Francesco Gaetano Moliterno, known professionally as Franko Moliterno or Turno, is an English musician from Bedford. After losing his brother to suicide, Turno released a UK Top 40 single about men's mental health.[1] His charity single, "What's On Your Mind", was released in 2022.[2] The single "Rave Out" with Charlotte Plank and Skepsis charted at No. 37 on the UK Top 40 in 2023.[3]

Turno
Birth nameFrancesco Gaetano "Franko" Moliterno
Occupation(s)Musician

Life and career edit

Francesco Gaetano "Franko" Moliterno[4] is from Bedford,[1] and had a brother, Fabio,[5] who ran Escobarbers in Bedford town centre[6] and committed suicide[5] in September 2021[7] following years of poor mental health;[5] both are of Italian descent.[8] In October 2016,[9] he set up a clothing range;[10] its brand name, Time Is Now, was taken from the idea of not waiting until tomorrow to do things.[11] He then released the albums Power and DNA.[12] In February 2022, he released "Melia", a collaboration with free climber George King which had came about after King used Moliterno's "Abyss" in one of his tracks.[13]

To mark one year of Fabio's death, Franko released a single, "What's On Your Mind" on 15 September 2021, which featured SJ Loq, Myleedan, Phizi, and Too Lippy.[7] The song appeared throughout the first episode of the second series of We Are England, a BBC documentary series, which had been filmed after the gym and mental health charity Samsons Academy approached the BBC wanting to make a documentary about male suicide, and involved the remaining Moliternos;[14] originally intended for broadcast the day after release,[15] the death of Queen Elizabeth II meant that schedules were scrambled,[16] and the programme actually aired three weeks later.[17] A drum and bass remix of the song was released on 10 October 2022, that year's World Mental Health Day;[7] profits from both versions went to Mind,[2] a mental health charity.[1]

In October 2022, Moliterno organised a mental health seminar with the record label DnB Allstars,[18] and in December 2022, Moliterno organised a writer's camp with Ultra Records, which took place the following month; during this week, he recorded 22 tracks, the first of which was "Rave Out", which featured Skepsis and Charlotte Plank and discussed men's mental health.[18] The track came out in June 2023,[19] by which time Moliterno's "Killer" had charted at No. 94 on the UK Singles Downloads Chart; upon release, "Rave Out" charted at No. 37 on the UK Singles Chart.[20]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "Tokyo World act DJ Turno encouraging men to talk about mental health". Bristol Post. 17 September 2022. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Turno ft: Phizi, Mylee Dan + Too Lippy - What's On Your Mind (Single) (All Profits Going To MIND)". WORDPLAY. 17 September 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  3. ^ "Doja Cat's Paint the Town Red is UK's Number 1 song for third week". Official Charts. 21 September 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  4. ^ "MOLITERNO FRANCESCO GAETANO". ASCAP. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  5. ^ a b c "'My son's suicide was the worst day of my life'". BBC News. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  6. ^ Roffe, Erica (1 June 2022). "Bedford family creates legacy for son through documentary and mental health awareness events". Bedford Independent. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  7. ^ a b c Jenkins, Dave (15 September 2022). "Turno is raising mental health awareness with deeply personal new track". UKF. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  8. ^ "LISTEN: Dimension Drops 'DJ Turn It Up' And Turno Releases 'Rave Out' For A Huge DnB Friday". George FM. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  9. ^ "Turno - Knowledge Transfer". Drum&BassArena. 21 October 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  10. ^ Jenkins, Dave (6 September 2016). "We need to talk about Turno". UKF. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  11. ^ Haynes, Arren (3 March 2017). ""It's a childhood dream to work with Charge" - Turno's Time is Now". guestlist.net. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  12. ^ Gowen, Hannah (22 October 2020). "It's in his DNA: The Story Behind Turno's Latest Album". UKF. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  13. ^ "Turno - Melia: Combining the high adrenaline worlds of D&B and free climbing". UKF. 24 February 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  14. ^ "Turno drops new single 'WHAT'S ON YOUR MIND?' from BBC'S upcoming 'WE ARE ENGLAND' series". www.radioandmusic.com. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  15. ^ Roffe, Erica (12 September 2022). "Moliterno family opens up in BBC documentary about male suicide". Bedford Independent. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  16. ^ Yossman, K. J. (9 September 2022). "U.K. TV Schedules Thrown Into Disarray Following Death of Queen Elizabeth II". Variety. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  17. ^ "BBC One - We Are England, Mental Health, The Barbershop". BBC. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  18. ^ a b "In Conversation With Turno". Ukf.com. 22 May 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  19. ^ "Charlotte Plank, Skepsis and Turno share new single, 'Rave Out': Listen". DJMag.com. 8 June 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  20. ^ "TURNO/SKEPSIS/PLANK". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 July 2023.