As part of our Show and Tell series, we asked Belgian techno powerhouse Farrago to share some of the things outside of music that inspire him.
Since entering the scene in 2017, Farrago has quickly established himself as one of the leading figures in contemporary Belgian techno. Known for crafting fast, trippy sounds alongside his equally energetic DJ sets, Farrago is helping carry the torch for a new generation of Belgian artists.
After three EP releases on the Berlin-based A R T S label, the Exhale resident co-founded Lenske with Amelie Lens in 2018 where he has been a mainstay over the past few years. Now Farrago is looking to make a bigger splash than before with his recently announced debut album ‘Blessed’. If you want a taste of what’s in store, you can now stream the second single from the album ‘Ducky Tribal Mission’.
It might be a surprise for some, but there really is more to life than just music. Beyond the windowless studio, there’s a whole world out there! We asked Farrago what else captures his attention away from music.
My Octopus Teacher
This is a very touching documentary about a filmmaker who befriends an octopus. It develops really slowly and even though I’m sure none of us have ever met an octopus it’s almost impossible not to relate to a pet or animal you have made a deeper connection with.
It’s just so beautiful and real. They are very intelligent animals. An octopus has a brain in every arm, that’s nine in total. They are being studied on the same level as dolphins and chimpanzees.
Scanners
I love futurism and I especially love what filmmakers used to think the future would look like because right now, we are living in it. I haven’t seen ‘Scanners’ in ages, but I always remember how trippy the mood is.
I wanted to include a part of it in the album, so I sampled the welcoming speech given to some test subjects who are about to get scanned. It really fits the aesthetic of the track.
Chainsaw Man
Anime is hands down one of my favourite things to watch on the road because the episodes are so short, and I can almost always finish any episode I start. My favourite anime that I watched past year would be ‘Chainsaw Man’.
I stumbled upon it after it became very popular on Reddit, and I saw it every day in the form of memes. When I tried it I immediately fell in love with the art style and the flaky main character Denji. It also has some fantasy elements which I generally like in fiction series.
Zillion Reportage
The other day, while I went down another YouTube rabbit hole, I was watching a documentary about Zillion, a famous club in my hometown Antwerp owned by a visionary man named Frank Verstraete. I was just a young teenager when the club was at its peak. I’d heard a lot of stories about it and always wanted to go but it closed down before I was old enough to get in.
My favourite anecdote about it was they used to put 100 Belgian Frank (about 2.5 EUR today) bills in the confetti machine instead of actual confetti. Clubs were so different back then. They had to get creative to advertise themselves.
Chris Heria
Chris Heria is my lockdown gym buddy who convinced me even when you have no dumbbells or other gear at home, you can get fit. He’s a callisthenics online personality (see how I’m avoiding the word influencer there?) with a really cool aesthetic. Translation: big six-pack and sick tattoos. He taught me everything I needed to know to stay fit during covid. I’m forever grateful for his videos.
Elden Ring Rage Compilation
I’m a big geek and love gaming. At the moment I’m replaying Elden Ring as they are about to launch some DLC (extra) content. I was looking up something online the other day related to the game and this video got suggested of people raging at their deaths in the game.
A bit of schadenfreude never hurt anyone right? They were trashing their keyboards, monitors, controllers… just about anything in their radius really. In a way, it’s sad that the destruction of valuables is so hype on popular streaming platforms but that doesn’t stop me from making fun of it, quite the contrary actually.
Beef
Yeah, not that kind of beef. I was really confused when my agent suggested this to my wife and me. He knows we are vegan and that we wouldn’t consider animal cruelty entertaining. Anyway, the show is about a minor dispute between two strangers, but it turns into some kind of vendetta.
It’s so random and over-the-top but somehow it locked us in for the whole ride. It’s not a must-watch at all but if you start, while I wouldn’t rate it very high, I somehow can’t guarantee you’re gonna be able to stop watching.
Stream Farrago’s ‘Ducky Tribal Mission’.
Pre-order Farrago’s new LP ‘Blessed’.