthand the force of Underground Resistance when he visited the US to play a couple of sets in Detroit during Movement DEMF 2009. First at a Mixworks' party, alongside Buzz Goree, Mike Servito and several other real deal DJs, then at an after-hours hosted by the irrepressible Seth Troxler.

2009 sees Alex continue to explore a subterranean landscape of beats through his groove-ridden Motherland EP on Bosconi Records. He also has a third release on Mixworks called 'No Kiss', which has already been supported by heavyweights like Luciano, Hawtin, Villalobos and Raresh. And he's planning another EP, based around his new 'Mon Amour' track, complete with an exceptional remix from Chris Carrier. Then there's another Chronic Flakes collaboration, this time for Mike Shannon's Cynosure imprint. Not to mention fresh material born of his friendship with Argentinian adventurer Ernesto Ferreyra.

Music. Playing it, producing it, and making it happen for the true heads. This is the fuel that fires the passion of Picone. A life lived for, and through, music.