Uros Umek from Slovenia has been an integral figure in the vibrant party scene in Eastern Europe. By putting on parties, and developing his Djing style and sound, he has gained recognition and a large following in Slovenia as well as throughout Europe.
He
owns the record labels Consumer Recreation and Recycled Loops (with Valentino),
and has released tracks on the leading techno labels such as Tortured (as Mumps),
Electrix (as Zeta Reticula), Planet Rhythm, Audio, Primate, Bugged Out and Missile.
As a Dj he is increasingly in demand, voted in DJ magazine's top 100 Djs in 2002 and 2003 in the UK. His style is funky techno with chunky baselines. His mixes make for intoxicating listening, driving you along with them. Website.
Return to topAdam Beyer is one of many talented producers and Djs emanating from Sweden, which produces in my opinion some of the best techy trance and progressive rhythms. Their psy trance scene is evidence to this. Beyer is no exception, tough melodic techno, which does not rely so much on the looped minimal soundscapes, but more melodic grooves orientated to the dance floor.
All techno
Djs and vinyl junkies alike will know his record label Drumcode
founded in '96. It guarantees high quality, superb production and a tune that
will get everyone racing onto the dance floor. His sister label Code
Red delivers the same quality but focuses on the softer side of techno.
In '99 he and Cari Lekebusch formed a live act, which first
performed in London. Beyer talents have been recognised the world over and has
releases on Primate, Zenit, Illgorhythm,
Primevil and Planet Rhythm. His 2003 album
Ignition Key is a collection of techno tunes that covers the
whole range of his styles and talents.
Beyer is credited for defining the techno sound in Stockholm, but beyond this he has influenced and continues to direct other Djs and producers. In 2002 Beyer created a new label Truesoul which promises to release some highly inovative projects.
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Chris
Liebing began his Djing career in '91 at a club called Red Brick
near Frankfurt. When the club closed he began working for the infamous Eye-Q
Records in Frankfurt, and began building his studio. It was his residency at
the OMEN in Frankfurt that prompted him to set up his first
label Fine-Audio Recordings in '95. It was from these early
releases on this record label that won him an international reputation for quality.
His productions are hard and driving, with carefully constructed percussions. They are always impeccably produced, with a superb eye for what works on the dance floor, gained from years of experience as a Dj. Liebing now runs his own record company CLR which comprises of labels CLR, CLAU, Stigmata , CL-Retry and Soap. With the likes of Umek and Lawrie Immersion appearing on his labels, it shows how diverse and far reaching his sound is.
A prolific producer and remixer, always ready to direct audiences to new sounds and more hard as hell nightmares. Highly respected in Germany, beating Sven Vath and Paul Van Dyk to best national Dj in 2003, but equally admired the world over.
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During
the mid '90s it was Commander Tom who treaded the ground between the diverging
styles of techno and trance. By blending these styles together he created a
new, innovative and inspiring sound, that drove many producers who followed
him to experiment beyond the boundaries that were previously set. To say his
early productions were ground breaking is an understatement; they drove the
entire hard dance scene into new directions. The classic 'Are am I?' which I am
sure has been the highlight of many clubbers nights in the past, it is difficult
to imagine what this would have sounded like to the ears of clubbers in 1995 -
fucking awesome, and its still fucking awesome.
Commander Tom is the label leader of the German Noom records. One of the greatest collections of tunes you will ever see on one label. Noom covers a huge range of styles from acid techno to funky house, all superbly produced.
Currently Commander Tom is in charge of several companies and owns the two recording studios; Deluxe Sound Lab Studios 1 and 2. From here many of the hundred plus remixes and countless productions have been mastered.
Return to topHe began Djing at The Dorian Gray club Germany in '82, and from here spent the next 6 years perfecting his style and exploring the electronic eighties for the more obscure and unusual sounds. In '86 he teamed up with Michael Munzing and Luca Anzilotti (later to form Logic/Snap) to release 'Bad News' and 'Electrica Salsa'. These became instant international hits.
In February
'88 Vath left the Dorian Grey and opened a new club with Michael Munzing
and Matthias Marthinsohn, called The Omen, which brought acid house in its many
faces to Germany. Then together with Heinz Roth and Matthias Hoffmann, Sven
formed the legendary Eye Q label in '91. Eye Q defined the trance sound, with
its earlier releases featuring Earth Nation and Cygnus X. No other label has
influenced a genre so much and inspired a thriving, and often commercial scene.
