Bookings : aylin@vault-sessions.agency
Remix : aylin@vault-sessions.agency

His different faces and a number of alter egos speak for themselves when trying to describe Javier Dokser, and his many ways of understanding music. Eclectic is the manner in which he takes us to unthinkable places that can only be reached through experimenting. That is why Dokser does not fit into one traditional style, nor can he be placed into one specific category. To get to know Dokser, we can only wait for him to surprise us with one of his next mixes, productions or live acts. He started residences at clubs in his hometown of Buenos Aires when he was not even old enough to legally enter such an establishment. It was then when producing turned out to be the unavoidable path to follow. He became one of Argentinas big promises, playing in cities like Punta del Este, Miami, and New York. The audience in Barcelona - the city where he holds residence at the moment - considers him one of the favorites, because of his live acts and DJ sets at clubs like Pacha, The Loft, City Hall, Moog, Creamfields, and the Bugged Out parties! The unconditional support comes from international Djs as Adam Beyer, John Aquaviva, Hernan Cattaneo, Davide Squillace, Jesse Rose and Ben Sims, who include Dokser music in their djs sets, radio shows, and charts.

As one of the most iconic artists of her generation, Ellen Allien embodies the core ethos of techno: a visionary who looks to the future for inspiration, carving out her own niche and presiding over an empire that has imbued techno, and dance music culture, with her unique DNA.
As well as running two labels (BPitch and UFO Inc.) and performing regularly at prestigious clubs and festivals all over the world she is also an accomplished producer with eight solo albums under her belt and an extensive catalogue of singles, EPs and remixes.

Falling Ethics / 
Booking: maria@sourceartists.net

Born and breed in Spain, P.E.A.R.L. was first introduced to electronic music through the sounds
of the late 90s and early 2000s, which have played a foundational role in shaping his artistic
identity. Immersing himself in club culture during his teenage years, he developed a deep
connection to the raw energy of Techno music, particularly influenced by the sounds emerging
from the UK and Spain.

In 2012, he moves to Berlin, and a year later, he established his own label, Falling Ethics
Records. Initially a platform for his own work, the label has expanded to showcase a diverse
range of artists, contributing to the global Techno community. Falling Ethics is also known for
its distinctive visual aesthetic and authenticity that has helped to establish itself as a reference
point in the independent scene.

As a performer, P.E.A.R.L. brings quality to the DJ booth: His approach is less about spectacle
and more about crafting moments with love and deeply personal. There’s intentionality in how
he guides the dancefloor, balancing tension with release in a very eclectic way. It’s this
unpretentious yet deliberate artistry that has earned him a quiet respect within the global
Techno community, not as a figure chasing trends, but as someone who understands our culture.

For Rune Reilly Kölsch, Kompakt has become a great label to call home. In 2013 the German imprint celebrated 20 years of record releases at the cutting edge of electronic music, championed in June by one of the most genre re-defining albums and personal music projects for an era: Kölsch’s landmark long player, ‘1977’.

A melodic autobiography on black wax, the Kölsch project has seen 36/37-year-old Rune take stock of a diverse and successful production career and draw upon his own personal beginnings: a nostalgia for childhood, family, friends and the confusion of applying his split-cultural heritage to what it means to think of ‘home’. As Rune freely admits, “being half Irish, half German and living in Denmark – it was all one big messy period of my life.” 

Born to hippie parents in the freetown of Christiania (a commune-like autonomous borough of the Danish capital Copenhagen) his childhood was spent surrounded by creativity. His mother was an artist whose family had roots in German politics and his father a singer songwriter who travelled through Asia playing music in the early 70's. Kölsch, however, did miss out on building friendships and found solace in making up “this imaginary world that I would spend days in,” before the family moved to Germany – a period of memories, relations and characters from which ‘1977’ derives its titles.

For Rune, the tracks he began building from 2010 took in this personal reflection, his being “completely locked in to reminiscing about what shaped me as a kid and into the individual that I am now” – contemplating his unique past to form the brickwork of ‘1977’, one of the most future-facing techno albums of recent years.

Influenced by hip hop, pop and the incredible legacy of Jeff Mills and Derrick May, Rune started producing in 1995, embarking on a string of success stories. In 2003 he released the multi-million selling, saxophone-infused ‘Calabria’, that saw collaboration requests pouring in from artists as diverse as Nicki Minaj, Shakira and Flo Rida. He then set up Tattoorecs – releasing pioneering underground tracks with no titles, just tattoos for artwork, that garnered critical acclaim and support from minimal and techno trailblazers such as Sven Väth, Richie Hawtin, Magda, Tiefschwarz and Ricardo Villalobos.

