Italian visionary Franz Scala returns to Slow Motion Records, with ground-moving LP ‘Cafe Futuro’, a follow-up to his highly acclaimed debut ‘Mondo Della Notte’.
Brimming with Scala’s gift for revealing the most subtle feelings of nostalgia one searches for on the dance floor, Café Futuro dives even deeper.
Accompanied by fresh photos from KEYI Studio, we sat down with Franz to chat about the premiere and the album itself.
LISTEN PREMIERE HERE:
Hey Franz, so happy to have you here! How have you been these days, aside from the intense schedule? Could you introduce yourself to our community?
Since 2009 I run Slow Motion music activities with Fabrizio Mammarella. Got lucky enough to make music from a nice hobby to my life vocation. I like to interact with people and travel and it suits me.
Your debut, Mondo Della Notte, introduced your signature blend of nostalgia and dancefloor powerful energy sounds. How does Cafe Futuro expand or shift that vision?
Mondo Della Notte was a collection of dance tracks I was producing during the pandemic. It was my answer to the lack of dance opportunities we all got at that time. With Cafe Futuro I’m exploring more of an all around concept. The idea is to compose the posthumous soundtrack of Cafe Futuro (a bar in the heart of Berlin that I was running from 2011 till 2016)
“Cafe Futuro” feels like both a personal journey and a cultural homage,as you said. What inspired you to dedicate the album to the Neukölln bar and its community?
I loved to run Cafe Futuro. It become a meeting point for like minded music lovers and enthusiasts. We always played mixed packed with cosmic, Italo and balearic. This became a venue signature as the regular and non found the music policy as a common ground to build up our little community .
What does the title Cafe Futuro symbolize to you, musically or metaphorically?
Café Futuro brings back loads of memories, as well as visions of the future. It was a time in my life that helped me realize I was committed to fully working with music.
I made so many connections and friendships—it shaped the way I evolved as both a musician and a person, leading me to where I stand now.
The album steeped into Italo, Cosmic disco and new beat – influences—how do you balance reference for those genres with innovation in your own sound?
With Slow Motion and Wrong Era we always aim to release modern dance music inspired from the 80’s music genre mentioned above. We don’t pretend music should sound like in the 80’s as we offer our own interpretation and evolution strongly inspired from that sound.
You’re known for your vintage synth collection—can you share which synths or gear you used on “Crush Test”? What was the process like?
I remember well how it went down with Crush Test. I was on a family vacation in Tenerife and produce the embryo of the song with plug in during my classic vacation night sessions in front of the laptop. Then back in Berlin studio recorded again all the synth parts with Poly 81, Vintage Keys and Wave Station.
Charlie brings a trippy elegance to the song—her unique voice has that whispery edge that gives you goosebumps. What did she contribute creatively, and how did her presence shape your approach in the studio?
Charlie has been my studio partner for a couple of years and it was great to finally collaborate with her. She is a very talented synth and music connoisseur and great vocalist. The process was pretty simple. As soon as she heard Crush Test she showed interest to work on the track. She made the vocals herself on my instrumental version. Then I lightly edited to match at the beat with the initial idea I had of the track. I really love the atmosphere Charlie’s voice brings to the track. It changes my feeling about the song now sounding more like a danceable romantic ballad.
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