021 Bona

A break within an intense techno set can feel like a relief, as if you stand on top of a hill looking out along a stretched landscape, a moment of clarity to reflect before the beat kicks in. The 21st FIBER podcast, mixed by upcoming Italian DJ/producer Bona, was recorded during such a moment. “I recorded the mix in my old apartment in Treviso, before moving to Berlin. It was such a great moment for me; inspired by the adventure I was going to start in another country”.

At the beginning of the year Bona aka Mauro Bonaventura released his first EP ‘No Place to Hide’ on Enklav. In contrast to the podcast, which is a solid techno mix, his EP shows a different musical side of Bona and taps more into the dubby ambient techno aesthetic. “The idea behind this mix reflects my current mood, characterized by many different and contrasting emotions. I try to express these feelings through the intensity of techno and raw grooves. Music has always represented for me the best way to meditate and to feel comfortable with my sensations.”

Bona has a broad taste in music: “Thrash Metal stuff like Slayer, Anthrax and Kreator impressed me a lot when I was younger; then I discovered electronic music and artists such as Aphex Twin, Basic Channel and Warp Records’ releases really blew my mind.” Another big influence comes from the guys of Enklav, the label set up by Chevel aka Dario Trenchin and Fabio Meo.

Enklav is a hub for Italian associates to release their music. With artists such as Evn, Mudwise, Von Tesla, Bona and Alan Backdrop on the roster, the label can be seen as an exponent of the growing scene in Italy. Chevel, who has released on labels such as Stroboscopic Artefacts and Non-Series, explains how the label came about: ”After traveling quite a bit and living in Berlin for years I thought it was just cool for me and my friends to establish a label and our own aesthetic here in this part of Italy whereas other people move to London or Berlin and they instantly feel cooler with no reason or without taking a risk like I’m doing”. Now with a couple of vinyl releases and a big interview on Resident Advisor it seems that the effort is paying off.

All in all Berlin stays an enclave of creativity all the same so for Bona the experience of an  audiovisual performance by Murcof and Simon Geilfus at the awesome Atonal festival deeply caught his attention. “These are the kind of artworks that, in my opinion, could represent my mix.“ The accompanying image is therefore a digital landscape by Simon Geilfus and refers to the motto of the label that focuses on the interaction between music and technology. As such it’s nice to see how data can create interesting 3d designs, but it’s also interesting that our mind is adjusting to technological imagery in such a way that it reverses things. Like for example how a landscape with mirroring trees in water reminds us of a waveform.