His back catalogue is mind-boggling, his productions and remixes total over two hundred, and was one of the first internationally recognised Djs. Although famed more for his techno, he is a man with many faces, many followers and many more surprises.
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Joey
Beltram is a New Yorker, who can quite easily be classified as one of the Detroit
Techno pioneers, however I have not here, because his sphere of influence affected
the start of many more genres than this (acid techno, hardcore, drum n bass).
Beltram's first release was 'Energy Flash' on Transmat records in '88, which needs no introduction. An acid techno tune, many years
ahead of its time, that I am sure scared the pants off many house clubbers at
the time. What should be noted is that Beltram was 17 at the time of its release, and by the
age of 18 he was signed up to New York label Nu Groove. His collaboration with
Mundo Muzique in '92 under the name Second Phase saw the release of 'Mentasm'.
Beltram's style covers so many genres beyond the hard and dark techno that he is famous for. For example on the Cutting Record label he released deeper house orientated tunes such as Vice Tribe's 'Something unreal'. We also see Beltram playing with trance elements with Drums of Orbit, and taking this further with the album 'Aonox' he created ambient style tunes. He refuses to be classed into one genre.
With a huge back catalogue to choose from, Beltram's music has always worked a step ahead of the rest, always trying something new and inventing new sounds. In '99 he set up his own STX label, which concentrates on delivering Beltrams new releases, which have more of a funkier feel to them.
Return to topJames Ruskin is a UK born Dj who now works and plays in London. A fine example of one of the many fantastic producers we have in the UK techno scene. In '95 he released his first single under the name Void called 'Shock Treatment' with Guilty records. In May '96 Ruskin set up his Blueprint label which to date has released 22 records.
Ruskin's style
is hard techno that has aggressive percussion and haunting synth lines. With
these elements he ties his tracks together with gut wrenching basslines that
rip through the track. With two mind-blowing albums on Tresor;
'Point 2' in 2000 and 'Intosubmission' in 2001, Ruskin is proving himself as an
innovative and very talented producer, pushing the techno scene into new realms.
In 2000 he set up a new label Coda.
He has Djed at all the prominent Techno clubs in the UK, and continues to tour them on a regular basis. Now traveling around Europe, Ruskin is fast becoming one of the true pioneers and developers of the UK techno scene.
Every dance floor has been filled with the sound of a Mac Zimms tune, wheather its a hard dance club or a funky house club. Real name Jelle Faber, he has formed a reputation that puts his records into the boxes of many international Djs such as Judge Jules, Danny Tenaglia, Sander Kleinenberg, Tiesto, Steve Thomas and Fergie.
His production
style is uplifting hard and funky. From his first productions in 1994 with Jinx
record label he has cemented himself into a unique niche of quality house records
tailored to the dance floor. He has done production work for Positiva, BPM Dance,
Manifesto, 2 Play and Tripoli Trax.
Now concentrating on the funkier sound of house, he continues to release tune after tune that are lapped up by Dj and Clubber alike. Web page.
Return to topOliver Ho is one of the leaders of the hard techno scene in the UK, and beyond. From the mid 90's he has gained much respect within the global techno scene, and underground UK scene. In 1995 James Ruskin stumbled upon Oliver and signed him up for a number of releases on his Blueprint record label
The late ninties saw him release on pionnering labels such as Drumcode and
Surface and the setting up of his own label Meta
with his first release Chapter One. Since then saw the emergence of sub-labels;
Light and Dark (1999); Exist (2001) which aimed to fuse film, music, photography
and art; and Chango to embrace a slower, funkier, deeper direction releasing
music that lies between house, funk and dub.
Oliver's music covers minimal and hard techno with an eye on the experimental and the abstract. He communicates ideas through music, check out his web site for more insight into his philosophy.
Ignition Technician were formed in 1999 by Pete Simpson and Richard Wilkinson. They have a distinctive sound that lends itself both to techno and hard dance Dj sets. Their sound is chunky basslines with tight percussive loops, bound together with a driving groove.
They have
released tracks on some of the most pivotal labels in the techno scene such
as Tortured, Planet Rhythm, Work Hard
Play Hard, and Primate Endangered Species. With a
stack of production work they have caught the eye of many influential techno
Djs such as Carl Cox, Billy Nasty and Dave
Clarke
In 2001 they formed their own label Ignition Records that presents their joint work as well as solo releases. The label is still going strong today, with the duo gaining a respected reputation from their music and production/remix skills.
