Tommy Bass is a music producer, DJ, and creative. Active since the early days of Italian hip hop,
he has released albums, remixes, and soundtracks, collaborating with renowned brands and artists.
His eclectic style blends electronic music, hip hop, and visual experimentation.
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Tommy Bass was born in Treviso, Italy, in the mid-1970s.
At age 12, he discovered “She’s On It” by the Beastie Boys, a track that blew his mind—those sounds were new, never heard before. From then on, he dove into the early days of hip hop culture, listening to RUN DMC, EPMD, Public Enemy, and many others.
At 13, after a year of intense listening, he entered the “TOP TEN YOU” contest on Radio Deejay, Italy’s most popular radio station.
His personal chart was broadcast on Deejay Television, the most-watched music program of the ‘80s.
He wanted to bring rap to a wider audience, at a time when the genre was still niche in Italy.
His chart caught the attention of Linus, the country’s most famous DJ, who declared him the winner and interviewed him on both Radio Deejay and Deejay Television.
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During high school, Tommy founded one of the first Italian rap groups, Gioco Ribelle, with two friends.
In 1993, they appeared on a compilation alongside major Italian rap acts like Frankie Hi-NRG, Articolo 31, and OTR.
In 1994, Tommy became a host on Radio Gemini One, a powerful station in northeast Italy.
During live shows, he shared the stage with Public Enemy, James Thompson, and Saturnino, bassist for Jovanotti.
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When the radio station was sold, Tommy’s life took a new turn: at 19, he moved to Milan and began working as a creative in top communication agencies.
The Gioco Ribelle project ended, and he paused his music career.
His creative experience broadened, and two years later he returned to music—this time as a solo act, keeping his name: Tommy Bass.
His new sound was inspired by the late-’90s Big Beat movement.
In 1999, he released a dance track with Crossover Records: Nothing to Declare – Love So True, produced by Daniele Danieli of M@D, who also produced Gioco Ribelle.
In 2000, “Bow Wow” came out on Ultradolce Vol. 2 (Irma Records), followed by his debut solo album Lonesome Spaceboy. The cover art was created by multimedia artist Massimo Giacon.
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The album was distributed in Japan, Canada, the U.S., Russia, Poland, and more, receiving strong reviews some critics compared his style to Fatboy Slim’s.
His tracks appeared on several compilations, including Levi’s Twisted, alongside artists like Shaggy, Pepe Deluxe, Death in Vegas, and Justofunk.
One of his tracks was picked by brands such as Levi’s, Fila, Saab, Japan Airlines, MTV, Exté, and others.
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His music was featured in TV shows on MTV, RAI, Mediaset, and La7, including Le Iene, Big Brother, and MTV On The Beach.
Tracks like “Dreams Come True” (feat. Chicco Montefiori) and “Relax toyr mind” became chillout music references.
He also continued DJing—something he had started during the Gioco Ribelle days—performing at
Milan’s top clubs (Plastic, Gasoline, Rolling Stone, The Sade) and in cities like Berlin, Warsaw, and Barcelona.
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He played fashion events for brands like Romeo Gigli and Yamamay.
In Milan, he met Andrea Fiorenza in a record shop; they began a long-term collaboration, producing tracks for Tommy Bass and side projects like Leg Biters and Lipstick.
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In 2004, he created Electa, the first Italian compilation entirely dedicated to electronic music, featuring top Italian producers including Sam Paganini.
He also worked with Paganini on Digital Low Fidelity, alongside Luciano Semeria, distributed by Virgin Records and Ocean Trax.
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In 2005, he released Can’t Work It Out (Sony Music), blending electronic, hip hop, and rock, with vocals by Gianluca Morelli from Emoglobe and a remix by Sam Paganini.
Among his remixes is Wanna Be Your Lover by La Bionda.
At the same time, he composed tracks for commercials for brands like GAS Jeans, Samsung, Durex, Telecom, BlackBerry, Peugeot, and more.
As a creative, he developed concepts and art direction for music videos by Eros Ramazzotti, Laura Pausini, Morgan, and Mauro Pagani.
In 2007, he released IT-ALIEN, a tribute to 1980s golden age hip hop—full of samples, beats, and scratches. The project is unlicensed due to copyright, but available to listen to the music page of this site.
In 2010, he dreamed of a song. Upon waking, he felt compelled to write it: Fight For Your Life was born, inspiring a new LP. In 2014, he finally released his second album, The Next One.
To launch it, he created a unique item: the Long Plate, a real dish designed to look like a vinyl record,
so you can listen to Tommy Bass, while eating.
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That same year, he produced the LP of Rossomargot, a rock project by his friend Luciano Semeria.
In 2018, he released Forgotten Trax, a collection of previously unreleased songs, newly remastered and refreshed.
In 2024, Businessmen was released in two versions—daytime and nighttime—as a sonic critique of capitalism’s grind.
New projects coming soon.