Mauro Picotto

Tens of thousands of people from all nationalities have experienced Meganite events, thanks to the many residencies held by Mauro Picotto and Meganite. Besides the acclaimed Ibiza residency, Mauro and Meganite hold events in Miami, London, New York and many more cities in Europe, Asia, Australia and America. On February 18th 2006, during the Olympic Night in Turin, over 30,000 people joined the event taking place at the city's university hall. The event at 'Palazzo Nuovo' was organised in partnership with the regional and local guvernment. In April, house master Danny Tenaglia invited Mauro Picotto at Crobar in New York City for an event that made history. The new Meganite summer event for 2007 will return to Ibiza, where Mauro Picotto, alongside his superstar guest DJs, will deliver another unforgettable season. Born in a small Italian town near Turin, Picotto was raised in a family of stonemasons and dancers. His father ran a masons yard called CRW, a name Mauro would later use as a moniker for one of his biggest records. Picotto longed to start making his own productions, but felt that to be successful he must first become a DJ and learn exactly what people wanted to hear in a record. After winning the Walky Cup competition on national TV, an event for the top DMC djs in Italy, a chance meeting with Daniele Davoli, there to promote his Black Box single Ride On Time, led Picotto to really throw himself into music production. His first track We Gonna Get, produced under the name RAF, became a Top Twenty across much of Europe and Picotto had well and truly caught the bug. Another RAF release followed, alongside remixes and co-writing credits for the likes of Club House, Capella and the 49ERS. Soon the time was right to release a track under his own name and the resulting record, Bakerloo Symphony, ended up being Number 1 in Italy for eight weeks. Also in 1996 Mauro became a partner in Media Records alongside Gianfranco Bortolotti. 1998 saw him make his bid for UK stardom, with the release of the inescapable Gatecrasher anthem Lizard a record that, for many, summed up the hegemony of the emerging trance sound. The track ended up being a Top 30 hit and was followed by two further instalments in the reptilian trilogy Iguana and Komodo. Komodo notched Picotto another chart hit, entering at Number 11, as well as a performance on Top Of The Pops. Mauro was the first DJ to ever play live on the show. Further Top Tens followed, including I Feel Love, under the moniker CRW and Communication, recorded alongside his friend and fellow countryman Mario Piu. The track sampled a mobile phone ring tone and became an omnipresent summer anthem. Furthermore it was Picottos remix which propelled Yorks Balearic trancer On The Beach to Number 1 when it was selected by the record company to be used as the radio edit. Two artist albums, The Double Album and The Others, came next, in 2000 and 2002 respectively, as well as remixes and productions for the likes Freddie Mercury, Jimmy Sommerville, Pet Shop Boys and U2. Unfortunately it didnt take long for other producers to start to cash in on the Picotto sound and soon everybody was apeing his tough, uncompromising style. Having paid his dues, and notching up a string of hits, it was time for Picottos metamorphosis from trance star to techno superhero to begin. I used to play 6-hr sets at Gatecrasher, Mauro explains. But I began to grow up and the generation of people I was playing to was growing up with me. I began to make the transition into techno because it felt right and I loved the music. It wasnt like I suddenly said, Right, now Im going to play techno. I just like good music and Im proud that, as well as creating new fans, Ive brought a lot of my old fans with me and opened them up to a new style of music. On top of the estimated 250 tracks that hes made to date, Mauro also leads the DJ pack when it comes to his globetrotting schedule. One minute hes spinning to a packed out 45,000-seater football stadium in Amsterdam and the next hes playing to 18,000 in the middle of the Amazonian jungle at seven in the morning, with parrots flying overhead. After leaving Media Records in 2002, Picotto formed Bakerloo Music, as well as a new label Alchemy, releasing a slew of massive club tracks, including New Time New Place and the Alchemy EP. That same year he launched his Meganite party at the Miami Winter Music conference and tickets instantly became must-haves for the assembled danceratti. Building on the concept he had honed in Miami, Picotto took Meganite to Ibiza in 2004, transforming the cavernous Privilege into an intimate techno paradise for those who like their music raw, tough and undiluted. The night became one of the most successful debut parties on the island. Following the success of the first season, Mauro returned to Privilege in 2005 with an even bigger lineup featuring new Meganite Ibiza guests Adam Beyer and Marco Carola. The unforgettable season confirmed Meganite as one of the top events on the island, with weekly attendances reaching over 5,000. The year 2006 was probably the most successful for Mauro and Meganite. The even was back in Ibiza at the Superclub Privilege for the third year in a row, with new residents Marco Carola and Misstress Barbara. In 2007 Mauro Picotto is set to release his new single "Maybe" and a new album "Now & Then". The new Meganite Compilation 4 and DVD will follow just ahead of the new Meganite Ibiza season, which returns to the white isle for the fourth year in a row. IMPORTANT DATES 1985 | The beginning 1989 | Winner of Best Italian DJ Walky Cup dj television Italia 1 1990 | First production We Gonna Get (R.A.F. by Picotto) and numerous acclaimed collaborations with artists linked to Media Records 1996 | Bakerloo Symphony ..1 in Italy for 8 weeks 1998 | First release as Mauro Picotto with Lizard on BXR 2002 | The Metamorphosis begins 2003 | Birth of the concept Meganite electronic music lifestyle ALBUMS 2000 | The Double Album Featuring Lizard, Komodo, Iguana, Pulsar, Baguette, Proximus 2002 | The Others Featuring Verdi, Awesome!!!, Back to Cali, Hong Kong, Bangkok 2006 | Superclub Featuring New Time New Place, Funkytek, Pandoro, Taotek, Darkroom AWARDS | 1989 First Award: Best Italian DJ - Walky Cup Competition / Italia 1 TV | Best International DJ: German Dance Awards | Best Producer: German Dance Awards | Best Radio Hit: German Dance Awards | Best International DJ: Danish Dance Awards | Best International DJ: Ericsson Swiss Dance Awards | Best International DJ: BBM Irish Dance Awards | Best International DJ: Deejay Magazine Spanish Dance Awards | Best International DJ: TMF Dutch Dance Awards | Best International DJ: 2FM Irish Dance Music Awards | Best DJ Techno: Pacha DJ Awards 2005 Ibiza | Best DJ Techno: M8 DJ Awards 2006 Ibiza | Voted in the Top 100 DJs in TheDJList.com (USA) and DJ Mag (UK)