Touane is Berlin-based producer Marco Tonni (1979, Rimni) whose floor-oriented, yet funky series of 12"s have caught the attention of big-name DJs. Signed to Stewart Walker’s Persona Records, his tracks have featured in mixes from Tiefschwartz, Riche Hawtin, Troy Pierce and Steve Bug. Touane is known for his efforts to cross boundaries between jacking rhythms and deepness. Tonni began experimenting with sound and recording while still a teenager in his seaside hometown of Rimni, creating music from snatches of reconfigured memories and fleeting moments of favourite childhood songs. After moving from Rimni to the more lively Bologna, Tonni DJed and performed live at the famous Link Club while still at university. He worked to spread a fresh DIY aesthetic for non-musicians in the college town and with his colleagues organized a series of events and parties, which became, by early 2004, the Homework Festival, a showcase of young and emerging computer artists and musicians in and around Bologna.
 
The same year, Tonni relocated to Berlin. As part of the Persona stable, his individual sound was packaged into the 2005 debut 12” Afasia. This and other early tracks were immediately charted by DJs such as Troy Pierce, Falko Brocksieper, Jeremy Caulfield and Steve Bug. Tonni then released the nuanced, critically acclaimed studio album, Awake, which garnered him attention from press and fans alike. A European tour followed with stops in Madrid, Moscow, and Rome.
 
2006 saw the consolidation of Tonni’s talents. First with the chart-topping single Bassic, licensed for the Fabric Live – Tiefschwarz and for XLR8R’s Berlin Issue compilation CD, followed by more releases on Dumb-Unit, Trenton, Regular, and finally Persona with two more singles. Tonni crossed the Atlantic several times in 2007, bringing his sound to the US, Canada and Japan. He also released an album, Figura, and an EP, Malto, on Persona, as well as taking on more management duties for the label. There were also releases and remixes for Trenton (including the track Action Painting which featured in Philip Sherburne mixes) Curle, Lan Muzic, and a split EP with Ulysses for Hamburg’s Liebe*Detail.
 
Recent offerings have included The Birds (Persona), a collaboration with Alberto Andreoni on Davide Squillace’s Minisketch, and an as yet unnamed collaboration with Andrea Sartori.
 
> www.myspace.com/touane
 
Appearances:
> CTM.09 > AUDICTIVE