San Francisco event series, founded 2014

05/14 - 05/17: Parameter 2026

As a producer, musician, DJ and serial collaborator, Chris Schwarzwälders distinctive style of deep, restrained house is hard to pin down, but you’ll always know it’s him when you hear it. 

Born in Frankfurt am Main in the 80s, he started playing hiphop in the 90s. While making beats on his MPC2000, he dropped into Offenbach’s Robert Johnson club and fell in love with techno. 

In 2009, Chris moved to Berlin and started DJing at KaterHolzig, where he found a group of people who thought about music in the same way he did. In contrast to the trends of the late 00s, the sounds being made from this little paradise on Berlin’s river Spree were slower, softer, and more soulful than a lot of what was being played in clubs at the time. 

It was here that Chris began to cement his reputation as both a solo producer and collaborator, who was capable of bringing his trademark sounds to a whole number of side-projects - many of which have gone on to play to crowds around the globe. He joined the Feathered Sun collective in 2013, together with a group of friends including Acid Pauli, Nu, Jo.Ke and Raz O’Hara. Dreamy, groovy and often improvised, the collective represented a special kind of musical freedom in which a group of producers came together to create something new in a singular, live moment. 

At the same time, Chris’ friend Mira was making moves of her own, and they started to play back-to-back sets, soundtracking the legendary Monday mornings of KaterHolzig, and now, Kater Blau. The two, who are both residents at Kater Blau, have now been playing together internationally for almost a decade, and have formed a common musical understanding that translates throughout every one of their sets - deep, clubby and melancholic. This partnership has also carried on into the studio, where they have collaborated on numerous hits. 

His most light-hearted side comes out in collaboration with Iannis Ritter, where the two musicians take on a weirder, more melodic & electro approach than Chris’ other proejcts. 

If you were to ask him, Chris would describe himself as reserved, logical, rational, melancholic and humorous. Which is why you’d never hear him telling you about the hundreds of nightclubs and festivals he’s played around the globe, or the number of hits he’s had with his productions. If you’re lucky though, Chris might tell you about his favourite synthesizers, and get lost in a conversation all about electronics and sound. Which is exactly where Chris wants to be - lost in electronics and sound.

In just a year, Desiree has catapulted from obscurity to become one of the most promising house Djs in Jozi. Her style of play evokes an Afrocentric mood whilst maintaining unshakeable loyalty to techno basics. 

Electronic music has been a staple in Desiree’s life for as long as she can remember. Her childhood was filled with sounds from the likes of Thom Yorke, Atoms for Peace, Gui Borrato and Jon Hopkins. 

2019 saw her being selected for the prestigious Rackless Kazi Dj residency in Zambia in partnership with the Southern African British Council and Modzi Arts. Subsequent to this, she was shortlisted as a top 10 semi-finalist amongst a cohort of over 500 Djs for the Ultra South Africa King of The Decks competition. 

To mitigate the misrepresentation of the marginalized, Desiree has co-founded a women led electronic music movement called Boys Club. 

Be sure to stay tuned for her debut release which will bring a fresh perspective on afro tech.

DJ, producer & musical experience curator and creator since 1998. Half of the DJ duo Solomon & Sadao, former resident/producer of Concept, Qoöl & Sui Generis event series in San Francisco. Host of Sunday Soundz, a weekly mix of fresh and eclectic choons, every Sunday @ 9pm pacific on Twitch.

Collector, Wanderer and Vagabond. 

Honolulu

Music, water, nature & silence

Thank you for taking the time to listen.

NASA defines the signal transmission from space craft to earth as DTE. We attempt to embody this transmission, become the source and reach out to new audiences. ﻿We here at DTE find the music we play and the talent we bring to our events just as exotic as alien planets. We hope to cultivate a positive impact here on earth via sound waves and experimentation in unique environments. We are DJs, producers, party people, ravers, gear heads, professionals, weirdos, dancers, bartenders and brewers who find life all the more amusing when the sound system is loud, the drinks are stiff, and the DJ is actually playing what they imagined they would play.

Here's to techno, Here's to you...
-DTE

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