Francesco Conti and Friends episode 6 welcomes guest DJ Raf for another edition of the series on Scientific Sound Asia. Scientific Sound Asia operates as an Asian electronic music radio station, DJ agency, promoter and music news platform serving listeners across the region and internationally.
Francesco Conti is an Italian DJ and producer from Rome whose background is closely connected with the city’s radio, club and rave culture. Growing up around the electronic music that shaped the late 1980s and early 1990s, he became particularly influenced by Acid House and Techno.
He began working with radio stations in Rome in 1992 while also developing his experience in the capital’s nightclub scene. Those early years gave him a strong foundation in underground electronic music that he would continue to reinterpret through his own DJ sets and production work.
Over time, Francesco developed a personal approach to the Acid House and Techno influences that had first drawn him towards electronic music. Rather than simply reproducing the sounds of that period, he incorporated them into a broader style shaped by decades of experience behind the decks.
In 2003, Francesco relocated to Italy’s Adriatic coast and continued expanding his activity as a DJ. Three years later, he won the Equinox DJ Competition in Riccione against sixteen other Italian DJs, giving his career another important step forward.
That result opened further opportunities in Ibiza, where he went on to take part in events on the island over the following years. The experience added another international dimension to a career already developed through radio, club performance and electronic music culture in Italy.
Francesco later moved further into production and began building a catalogue of original releases, remixes and collaborations. His work can be explored through SoundCloud and Beatport, documenting the studio side of a career that began through DJing and radio.
His label activity has included an ongoing relationship with Jambalay Records from 2017 onwards. Those releases added another outlet for his electronic music while allowing him to develop ideas informed by years of experience in clubs and behind the decks.
Radio has remained an important part of Francesco’s career, including collaborations with stations such as United Techno Familia and YouMixRadio. His long involvement with broadcasting connects directly back to the environment in which he first developed as a DJ during the early 1990s.
Across more than three decades of activity, Francesco has performed alongside numerous internationally recognised DJs and continued developing his musical outlook through new collaborations and production work. His wider catalogue is also available through Spotify, connecting his current releases with the long career behind them.
Francesco Conti and Friends gives him a dedicated platform for combining his own musical background with selections from invited artists. Episode 6 continues that format with guest DJ Raf, adding another perspective to a series rooted in underground electronic music and Francesco’s long-standing connection with radio.
Guest DJ Raf.
This episode’s guest is Raffaele Cavatorta, also known as DJ Raf, an Italian DJ and producer whose career began when he was nineteen. His early work took him through venues between Parma and Piacenza in northern Italy, where he developed his experience behind the decks before moving into larger club environments.
In the late 1980s, Raf began a ten-year residency at Baia Imperiale in Gabicce Mare, one of Italy’s best-known nightclubs of the period. The residency became a major part of his career and gave him a long-term platform at a venue that attracted audiences well beyond the local Adriatic club scene.
During those years, he also moved into production under the name Raf DJ Dr Kreator. The project gave him an outlet for developing his own studio work while remaining closely connected with the club culture that had shaped him as a DJ.
His career later expanded across Europe, with appearances in countries including Germany, Austria and Switzerland. These international bookings added another dimension to a career that had already been established through extensive residency work in Italy.
Before the pandemic, Raf also held a winter residency in Selva di Val Gardena, one of the best-known tourist destinations in the Trentino-Alto Adige region. The seasonal booking placed him within a very different environment from the Adriatic clubs where much of his earlier career had developed.
During the summer months, he was resident DJ at Malindi in Cattolica, on the Romagna Riviera. He also continued appearing at other clubs and events around the region, maintaining a strong connection with one of Italy’s most established nightlife areas.
Across several decades, Raf has built his career through long residencies, international bookings and production work rather than remaining tied to one short period of club culture. His appearance on Francesco Conti and Friends brings that experience into the programme, connecting northern Italian nightlife, the Adriatic club circuit and a long-running career behind the decks.
Francesco Conti opens the first hour with Lorenzo Chi's "303", immediately introducing an acidic edge before 3minuti and Luca B Ire Dreamer's "Ipnotica" turn the programme towards darker, hypnotic Techno. Gene Richards Jr's remix of DJ T-1000's "Resonance" strengthens that raw, repetitive direction, while Daniela Hensel and Chris Van Deer keep the pressure controlled as the opening section develops.
El Brujo's "Till The Sheeps Become Lions" leads into Marco Bailey and Sigvard before Makaja Gonzales, Charles D and Rudy Ripani move the first hour deeper into driving Peak Time Techno. Michele Cecchi, Ugo Anzoino with Master Master, Teknotik and Unforg1ven maintain the harder rhythmic emphasis through the closing run, leaving Francesco Conti's section firmly rooted in deep, hypnotic and Acid Techno influences.
Raf changes the atmosphere substantially in the second hour, opening with Mollono Bass' remix of Santiago Deep's "Bonsoca" before Lou Gorbea and ARTBAT's treatment of Sono's "Keep Control" introduce a more melodic and spacious club sound. Jeremiah McKnight and the N360 remix of Underworld's "Born Slippy" continue that transition, moving through Progressive House and Melodic House and Techno rather than sustaining the harder pace of the first hour.
Boris Brejcha's "Purple Noise" and "Spicy" bring a stripped, highly controlled techno character into the latter half before the Noir and Haze rework moves the selection back towards deeper house territory. Lil Louis closes with "French Kiss" in The Songbird Sings Long Mix, finishing on a landmark piece of Classic House and giving the episode a final connection between contemporary electronic music and the foundations of Chicago club culture.
Francesco Conti and Friends episode 6
Francesco Conti (first hour)
Lorenzo Chi - 303 (Original Mix) [Ndi]
3minuti - Luca B Ire Dreamer - Ipnotica (Original Mix) [Gain]
DJ T-1000 - Resonance (Gene Richards Jr Remix) [Pure Sonik Records]
Daniela Hensel - Lucky Charm (Original Mix) [Gain]
Chris Van Deer - Evil Angel (Original Mix) [Trench]
El Brujo - Till The Sheeps Become Lions (Original Mix) [Trench]
Marco Bailey & Sigvard - In Motion (Original Mix) [Materia]
Makaja Gonzales - The Truth Will Find You (Original Mix) [Trench]
Charles D (USA) - Uncaged (Original Mix) [Octopus Records]
Rudy Ripani - Hypnotic (Original Mix) [Phobiq]
Michele Cecchi Aka DXL - Planet Id (Original Mix) [Gain]
Ugo Anzoino, Master Master - Kuro (Original Mix) [Trench]
Teknotik - Space Escape (Original Mix) [Trench]
Unforg1ven - Boundary Of A Scar (Original Mix) [Trench]
Raf (second hour)
Santiago Deep - Bonsoca (Mollono Bass Remix)
Lou Gorbea - In Da Ghetto
Sono - Keep Control (Artbatbat Remix)
Jeremiah Mcknight - Aurora
Underworld - Born Slippy (N360 Remix)
Boris Brejchia - Purple Noise
Boris Brejchia - Spicy
Noir E Haze - Around (The Bane Jamie Reakt Remix)
Lil Louis - French Kiss (The Songbird Sings Long Mix)
Listen on Mixcloud here.