Almost every DJ comes from humble beginnings, and Dres is a perfect example of this. Born in Bogota, Colombia in 1978, Andres Escallon grew up surrounded by the sounds and rhythms of traditional Colombian music. His father, an avid music collector, helped expand Dres's tastes by exposing him to everything from classic rock, punk, new wave and british synth pop. It's these sounds that helped forge Dres's love for music at a very young age.

It wasn't until college that electronic music finally made a lasting impact in Dres's life. Having been a lover of the electronic elements found in the sounds coming out of england in the early 80's (New Order, Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, OMD, Information Society)...he immediately found the inviting sounds of dance music very welcome. Suddenly exposed to the culture and life of EDM, Dres quickly became involved in the thriving Pittsburgh rave scene. Party after party gave him heavy exposure to Drum & Bass, Techno, Trance and House. It wasn't long before Dres's CD collection was filled with Mix CD's and compilations ranging from downtempo and triphop to house, trance and progressive house.

Upon moving back to Boston, Dres involved himself immediately into Boston's and New York's underground club culture, and in 2000 finally invested in a set of turntables. He spent the better part of two years spinning records in his bedroom, handing out mixtapes to his friends but mainly enjoying a new hobby. In October of 2001 Dres took to the airwaves and was invited to submit mixes to a then young Proton Radio. Later in January of 2002 Dres was offered a semi-monthly show and went on to become one of the first three original shows on Proton Radio.

His affiliation with Proton helped Dres to launch himself as a DJ in Boston, and in the summer of 2002 he landed his first premier club gig at Boston's notorious Roxy nightclub. In the following year Dres teamed up with fellow DJ's Dave Wagz and Scott MacLeod and were offered their first residency at Boston's Venu, nightclub. After a short run at Venu, Dres was approached by John Debo and invited to start a new night at the Infamous Axis nightclub, giving birth to "Square One Thursdays". His monthly sets at Square One with Dave and Scott made a huge impact on the Boston scene, and within a few short months Dres found himself playing at Boston's preeminent superclub, Avalon, playing alongside such talent as Ali Ajami, John Debo and Sasha.

Dres then moved on to Boston's after hours scene, joining the talented roster of resident DJ's for RISE, Boston's only after hours club. From 2005 onward, Dres has been a permanent fixture at RISE, taking care of both opening and headlining duties Rise's main room, as well as digging through the crates and playing several extended sets in Rise's lounge. During this time, Dres used his affiliation with Proton Radio to create a series of parties known as Proton Sessions. These parties would frequently feature other popular talent from Proton Radio from the US and abroad such as Maya Amack, Dan Mnookin, David Josephs, Deepak Sharma, Jason Jollins, Dennis Rodgers, Tae Seol, Chloe Harris and Maher Daniel. It also gave Dres the opportunity to feature new aspiring DJ talent from Boston, giving these Nu-Breeds the chance to showcase their talents to a wider audience, in many cases giving these same DJ's their very first live gig.

In 12 years as a DJ, Dres has accomplished so much more than he set out to do. He's played successful gigs across the US in Boston, New York, Providence, Portsmouth, Hartford, Atlanta and Miami and abroad in Montreal, Bogota and Lima. Although his live gigs are a rare but welcome treat these days, Dres continues to share his music through his show Perceptions on Proton Radio which airs monthly every second monday of each month from 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. EST. His monthly mixes feature a mixture of studio mixes and live recordings which can also be found on Dres's SoundCloud page (http://soundcloud.com/andres-escallon). If the last 10 years say anything about his talents and ambition, the next 10 years begin a brand new chapter in Dres's love for electronic music. Check out RISE's website at http://www.riseclub.us to catch Dres at his next live gig.



 
 


John Essey is following