Today, we’re sitting down with Belgian DJ and music producer Tristan Jong, better known as Gratts, a key figure in the European electronic music scene for over two decades. Since starting his journey in the late ‘90s, Gratts has developed an ever-evolving, genre-defying repertoire rooted in house but extending far beyond it. His extensive career has taken him from Belgium to Berlin, where he spent eight years honing his craft, and now to Australia, where he splits his time between producing, touring, and running his label *Be Strong Be Free*.

Known for his deep-digging vinyl sets and his ability to capture moments on the dancefloor, Gratts has consistently pushed the boundaries of electronic music. Whether through his collaborations with legendary artists like Chicago's Robert Owens or his highly acclaimed solo releases such as "Sun Circles" and "Pretty Lights," Gratts’ productions have garnered support from industry heavyweights like François K, Laurent Garnier, and Colleen ‘Cosmo’ Murphy.

With several projects in the works, including new EPs on Canadian label Bienvenue and Lisbon’s Inner Balance, as well as the launch of a new 7-inch series on his own label, Gratts continues to shape the future of electronic music. We’re excited to dive into his musical journey, creative process, and what’s next for him in 2024 and beyond.

Dj GRATTS Belgium/ Adelaide live on The Vinyl Collector

Preorder: https://www.juno.co.uk/products/gratts-robert-owens-today-feat-mark-hand-mix-vinyl/1034876-01/

'Today' is the much anticipated sequel to Gratts’ & Robert Owens’ 2021 single 'Brighter Future’.

Owens’ soulful vocals float effortlessly over a house jam paying ode to the signature sounds of Chicago, filled to the brim with modern production flair and emotive piano licks.

Belgium-born Gratts now calls South Australia home, where he divides his time touring, producing music, running his label Be Strong Be Free and hosting the semiannual Mellow Magic Sunday events.

‘Today’ is available on vinyl & digital, on Monday October 28.

PREMIERE: Gratts feat. Robert Owens - Today (Radio Edit)

Preorder now on Juno: https://bit.ly/3BQe4HV

Belgian-born producer Gratts and pioneering Chicago vocalist Robert Owens first collaborated on 'Brighter Future' back in 2021 after meeting in the streets of Kreuzberg years before. The pair now join forces again for follow up 'Today', a powerful and emotive, 90s inspired deep house cut with layered backings and Owens' lilting affirmations soaring above. The extended club version takes you straight to house music's ecstatic heydays, while the twelve also includes an acapella tool for those singalong moments. On the flip, Mark Hand's slower, soulful rendition takes things into sideroom territory. Finally, 'Mount Olympus', home to the Greek deities, fuses a rattling drum machine, arpeggiated synth lines and a potent analogue bassline - with added bonus beats to bang the box and get weird!

More from the label: https://bit.ly/4hjuoRN

PREORDER

PREMIERE: Gratts Ft. Robert Owens - Today (Mark Hand Rework) (Be Strong Be Free) (Be Strong Be Free)

Preorder now on Juno: https://bit.ly/3UvwJzc

We're promised Mellow Magic and that's precisely what we get, across four tracks emerging from disparate corners of the globe but united in a common mission to provide beats that work on the more relaxed end of the dancefloor. Belgian duo Charlotte & Reinhard of Rheinzand fame kick things off with a slow motion Balearic version of a well known 80s MOR classic. Ollie Loudon's 'L.M.T.' finally makes it to vinyl after long being a secret weapon in Gratts' DJ sets, where handclaps and languid strumming meet a gentle but infectious groove. Flip it over for the more tracky affairs, as Japan's Lily Ko makes an impressive debut with 'Pure Rubber', an original mix of disco foundations and always snazzy but never showy 80s synth play. Melbourne's Biancolato finishes things off with understated deep house shuffling that adds just a touch jazzy keys and dreamy, wispy pads.

More from the label: https://www.juno.co.uk/labels/Be+Strong+Be+Free/?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_medium=premiere&utm_campaign=soundcloud

PREMIERE: Lily Ko - ‘Pure Rubber’ (Be Strong Be Free)

Bienvenue Recordings is back on wax with two originals and a deep driving remix from the home base. We are delighted to present Gratts ‘The Lifestyle EP’ via the label, a high quality addition to his plentiful repertoire of dance delights.

https://bienvenuerecordings.bandcamp.com/album/the-lifestyle-ep-2

https://www.larama.ca/release/1722273591/gratts-and-gene-tellem-the-lifestyle-ep

Releases December 6th
Distribution via 
La Rama Records (North + South America)
Rubadub (UK + EU + ROW)

Gene Tellem met Gratts in the South Australian city of Adelaide in 2022 while visiting family and touring the country for some gigs. Gratts, originally from Belgium, also finds himself in the sun for similar reasons. Being from two different French speaking parts of the world, able to communicate in a familiar way but in a whole new place really laid down the vibe for this release. Songs as much for the radio as the club, for a cold wintry night or on the shores of an Australian sunset.

'Sunsets (FBI Mix)' is Gratts & Biancolato's tribute to Sydney veteran DJ Simon Caldwell's long running 'Sunsets' radio show on FBI Radio. Gratts and Caldwell DJ'ed together in Sydney on various occasions, whereas Biancolato is a veteran Melbourne DJ and producer. The track was inspired by the dubby West-Coast deep house sound from the turn of the millennium. Adelaide's Lesley Williams provides the vocal mantra.

