DJ OF THE WEEK 7.9.12: STEPHAN FASANO IS THE MAGICIAN

Belgium born Stephan Fasano’s story would be interesting enough if we were to focus on the first half of his career, up to his role as one half of the duo Aeroplane. Thing is, this is when his story gets even more interesting. Fasano left the duo at the height of its popularity, soon after releasing their first album “We Can’t Fly.”

After the break up, Fasano reinvented himself, appearing on the scene like a magician stepping out of the stage fog, actually, that’s exactly what he re-emerged as, Fasano now goes by the name, The Magician.

Though what a DJ does could be considered magical, The Magician does not actually perform magic routines while DJing. He does however have some familiarity with magic. See, Fasano was introduced to the culture of the DJ by his uncle, who hosted a radio show. Upon retiring, said uncle handed little 12 year old Stephan his entire record collection. Just like that a collection of Disco, Funk as well as European and Italian pop appeared before him. Mixed with the House and Techno he had already been collecting, he had a pretty formidable collection for a young kid. By his late teens, Fasano was playing locally, eventually making it to the local bars where he cut his teeth learning to read and move a crowd.

In 2001, Fasano met Vito De Luca at a club. Word is they didn’t get along well at first but, recognizing their mutual love of music, they decided to work together. For seven years they worked on numerous projects under various names such as The Spankers and Javelo -I’m sure there were others. Finally, in 2007 they formed Aeroplane and immediately made a name for themselves with a very impressive collection of remixes for the likes of Robbie Williams, Grace Jones, A-Trak, Cut Copy, and Pete Tong just to name a few. Of course there were their own hit singles such as “Pacific Air Race,” “Caramellas,” and “Whispers Feat. Kathy Diamond.” All this lead to the release of their first, and as it turns out, only album in 2010.

Though many looked for drama, the fact is the split was amicable; they had already been working together for close to a decade and each simply wanted to do new things. De Luca continued as Aeroplane and Fasano hit the ground running under his new guise The Magician, first laying down some noteworthy remixes of his own for a few fellow European acts such as Lykke Li “I Follow Rivers,” The Aikiu “The Red Kiss,” and Beni “Bubbles,” among others. He also hit the club circuit, touring twice in 2011 to promote his EP’s ‘Twist’ followed by ‘I Don’t Know What To Do,’ each tour further cementing his own place among his own growing legion of fans.

In 2012, Fasano has continued working his magic in the studio and on the road but, one of the things that really endears him to his fans is his constant release of awesome mixtapes. His series of “Magic” mixtapes are as eagerly anticipated as the release of a single or even an album. And Fasano doesn’t just string together a collection of tracks to stay relevant or to plug the various people with which he collaborates instead, each is a mini work of auditory art working a spell on your groove thang. The Disco and 80’s influence are there, in fact he might have you believing you’re going back to a bygone era but, it’s all an elaborate ruse, The Magician keeps it sounding fresh with smooth House grooves, nu disco, and plenty of Euro flair; one listen and you’ll definitely believe in magic, and you’re going to want to thank his uncle, just saying.