Spesh is an accomplished club DJ with more than 30 years behind the decks, and is co-owner and head of A&R for Loöq Records. He has also co-produced over 80 releases with JD Moyer as Jondi & Spesh, and with Jerry Bonham and Jondi as JSJ, with releases appearing on over a dozen groundbreaking labels including Bedrock, Global Underground, Renaissance, and Loöq. Spesh is also the co-founder and resident DJ of Qoöl, which in its 15 year run became one of San Francisco's most storied underground electronic music events. 

Spesh, né Stephen Kay, began his career in dance music as a DJ in the late 1980's. This was a time before dance music had congealed into distinct genres; when a five-hour set for a DJ was the norm, not the exception. With an ear for choosing compelling music and an unparalleled ability to weave those tracks into euphoric journeys of sound, Spesh quickly rose in the San Francisco scene, eventually landing himself a high-profile residency at the legendary party, Release.

Shortly after the 1999 release of Jondi & Spesh's hugely popular progressive house anthem "We Are Connected", Spesh developed into an international talent, performing his deep yet enthralling DJ sets across Europe and North America. Back in his hometown of San Francisco, Spesh quietly simmered away playing in virtually every venue the city has to offer, receiving the highest accolades from his peers and from local and international press including Mixmag, DJ Mag, San Francisco Magazine, SF Weekly, and more. 

Spesh can be counted on to bring something new and unexpected to every gig. His refusal to take the obvious route makes his many fans more passionate than usual. They expect more than fantastic dance music flawlessly mixed; they expect to be transported to another plane. Over 30 years of spinning music has given Spesh time to develop his talents to a nearly unconscious level. As Spesh himself says, "I'm doing my job when everybody in the room, including myself, has completely lost track of time."

These days Spesh limits his DJ bookings to less that half a dozen per year to allow more time for family and other passions projects. Each set is special and for him a shared experience of joy and gratitude.

I’m a 30 year old music producer/singer songwriter living in Houston, TX. I’ve been a percussionist since I was 11. I joined band in the 6th grade, went on to play 5th Bass in drumline, but my heart has always belonged to the mallet instruments and concert season, haha. I ran away from home my senior year of high school and decided to give choir a go. It didn’t go very far, haha, as singing has never been my forte; but it was good to be involved with music in some capacity. After high school, I joined the Navy; and so for awhile, my music took a backseat to being a war hero. I had a shipmate for whom I was not fond during a school while enlisted. He was always  buuuuut he was always talking about making music. So I figured that if that guy could make music, then I could make masterpieces. Haha, I haven’t made a masterpiece yet, but I’m still trying.I mostly use Propellerhead’s Reason for making my instrumentals or beats, and switch to Ableton or Logic Pro for vocals, mixing and mastering. I’ve been really into using GarageBand on my phone to make music lately. My sound ranges from electro pop to experimental/ambient or glitch with an orchestral flair. I also like to do electro rock and some experimental hip hop. I dabble in everything in an attempt to master something.  Regardless of genre, there’s generally a fair amount of drama to my music. I’m influenced by the likes of Radiohead, Bloc Party, the Postal Service, Brand New, Kid Cudi, the Fray, Drake, OutKast, Frank Ocean, Interpol, Modest Mouse, Freelance Whales, etc. I like to concoct instrumental tracks that entice and enfold you; and drawing on experiences like growing up the gay son of a pastor in small town Georgia, serving in the military during DADT, succumbing to addiction but fighting my way out and living in recovery to craft lyrics that engulf you in emotion and engrave them into your mind.

I love music and I mix and create tracks which make me happy. I do my thing and if you like it, it makes me even happier :)


2025
13.09. | MRMCD25 | Darmstadt
30.08. | Das Labor | Bochum
10.08. | WHY2025 | Geestmerambacht, NL
18.07. | Bornhack | Gelsted, DK
20.06. | GPN23 | Karlsruhe

2024
30.12. | Chaos Computer Music Club, 38C3 | Hamburg
05.10. | MRMCD24 | Darmstadt
21.07. | Bornhack | Gelsted, DK
02.06. | Electromagnetic Field | Eastnor, UK
01.04. | EH21 | Regensburg

2023
30.12. | 37C3 Maskenball | Hamburg
18.08. | Chaos Communication Camp 2023, Culture Club | Mildenberg

2021
01.01. | The Techno Festival NYE | online

2020
16.10. | The Techno Festival 2020 | online
17.10. | The Techno Festival 2020 | online
19.10. | The Techno Festival 2020 | online

2019
23.08. | CCCamp 2019 - Milliways | Mildenberg

2018
30.12. | 35C3 - Uptime Bar | Leipzig
30.12. | 35C3 - Chaos West | Leipzig
29.12. | 35C3 - Shutter Island Beach Bar | Leipzig
02.09. | Electromagnetic Field | Eastnor, UK
14.07. | Trallafitti | Mülheim
03.02. | Tanz am See (Der Technotümpel) | Bochum

2017
28.12 | 34C3 / Electric Cube | Leipzig
04.11 | We are Underground | Bochum
04.-08.08. | SHA2017 (9x) | Zeewolde, Netherlands
10.06. | Club Charlotte | Münster
24.05. | Projekt-X | Bochum
09.03. | Spot 48 | Luxemburg
09.02. | Spot 48 | Luxemburg
18.01. | Spot 48 | Luxemburg

2016
08.10. | Club Charlotte | Münster
25.06. | Klanggärtnerei | Dortmund
30.01. | Bus-Bar 888 | Bangkok, Thailand
29.01. | Bus-Bar 888 | Bangkok, Thailand

2015
27.12. | 32C3 CCC Congress | Hamburg
16.08. | CCC Camp 2015 | near Berlin
15.08. | CCC Camp 2015 | near Berlin
12.08. | CCC Camp 2015 | near Berlin
03.07. | Techno Total @ Apartment 45 | Bochum

2014
20.12. | Substation | Bochum

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