Lucy, the pseudonym of Italian producer, DJ, and label owner Luca Mortellaro, has become synonymous with the explosion of the late-noughties Berlin techno scene. Born in Palermo, Italy, Mortellaro grew up listening to old-school hip-hop and jungle, and at the age of 18, a fascination with percussion, drumming, and rhythm drew him to Siena, Italy to study. While there, Mortellaro learned to play the tabla and studied Indian classical music, something that would go on to become an important rhythmic foundation to his later production work. A move to Paris a few years later saw him begin his first venture into electronic music and a demo, picked up by British producer James Holden, cemented a friendship that would go on to inspire Mortellaro. In 2007 the first two Lucy releases appeared, the minimal techno-and electro-influenced Glass Computer and Open House EPs. Following a year later, two more releases -- The Liar EP and Downstairs -- appeared on Ercolino's Meerestief Records. A move from Paris to Berlin brought new influences to Mortellaro's sound and in 2009 he set up his own label, Stroboscopic Artefacts.

Mortellaro's vision for Stroboscopic Artefacts was to release music from all spectrums of the electronic music scene, creating a brand not dissimilar to that of the influential British label Warp Records. Lucy's first release for his label, 2009's Why Don’t You Change, flirted with the sound of dub techno and IDM, helping create a hybrid sound that would go on to become one of the key components to Stroboscopic's output. As the Berlin sound took off, Mortellaro's productions and remixes became sought after and releases for some of the techno's biggest labels -- including CLR, Perc Trax, and Mote-Evolver -- followed. In 2011, Mortellaro released his debut album Wordplay for Working Bees. Combining all the influences from his career so far, the album successfully bridged the difficult gap between home listening and club-friendly tunes. The remix EP, Beelines for Working Bees, featuring reworkings by Tommy Four Seven, James Ruskin, Truss, and Peter Van Hoesen, nicely complemented the album's broad spectrum of electronic styles. In 2012, Mortellaro followed up the album with the EP, Banality of Evil, a revisit to his collaboration with Singapore producer Xhin for CLR, and a release for Curle Recordings named Finnegan. In early 2013, Mortellaro announced that he would release the collaborative EP, History Survivors, with American producer Silent Servant on Mote-Evolver. ~ Rich Wilson, Rovi