House Act The Magician Heads to BOO! SF, New Tricks Up His Sleeve

Belgian future house DJ and producer Stephen Fasano, who performs under the alias The Magician, is one of more than a dozen electronic talents appearing at the first ever BOO! San Francisco. Presented by EDM promoter Insomniac, BOO! made a devilish debut in New York City in 2014 and this year travels west to Bill Graham Civic Auditorium on October 30-31 to celebrate the most wicked nights with monstrously massive tunes.

Expect bewitching beats, spine-tingling scares, and twisted times at the two-day haunt. Other artists scheduled to play include Australian phenom Alison Wonderland and bass king Flosstradamus. See below for the full BOO! SF lineup. Attendees are encouraged to dress up in their most frightening attire, let loose and live out beguiling Halloween fantasies. Tickets start at $69 per day or $115 for an early bird two-day general admission pass.

The Magician earned his stripes beginning in 2007 serving as half of revered Balearic disco duo Aeroplane. He disembarked that flight in 2010 to board his own magical carpet ride, releasing an EP on the French taste-maker label Kitsuné and twice striking gold with a rework of Lykke Li’s “I Follow Rivers” in 2011 and Clean Bandit’s “Rather Be” in 2014.

After signing to Parlophone / Warner Records and joining the Machine Management roster of artists, The Magician achieved even more impressive heights with his timeless summer 2014 hit “Sunlight” featuring the vocals of Olly Alexander of London electro-pop trio Years & Years. Arguably, The Magician’s most noteworthy accomplishment has been his steady monthly release of more than 50 “Magic Tape” mix tapes, packed with fresh dance music from an array of genres.

To preview BOO!, we asked The Magician about his current live performance setup, details of his on-stage magic tricks during shows, and what he likes most about San Francisco.

Who are some of your biggest house music inspirations?

It started with Frankie Knuckles, Kevin Saunderson, Kenny Larkin, Carl Craig. Through Daft Punk, Chemical Brothers, and MK. Today I’m influenced by producers like Tchami, Shiba San, Oliver Heldens, and Disclosure.

What do you miss most about Belgium while on tour?

My daughter.

How many Magic Tapes do you expect to produce and what is your release cadence?

It’s about one every month, always on Tuesday. Tuesday is the first day of the week for DJs as Mondays are our Sundays. I hope I’ll be able to do this for a long time. I’ve always made mixtapes since I started DJing, but I didn’t call them Magic Tapes to begin with. I’m thinking about doing something very special for the 100th installment.

What is the latest magic trick that you have learned?

Teleportation.

Has a magic trick ever gone wrong while you were performing?

Yes, I lost my pants once!

Is Aeroplane still an active project or are you primarily a solo musician at this point?

Aeroplane was four great years of my career that I will never forget. In 2010, Aeroplane split up, one member has carried on with the project and the other one has become The Magician.

What do you think makes Years & Years’ music and sound so satisfying?

I don’t produce Years and Years music, Olly Alexander (the vocalist) is featured on my track “Sunlight”. He is an amazing singer!

What can fans expect in terms of your live performance setup on this current tour?

I perform with a red/silver stripped jacket, on the screen, you can enter to the Magician’s World. It’s all hand-made moving drawings created by my art team. Obviously some of the best deep, house and future house tune of the moment but also unexpected music and unreleased tracks because I like to surprise my crowd.

What do you like about visiting San Francisco?

SF is one of my favorite cities in the world. I love food and I have found some great places in town like Benu, Cotogna, Coi or Bouche. What I really love is walking throughout the streets…there is always something weird happening.

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Written by Carlos Olin Montalvo

Follow me @carlosolin

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  1. […] House Act The Magician Heads to BOO! SF, New Tricks Up His Sleeve To preview BOO!, we asked The Magician about his current live performance setup, details of his on-stage magic tricks during shows, and what he likes most about San Francisco. Who are some of your biggest house music inspirations? It started with … Read more on SFStation.com […]

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