Ever since the early formative years of immersing himself in raves and secret house parties during his uni years in Australia, Dean Chew aka Funk Bast*rd has been on the musical journey as for long as he can remember. He has cut his teeth playing in the legendary Zouk club / Velvet Underground in Singapore since the early 2010s and has grown a robust community around his Darker Than Wax parties and activations around the island. Together with co-founder Kaye, the duo have been tirelessly pushing and promoting an alternative expression of leftfield music through the label, as well as recruiting like-minded souls to join in their cause. 

Being the main A+R and creative mind behind DTW, the label has flourished tremendously over the past 5 years, cementing its place as one of the go-to labels out of South East Asia. During this period, Dean has also ventured further afield, establishing links internationally and regionally, and played most recently at We Out Here festival in the UK, HÖR radio, Le Sucre in Lyon, Potatohead Bali, Dimensions Festival in Croatia, various cities in Europe, Asia, and Brazil.

In 2016, he was also invited on Jamz Supernova’s BBC 1XTRA show to do a special label showcase, Rinse RM, and swung through the legendary Brownswood basement of Gilles Peterson for a 2-hour exclusive Worldwide FM mix. His extensive musical knowledge and tight mixing skills has earned him a regular spot on the station, and has proven to be one of the most trusted selectors and Djs  to have emerged from the South East Asian circuit.

It’s no surprise then that he has played alongside and supported some of the world’s finest like Benji B, Kyle Hall, Lefto, HAAI, Dreamcast Moe, Gerd Janson, Basic Soul Unit, Linkwood, Norman Jay, Souleance, Pearson Sound, Krystal Klear, Tiger and Woods, the late great Mike Huckaby, Seven Davis Jnr, Dj Ez, Fourtet and Dam Funk. 

During the lockdown in Singapore, Dean has also worked on 2 volumes of the successful 12” series “Bodyclock” which focuses on lesser known artists in the house, boogie and deep techno realms. The series have garnered support from the likes of Resident Advisor, Bandcamp Weekly, BBC Radio 6 and many more. More recently, he has also conceptualised his own venue, and through 2 years of planning and hard work, Dean finally opened Offtrack - a music-centric bar and restaurant in Singapore. The bar in a short span of a year, has not only secured a 50 best discovery list mention, but is also fast becoming known as an essential beacon for the community and traveling selectors to play when they visit Singapore. 
Constantly evolving and engaging through the power of music is what defines Dean Chew as an artist and most importantly as a human being.

Follow Dean on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funk_bstrd

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