Deetron
Currently based in Bern (CH)
Bio
Having been involved with making and playing music for over 25 years, Deetron is an artist who is assured in his ambitions and a highly skilled performer. He has maintained a high level of quality in every aspect of his career: from mind-boggling three-deck DJ-sets to his special touch on remixes or simply for his own diverse range of productions.
Growing up in Bern, Switzerland the young Deetron fell in love with hip-hop and yearned to become a turntablist. Inspired by a childhood friend and local hero, DJ Djaimin, as well as an eye-opening set by Jeff Mills in the early nineties, he absorbed the traditions of DJ-ing; those basic, yet crucially important elements: a broad yet accessible selection, true skills built up from hours and hours of practice and dedication!
Skip forward a couple of decades and that same young man is now idolized by a new generation of DJ’s and producers all over the world. The early influences have been retained and implemented to great effect throughout his career. A master of not two, but three decks, his mixing ability is second to none with vinyl still an intrinsic part of his creative process, pledging wholehearted allegiance to his roots. The art of his crate-digging & mixing has been eternalised through ‘In The Mix’ (2002), ‘Fuse presents Deetron’ (2008), Balance 020′ (2011), ‘Fabric 76′ (2014), and ‘DJ-Kicks’ (2018).
Likewise, his productions retain a familiar ‘Deetron sound’ at their core, yet he can happily skip from sultry vocals and dainty chords to tougher compositions. There’s no contrived approach to his music, just a natural progression that stems from his broad musical palette and an innate desire to avoid becoming stagnant. Most interesting was the transitional phase Deetron found himself in, with the vocal element of his music coming to the fore and injecting a new wave of excitement into his production process. Which, in turn was the fuel behind his second album ‘Music Over Matter’ (Music Man Records, 2013) – a collection of dancefloor-ready tracks that featured a host of special guests across the house and techno worlds.
In 2014 Deetron launches his own imprint: Character. Within the first few releases hitting the stores Character swiftly establishes itself as an outlet for music beyond the confines of any particular genre. Its second release ‘Theory Of Light’ EP included Deetron’s massive underground hit ‘Photon’.
In 2017, Deetron surprises with a massive remix of ‘Automaton’ by British funk and acid jazz icon Jamiroquai on EMI. The remix crowns the DMC buzz chart and Music Week coolcuts, and Deetron heads to tour with Jamiroquai. During the same period, he releases ‘Re-Creation (Remixes Compiled)’ – a mammoth collection of remixes pruned from his 200-plus strong catalogue that showcases the breadth and depth of his remix talent.
In 2021 a lifelong dream turned into reality when Deetron’s concept album ‘Rotational Gravity’ gets released on Jeff Mills’ AXIS while at the same time Deetron also ushers in a new era for the iconic Nu-Groove label.
Throughout all these years, Deetron has established exclusive collaborations with Jamie Lidell, Steve Spacek and Peven Everett. He also remains to be a high in-demand remixer. Jamiroquai, Honey Dijon, Moby, José Padilla, George Fitzgerald, Tiga, DJ Bone, The Juan Maclean, Riva Starr, Todd Terje, Dukwa, The Imbiciles, are juste a few of the many.
2024 has a lot in store with a string of releases lined-up on Nu Groove, Mutual Rhythm, Rekids, and Laurent Garnier’s Cod3 QR amongst others. A follow-up collaboration with Gerd Janson’s label Running Back will appear later this year. After two highly acclaimed EP’s Deetron will also return to Ilian Tape as Deetron presents SOULMATE.
For Deetron music is everything, and it goes beyond the individuals who make and play it. It’s in his DNA and it’s this unrelenting passion that takes him effortlessly from studio to stage in the same pulse.
