Producer & DJ · Rome, Italy
Donato Dozzy
Rome's Donato Dozzy spent decades DJing before Voices from the Lake made him an ambient techno reference point, and he is still building from there.
Donato Dozzy, born Donato Scaramuzzi, was already DJing when most of techno's now-canonical labels did not exist yet. He started in Italy in the early 1980s, playing dub reggae, Italo-disco, and early synth-pop before moving into acid house and techno by decade's end. His solo debut album did not arrive until 2010. The three-decade gap between those two facts says something real about how he works.
Rome, Brancaleone, and a Studio Mentor
Dozzy held a residency stretching more than ten years at Rome's Brancaleone club, where he later met Giuseppe Tillieci, who records as Neel and had moved to the city to study sound engineering. He was mentored in production at a Rome studio by an engineer surnamed Micioni. In 2003 he relocated to Berlin and set up his first proper studio, later holding a DJ residency at Panorama Bar, inside Berghain, through the mid-2000s. Invitations to play Japan's Labyrinth festival followed, and his 2008 closing set there is often cited as a turning point.
Aquaplano and K
In 2008, Dozzy co-founded the label Aquaplano with Manuel Fogliata, who records as Nuel. Its early run of limited 12-inches, recorded in 2007 and 2008 at a studio in San Felice Circeo on Italy's coast, sold out and built a cult following, championed early by Berlin's Hardwax record shop. His solo debut album, K, followed in 2010 on Further Records, seven tracks that established the hypnotic, repetition-driven style, sometimes called microtrance, that he is now best known for.
Voices from the Lake
The project that made Dozzy's name outside Italy began almost by accident: Neel recorded a mix as a wedding gift for him in 2010, and the exchange grew into Voices from the Lake, a full collaborative project. Its self-titled debut album, released on Prologue in 2012, was named Resident Advisor's Album of the Year, a record that helped define ambient techno's modern vocabulary. In 2016, Dozzy and Neel co-founded a second label together, Spazio Disponibile, a Rome-based imprint and recurring party that has released work from Mike Parker, Kangding Ray, and Marco Shuttle alongside their own, plus a techno-focused sub-label, Spazio Nero.
Exhale, and a Three-Hour Session
In February 2025, Batu, the Bristol producer and Timedance founder, spent a day in Dozzy's Rome studio. Working live, trading a modular synth patch bay back and forth with Batu's digital processing, the pair produced roughly a dozen sketches in about three hours. "It was interesting to see Omar interacting with my studio methods," Dozzy said. "I don't trust many people in my life! The challenge was to make sounds that would fit his personality." The resulting album, Exhale, was released June 30, 2026 on !K7, a hypnotic, minimal record that Resident Advisor called capable of standing on its own merits, independent of either artist's reputation. Dozzy has also worked closely with Detroit-born, Berlin-based producer Eric Cloutier, remixing his 2015 EP Raxeira and co-releasing the Palinoia LTD 001 EP with him in 2019.
FAQ
Who is Donato Dozzy?
Donato Dozzy is Donato Scaramuzzi, a Rome-based DJ and producer who has been active since the early 1980s. He co-founded the Aquaplano and Spazio Disponibile labels, released his solo debut album K in 2010, and is one half of the ambient techno project Voices from the Lake.
What is Voices from the Lake?
Voices from the Lake is a collaborative project between Donato Dozzy and Neel (Giuseppe Tillieci). Its self-titled 2012 debut album was named Resident Advisor's Album of the Year and remains a defining reference point for ambient techno.
What labels has Donato Dozzy founded?
He co-founded Aquaplano with Nuel (Manuel Fogliata) in 2008, and Spazio Disponibile, along with its sub-label Spazio Nero, with Neel in 2016.
What is Exhale?
Exhale is a collaborative album between Donato Dozzy and Bristol producer Batu, released June 30, 2026 on !K7 Records. It grew out of a single, roughly three-hour improvised studio session in Rome in February 2025.
How long has Donato Dozzy been DJing?
Since the early 1980s, when he started out in Italy playing dub reggae, Italo-disco, and synth-pop before moving into acid house and techno. His solo debut album did not arrive until 2010, nearly three decades into his career.