'Sundays With U (Neapolitan Mix)' is a jazzy and percussive venture, loosely inspired by the West London bruk sound and Charles Webster. Andreas Poppelbaum, Gratts' studio neighbour in Berlin can be heard on soprano sax. The lyrics are performed by Italian friend Ambra, who delivers them in the Neapolitan dialect.

'Sundays With U (GT Remix)’ is Gene Tellem pulling at all the elements that make the original a scorcher, stretching it out, turning the stomp up, and offering a version for a deep dance floor moment. The voice, sax, atmosphere with the snap on the one. One moment it starts, and soon you won’t know how long it’s been that your eyes are closed, body moving through the room.

[BIENV006] Gratts - The Lifestyle EP

#HSMPREMIERE
Artist: Biancolato 
Track: Resolution (Edit) 
Release: Mellow Magic Worldwide Pt 2
Label: Be Strong Be Free
Release date: 25-Nov-24
Pre-Order: https://www.juno.co.uk/products/charlotte-reinhard-for-mellow-magic-worldwide-pt-2-vinyl/1036828-01/

PREMIERE: Biancolato - Resolution (Edit) [Be Strong Be Free]

'New Horizons' is the latest single by Kaurna Land/Adelaide-based producer @gratts, an emotionally driven house track featuring keys by pianist Anthony Coppens.

“New Horizons.
Three years lost, my heart aches.
Three decades past, raving in pine forests and old farms."

The single is part of Gratts' next EP, a 12" record due out of May featuring many different shades of house. The Belgium-born producer has placed cascading acid lines & dramatic piano chords to coax the listener along for a journey sure to throw any dance floor into an emotive frenzy.

Coppens, whose piano acts as a key driver for the track, is a Kaurna Land-based artist who was a part of the first wave of Juice Record releases back in 1998, originally releasing rough, raw and minimal techno. 

Of being on the release, Coppens shared:

"Risking sounding nostalgic here.....but this track is really taking me back to those days in the early nineties when techno and electronic music was a real new horizon for me. Year was 1990, i was only 15 but started heading out to clubs with my older brother.....but it was the raves out in the pine forests and old farms that really made my mind and soul look beyond. Day tripping on the coast, night raving in the forests and the bushland I still get the same feeling when i listen to music like this."

'New Horizons' releases via all streaming platforms on March 5, 2025, with the vinyl set to release in May of this year.

PREMIERE: Gratts - 'New Horizons feat. Antony Coppens' [Be Strong Be Free]

Artist ➤ Gratts
Title ➤ Better Days
Label ➤ Be Strong Be Free

Release Date ➤ 2025-06-23

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👉 Follow the artists:
➤ https://soundcloud.com/gratts


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➤ https://soundcloud.com/gratts
➤ https://www.instagram.com/gratts.dj/
➤ https://gratts.bandcamp.com/

‘Better Days’ is the fourth and final single taken off Gratts’ latest vinyl EP ‘New Horizons’. It’s a warm and uplifting chunk of balearica, in which Rose ensures better days are soon upon us (surely), while Belgium’s Steven De bruyn shines on harmonica. Just like the Belgian producer's last few outings, it showcases a sense of class and elegance stemming from 25 years behind the decks and a decade of producing music. 

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PREMIERE: Gratts 'Better Days' [Be Strong Be Free]

#hsmpremiere
Artist: Gratts 
Track; Off My Feet (feat Venessa Jackson) 
Release title: New Horizons EP
Label: Be Strong Be Free
Release date: 26-May-25
Buy: https://www.juno.co.uk/products/gratts-new-horizons-ep-vinyl/1086332-01/

It's a classic deephouse track (and a bit of a summer jam) featuring Venessa Jackson on vox, Gary Pozner (who was in Tom Tom Club band) on piano, Jasper Hautekiet on bass, Simon Vanwalle on sax and Michäel Brijs on flute.
It is also a little tribute to Restless Soul / the late Phil Asher...

Gratts | @https://soundcloud.com/gratts



PREMIERE: Gratts - Off My Feet (feat Venessa Jackson) [Be Strong Be Free]

DC Promo Tracks #1680: "Better Days (Moody Beatdown Dub)" by Gratts is part of the release "New Horizons EP" on Be Strong Be Free @gratts  

Buy Now: https://www.juno.co.uk/products/gratts-new-horizons-ep-vinyl/1086332-01/?ref=dc 

‘Better Days’ is the fourth and final single taken off Gratts’ latest vinyl EP ‘New Horizons’. It’s a warm and uplifting chunk of balearica, in which Rose ensures better days are soon upon us (surely), while Belgium’s Steven De bruyn shines on harmonica. Just like the Belgian producer's last few outings, it showcases a sense of class and elegance stemming from 25 years behind the decks and a decade of producing music. The ‘Moody Beatdown Dub’ pulls things firmly into Detroit territory.

-- 

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DC Promo Tracks: Gratts "Better Days" (Moody Beatdown Dub)

Belgian dad/DJ/producer/support worker on Kaurna Land (via Berlin). Record collector since ‘99.

Contact: gratts.dj@gmail.com

Reposts by Gratts