Redhead or Steve Vangilbergen started his musical career in 1992 with a resedency at a club called Amnesia, where he was soon to meet his production partner Marco Bailey. Together they have released on labels such as Primate, Purples Recordings, Invasion and MB Elektronics with some tracks being released under their alias Soulwatcher.
2000 saw his
first solo release on Zync records which was followed after
a number of landmark productions by his first solo album in 2002 'Dragon
and Sword'. A prolific producer who's production is characterised by
tight funky percussion driving basses and melodic synths. His tracks are perfect
dance floor favourates, but have the capacity to push further dimensions when
heard outside the club scene. His style of hypnotic driving techno has ernt
him masses of respect throughout the techno and hard dance scene. April 2005
saw Hail the dark his first release on his own label Red
Factory Records, which certainly delivered yet more quality sounds,
and the birth of a label that has the potential for great things.
With a huge number of releases to his name every techno Dj will have one of his vinyl in their box and will no doubt be wanting many more. With every new release sounding as fresh and most importantly as innovative as the last, Redhead will be a definate pillar of the scene for a long time. Check out his website.
Return to topGennaro Le Fosse first came to my attention when I heard his own releases on his Convolute record label which was set up in 2000. However looking at his discography it becomes clear that his production skills are showcased on many other important labels such as Couterbalance (Dj Surgeon's), Cocoon (Sven Vaths's) and Tension. He started his production life in a group called Program 2 with collaborator Victor Calderone in 1992.
What is vey
unique about his productions are the tight percussion and funky tribal rythms
that he blends with abstract synths. His tunes can either take you on a funky
journey or somewhere altogether more strange and complex.
A producer who has an exact eye for what sounds work together and how rythms and melodies can create atmospheric sound-scapes. Check out his website.
Return to topMischa Van Der Heiden began on the hard house / techno scene in 1991 with some legendary releases such as Dj Misjah and Tim 'Access', Dyewitness 'What would you like to hear again' and Digital Express 'The Club' all three will have been caned by every hard dance Dj in the '90s, and beyond. These records prompted the set up of his own label X-Trax which saw a string of influential releases by Misjah and friends.
In 2001 he set
up a new label and Dj agency Rerun.
As a techno producer he is one of the best and most innovative in the world.
He has an ear for creating tunes that get the whole dance floor moving, everyone
is swept into the groove. I do not think you will find one bad production that
Misjah has to his name, and with an extensive back catalogue to choose from
this is some achievement. In the studio he is a perfectionist and every thing
he creates has a real essence of the man behind it. Adam Beyer,
Sven Vath, Carl Cox to name just a few, all
have a handful of well warn Misjah's records in their box.
A hugely respected and travelled Dj, he is generally off travelling the world spreading the good word of techno, converting crowd after crowd of clubbers. Check out his website.
Return to topTine Kocjanèiè originally from Slovenia, has spread his wings globally to gain a solid reputation amongst the leaders in the techno scene. He teamed up with Umek in 1999 to set up the well known label Recycled Loops, which has seen a consistent stream of high quality releases, including tracks from Hertz, Marko Nastic, Martyn Hare and Steve D.
If you are
in any doubt of his Djing power then check out his mix on Intec
records 'Intechnique' which demonstrates his perfect musical
timing, careful tune selection and the rare talent to build a set properly,
not to mention he uses 3 decks...
His productions although stand alone extemely well, are designed (as his label would suggest) to be used as tools within a set. His creative funky loops and imaginative percussion are carefully crafted for the dance floor, with the majority of his releases being found in the boxes of Carl Cox, Ritchie Hawtin. His cross over appeal is such that his tunes are spun by hard house and house Djs alike such as Judge Jules, BK, Andy Farely and Eddie Halliwell (to name a few of the most obvious!).
Yet another shining example of the talent and creativity that Eastern Europe has to offer the dance music scene. Website.
Return to topPierre Jerksten has pioneered his funky techno sound such that it can no longer be defined as techno, tech-house or house - it is simply the Hertz sound. With all the hallmarks of another brilliant percussive producer from Sweden he has made a significant mark on the dance scene.
He has released
tracks on Recycled Loops, Tortured Records,
Sway and Primate. He also runs his own record
company Q Records. His
tracks appear on mix CDs such as Valentino Kanzyani, Luke
Slater, Carl Cox, Billy Nasty, Umek
and Adam Beyer - and their live mixes are never too far away
from a Hertz track.
His productions are percussive and funky, but not over fussy and complicated. The sounds he uses are imaginative and aimed at creating a groove and moving a dance floor. With such a solid talent the future holds great things for Hertz.