Biography
Fran Hartnett is one of the experienced artists in the Irish techno scene. DJing at local youth-club discos in his early teens, then discovering (and falling in love with) rave and hardcore music around 1992, eventually led to led to his first club residency (1997) at a techno night called Genius in ‘The Kitchen’, Dublin city center. Fran then spent the next few years DJing regularly at clubs, one-off events and raves, and had the opportunity to support many internationally renowned artists. Amongst these were techno luminaries such as Joey Beltram, The Advent, Kevin Saunderson, Billy Nasty, Marco Carola and Rolando. During these years Fran gradually gained a reputation as an accomplished DJ in his own right.
Ten years on, in 2007, Fran was awarded his masters degree in Music and Media Technology, following two years of intense study in Trinity College, Dublin. By this time he had made the transition from DJing to playing his own music live, supporting a number of internationally acclaimed artists (Surgeon, The Black Dog, James Ruskin, The Advent) with his rhythmic, inventive, sometimes darkly emotive techno. Always looking to explore new dimensions with his live show, Fran is currently working at revisiting and refining an audio-visual performance format he trialed at the Mantua Festival (Roscommon, Ireland) in 2008, using a setup which allows him to integrate his music with synchronized animated imagery triggered by MIDI messages from his drum machine.
Fran is still a DJ, regularly buying new music on vinyl, and always on the hunt for that fresh and futuristic sound that is the essence of techno. He still plays the decks whenever given the chance but is increasingly in demand as a live act. The attraction is that of a true live performance, where modern electronic instruments (drum machines and synthesizers) are played fluently, resulting in an original and different experience every time. In May 2010, Fran played his first live gig outside of Ireland (CTRL @ The Waterfront, Ghent, Belgium), furthering his name and leading to being featured on Stroboscopic Artefacts’ stalwart Xhin’s Resident Advisor podcast as well as Surgeon’s much lauded Fabric 53 mix. Since then he has played all over the UK & Ireland on a regular basis, most notably tearing it up during a recent appearance at London’s premier underground dance club, Fabric.
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