Born and raised in Napoli, Stefano Tucci’s musical journey commenced at the age of 13 when he took up the guitar.
Influenced by seminal rock bands such as Green Day, Metallica, and Oasis.
As he transitioned from solitary practice to local band performances, he formed in 1998 a metal cover band called Hell Chest, with Dario Parascandolo, Alessandro Laraspata (then composer and orchestra conductor), Luigi Graziano and Lucio Grilli (then bassist of Soul Secret and Mind Key
After some school concerts in Liceo Sbordone and Liceo Genovesi, the band toured all the iconic rock and metal bars of Naples of the ninetys such as Happy Rock, Southern Bull, Napul@ and Jail.
When he left Napoli to finish his engeenering studies at the Bologna University, he met DJ Far, that become his friend and togheter formed a dj duo mixing classic house with live guitar performances. The duo’s name was Stepstoofar.
They signed with BRM Electro and produced and published several singles as Dear Bro And Soul & Music.
The partnership with DJ Far marked a transformative period for Stefano Tucci. Embracing the use of computers and virtual instruments, he delved into a broader spectrum of electronic music genres, including breakbeat, deep house, techno, lounge, and chill-out. While maintaining his foundation of guitar composition for albums, there were instances where he opted not to incorporate the instrument in the final versions of certain songs.
Thanks to online digital distribution with Stepstoofar dj duo they ranked 8662 in a world chart of 2010 on the website dj-rankings.com ( https://djrankings.org/DJ-STEPSTOOFAR)
In 2013 He published one album with the Italian label Smoothnotes Publishing “Collateral Thinking”. One song of the album was also republished on some electronic music compilations from Machiavelli Music in 2015.
In 2013 he also published an EP with the english label Groove Butta Records named “Improvisation Temptation”.
In response to the monotony of being confined to a single music style, Stefano Tucci initiated the self-publishing of his records. This decision allowed him the freedom to explore diverse musical genres and break away from the limitations associated with a singular stylistic approach.
He then moved to Paris where he met Marco Vittoria, a percussionist from Napoli, with whom formed the “3 qui jouent” trio, with singer Alberto Giordani.
In 2015, owing to his song “Disconnected from the World,” which was featured as the background music in several meditation videos (that he also wrote) on YouTube, Stefano Tucci received an email from Massimiliano Ricciardo of Believe Digital. At the time, Believe Digital owned Zimbalam. In the email, Massimiliano Ricciardo commended Stefano Tucci for being among the Top 100 independent producers in Italy on the Zimbalam platform, which has then been bought by Tunecore.
In his array of partnerships, he worked closely with Francesca Colapietro, a former dancer, actress, and singer currently featured in a well-known Italian television program.
Following the “varieté” experience, Stefano Tucci collaborated with Marco Vittoria to form the electronic live looping duo “Mast.” By blending percussion and rhythms from various parts of the world with guitar melodies and harmonies, they crafted a dynamic musical universe that continuously evolved, facilitated by loop stations and effects.
The tone of their sessions took a darker turn when Marco Vittoria was diagnosed with cancer, reflecting the ongoing battle. Despite the challenging circumstances, they embarked on recording an album that captured the essence of their improvisational sessions and live performances. However, recording was temporarily halted until 2023, two years after Marco Vittoria’s passing. Stefano Tucci revisited and re-recorded some of the live material, remixing the tracks they had been working on. The album includes two unmixed original live recordings, preserving the essence of their on-stage chemistry.
Amid the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Stefano Tucci encountered two French artists online: Alexia Charoud, with whom he collaborated to release the trip hop single “The Lonely and the Careless,” and MALE. For MALE, he took on the role of arranging and producing both the dark electro-pop EP “Mutations” and the album “Eclore.”
Additionally, he joined forces with Mariano Bellopede, a pianist, composer, and arranger, contributing to a LOFI project named Rainbow Tapes, which was released by Enjoy Lofi.
In his musical creations, a recurring motif centers on contradictions and opposites. By juxtaposing harsh electronic sounds with gentle melodies, the objective is to communicate the concept that in a fundamentally unbalanced world, the pursuit of equilibrium holds paramount importance. The perpetual evolution and transformative essence of change play pivotal roles in shaping identities over the course of one’s existence. Despite the natural inclination towards stillness, individuals are compelled to grapple with the ebb and flow of emotions and the unpredictable events that life unfolds, thereby necessitating an ongoing struggle for balance.
Some fun facts :
He played a street flute player in the franco-georgian movie PaP (Particulier à Particulier)
He’s a LEGO passionate and one of his lego creations, an ESP Explorer guitar was showcased into the Art of the Brick by Nathan Sawaya exposition at the Discovery Times Square Of new York in 2013