This appreciation of the complete musical spectrum has gifted Rune with a devotion to groove and melodics and with it the dexterity to input real creative change to the genres he reveres, not least his beloved techno. “2010 was the year of the ketamine house wave, where the music was 118 bpm and everything was extremely boring”, reflects Rune. “I wanted some melodic techno, some energy back in this scene. People needed the energy to express themselves and go crazy for a bit.”

This notion faced opposition, even from within Rune’s close circles. But it was Kompakt founder Michael Mayer who had the insight to see what Kölsch was trying to achieve. Rune’s conviction that vibrations and melodics are the key to human response had tipped the balance, underlined by his experience as a hip hop DJ where he “needed something to catch me and drag me in. And that’s what techno should do!” Here too he drew on his love of Jeff Mills and Derrick May, recalling how “they used to make mistakes all the time. It would be a big mash of all kinds of stuff, but at least something was happening. That’s what I was missing and that’s what I’m trying to change with the Kölsch project.”

The result is ‘1977’, a personal collection of dancefloor destroyers that are continuing to send clubs and festivals across the globe into melodic supernova. Take this video of Kölsch’s set at Belgium’s I Love Techno festival, one of Rune’s 2013 highlights, where “people were doing sit downs, singing along to all the tracks”. Watch it. It puts the hairs up on the back of your neck. “The response was overwhelming,” said Rune in a recent interview with Mixmag (who named Kölsch as one of their ‘Stars Of 2013’), as “when you think about it, it was just a bunch of childhood memories with a kickdrum underneath.” 

Elsewhere he’s ripped up the airways with an acclaimed Essential Mix for Pete Tong on BBC Radio 1, delivered his incendiary soundscape to Singapore’s world-renowned ZoukOut Festival, boomed his live show through the heaving basement of London’s XOYO and played the hallowed Space Terrace – in his words “a boyhood dream since I started going to Ibiza in 1999. That was what I wanted from life!” So opening Amnesia in 2014 with Joris Voorn will be a bonus then...

While these are reasons enough to keep the beaming smile beneath Kölsch’s trademark black fedora, his humility remains just as striking. While tracks like ‘Goldfisch’ have taken pivotal positions in the set lists of world class DJs from across the dance music spectrum – traversing the underground with Seth Troxler, while simultaneously providing credible new euphoric highs for the likes of Axwell – Rune remains joyously down to earth. All despite producing, with ‘1977’, an album that has crossed as many cultural and musical boundaries as his own childhood past.

From the face-twisting melodic drive of ‘Opa’ and ‘Bappedekkel’, to the chord-surfing piano groove of ‘Der Alte’ and the euphoric crescendos of ‘Lorely’, ‘Oma’ and ‘All That Matters’ (all hits in different countries), the fact remains that whether in your living room, on the dancefloors of the world’s greatest parties, or simply in your headphones on your way home, Kölsch’s ‘1977’ has re-defined techno and become an achievement that speaks for itself. 

Words: Phil Dudman – Clubs & Live Music Editor, Mixmag


HYTE since 2013
Adam Beyer, Andrea Oliva, Agoria, Apollonia, Art Department, Ben Klock, Ben Sims, Benny Rodrigues, Bicep, Bjarki, Black Coffee, Bob Moses, Cajmere, Caribou, Carl Cox, Chris Liebing, Collabs, Craig Richards, Danny Tenaglia, Derrick Carter, Derrick May, DJ Harvey, DJ Koze, DJ Tennis, Dubfire, DVS1, Enzo Siragusa, Erick Morillo, Green Velvet, Gregor Tresher, Guti, Henrik Schwarz, Honey Dijon, Hot Since 82, Jackmaster, James Ruskin, Jeff Mills, Job Jobse, John Talabot, Joseph Capriati, Josh Wink, Kenny Dope, Kevin Saunderson, Laurent Garnier, Len Faki, Loco Dice, Luciano, Maceo Plex, Mano Le Tough, Marcel Dettmann, Marco Carola, Martin Buttrich, Mathew Jonson, Matthew Dear, Matthias Tanzmann, Maya Jane Coles, Mind Against, Monika Kruse, Nastia, Nic Fanciulli, Nick Curly, Nicole Moudaber, Nightmares on Wax, Nina Kraviz, Paco Osuna, Pan-Pot, Peggy Gou, Rebekah, Recondite, Ricardo Villalobos, Richie Hawtin, Robert Hood / Floorplan, ROD, Rodhad, Schwarzmann, Seth Troxler, Sonja Moonear, Speedy J, Steve Rachmad, Tale of Us, The Martinez Brothers, Tiga, Tom Trago, wAFF and many #MORE…

Amsterdam based DJs, events company and record label. - support@dekmantel.com for all your webshop and label enquiries.

GHØV is following