6 Katun was not only a landmark release for Passarani and his group of labels flying under the Finalfrontier flag, it also became something of a turning point, with his labels and production work opening up to a broader range of musical influences after its release. The album that followed 6 Katun on Nature was the light-hearted, disco and funk influenced 'Jolly Bar' by Jollymusic - a new project by fellow Romans Francesco de Bellis and Mario Pierro who had previously recorded computer-game and film-music influenced electro under the name Mat-101. The Jollymusic project was eventually signed to Sony, where it enjoyed a short but sweet major label career, but Passarani, de Bellis and Pierro went on to gradually intensify their partnership over the years and in 2003 the threesome founded a new label entirely dedicated to their own productions: Pigna.

The founding of Pigna indicated the start of a highly productive phase for Marco Passarani and his crew: Within two years the three not only released a string of classic 12"s that defined their unique sound - incorporating elements of classic Detroit Techno (Passarani's Analog Fingerprints Series), Italo Disco (Francisco's classics like Fregna or Ultimo) and Acid House (Pierro's Starship 727 project) - they also found time to release the joint album Let 'Em Talk as Pigna People and record a solo album each - the deep and melodic 4 by Pierro's Raiders of the Lost ARP project, Francisco's energetic and humorous Music Business and Marco Passarani's touchingly introspective Sullen Look for Peacefrog.

Equally loved by press and fans alike, Sullen Look turned out to be another highlight in Passaranis's career, masterfully blending funk, electro, house and disco elements with impeccable beat editing and clever pop references - from The System to the Jungle Brothers (sadly restricted to the semi-bootleg 12" preceding the album). But just like 6 Katun before Sullen Look was also an album to inititiate change. Constant DJing and the inevitable string of remix jobs that followed its success - for the likes of Miss Kittin, Booka Shade, Sasse, Microthol or John Dahlbäck - as well as his vocation of teaching young artists the fine points of music production as a member of the Red Bull Music Academy, meant that Passarani had to neglect his Final Frontier family of labels over the past year - something that Passarani is eager to correct with the upcoming relaunch of Nature and Pigna. Both labels have been given new logos, a brand new website, and their first new releases - Marco Passarani's own Stato Stasi on Pigna and Raiders of the Lost ARP's Beyond the Dark on Nature (including mixes by Los Hermanos and Galaxy 2 Galaxy) are but a taste of things to come.

Time to sit down with Final Frontier's mastermind for a brief interview.

Stardate 2099 - An Interview with Marco Passarani

zero": You have chosen a rather solemn title for your new release on Pigna: Stato Stasi - State of Stasis. What does it refer to?

Marco Passarani: The name of the track underscores what was a period for me in the last couple of years, let's say right after the "Sullen Look" album on Peacefrog. Esentially, it refers to a certain moment of the Finalfrontier label, when we slowed down, trying to find new ideas and new forms for our music.
Of course we haven't been sleeping, many things happened in the last couple of years, but surely there was a different thought about production then before. We stopped a bit to understand what was going on around us. Let's say a state of stasis to breathe and think.

zero": So does the relaunch of Finalfrontier mean that phase is over?

M.P: Surely the moment of self-reflection is over. So in a way I would call it off. I believe we're still exploring space, slowly, no warp speed. But the spaceship is moving again. And from what I see, we're dealing with a new quadrant of space and we have a much bigger ship. So we have to be careful.

zero": Together with Mario and Francesco you've managed to develop a very distinct style over the last years - especially for your Pigna releases. Will there be any new artists on the label in the future or is Pigna still reserved for the Pigna People?

M.P.: Sharing the same building and being side by side every day we probably influenced each other creating what you called that kind of Pigna style. But after release number ten - Pigna People - where we celebrated this union we had, Pigna is now an open label to everything that makes our smile grow on our face. As you can see from the webpage there's already a new name on Pigna, Carola Pisaturo, a very talented producer from Naples, and on Nature records there's another new name Alan 1 which is the little one of the crew with fresh energy and innovative ideas. We have also a new dutch artist called Roberto Auser that will debut on Nature records later on this year.

zero": A bigger ship indeed...

M.P.: Yes it is a bigger ship, but not only because of the new names involved. Basically there's a new world to explore which is much bigger and more complex than what we were used to, when the production chain consisted of label-distributor-shop. So, i would say, we need more people to move our ship in this huge new quadrant of space.

zero": For quite a while the 'Sound of Rome' was moving in a very experimental direction with artists like Leo Anibaldi, Lory D. and of course yourself. After your 6 Katun album your music took a turn for the more dance-floor oriented with Pigna and the more melodic with your album Sullen Look. What can we expect next from you musically?

M.P.: Well of course I believe that neither me or the other name you mentioned can represent the sound of an entire city. So as you said, even among my productions you can find many different musical aspects. Surely Rome was oriented towards rather dark sounds for a long time, but I do believe in music in a more general sense of the word. I guess and I can see from the sketches I have in the studio that in the future my music will be mixed up even more - the boundaries between techno, house, electro, disco etc will become more and more invisible.
But the melodic component of it, I believe, will always be there due to my italianity! I can't avoid melodies! (laughs)

zero": Your Italo Disco roots? Do you have them?

M.P.: I wasn't so much of an Italo Disco kid to be honest. Surely that music was really influencial, since I've been listening to it in every TV series, show, B-movie and so on. I've never been a big collector though. I like the most adventurous records from that period, and I love to dance to it when someone like Francisco or I-F is playing it, but it's not really what represents my ideal in music.
You mentioned Italo Disco - I would mention acid-house and early techno as my roots instead - together with a huge dose of funk and electro pop. And with the roots of my music making so strictly dancefloor oriented, it was clear that at some point they would be coming through again! Chicago and Detroit were my first love when I started making beats with the Commodore Amiga, and being a DJ is something I really love .... how could I still hide behind the laptop? I love the more experimental stuff, but I also love groove and funk - and in this moment of my life, that's how I feel.

zero": The other new release on your Nature label - Raider's of the Lost ARP's Beyond the Dark - features a remix by Galaxy 2 Galaxy, Mad Mike's legendary project for Underground Resistance. How did this collaboration come about?

M.P.: I've been knowing Mike and the rest of the crew for a long time. In 1993 when they came to Rome for the second time, I gave them my SH101 to play live. Back then Alan Oldham was the DJ of the crew (after Mills), and that's how my relation with Detroit started. Mike and me have been in touch once a while since then, cause he knew we (me and Andrea Benedetti) were fighting hard to sell the good stuff in Italy. But at some point our contacts became more and more intense, so we decided to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Finalfrontier in Rome inviting Mike and his new formation to play live as Galaxy 2 Galaxy. Among a series of projects and possible extra projects, which we've been and still are discussing, Mike and Gerald Mitchell fell in love for Mario's track "Beyond the dark" ... and the rest is what you hear!