b. Stefano Fontana, Milan, Italy. Fontana’s musical career started as an electro and hip-hop DJ in Italy during the 80s. Discovering film soundtracks in his father’s record collection and influenced by jazz pioneer Herbie Hancock and electronic godfathers Kraftwerk, he began producing his own music. In 1987, he became resident DJ at Milan’s Plastic club, where he became associated with what was known in Italy as the ‘New Sound’. At Plastic, his sets would last six or seven hours, moving from hip-hop to house to classic disco. In February 2003, Fontana’s belated debut, Man Music Technology, was released on the EMI / Chrysalis Records’ dance imprint, Prolifica. It was met with perhaps hyperbolic praise by industry figures and media alike and prompted some to describe Fontana as Italy’s answer to Fatboy Slim, owing to the eclectic nature of the album. Diverse in its stylistic range and making heavy use of samples, it spanned funk, disco, hip-hop and house, while ‘All Nite Long’ was described by one critic as being so close to Abba’s ‘Gimme, Gimme, Gimme (A Man After Midnight)’ that it risked infringing copyright laws. Despite the presence of big-name remixes, the densely released singles ‘If Everybody In The World (Loved Everybody In The World)’, ‘Soul Reply’, and ‘Way Of Life’ made little impact on the UK singles charts, although they did enjoy some success in clubs.