Daniel Bell is one of the few old-school legends of Detroit still at the forefront of electronic music today. Originally influenced by Chicago House and avant-garde composers such as Steve Reich, Bell’s music laid the foundation for what is now known as the “minimalist” approach in house and techno music. After moving to Detroit in 1990, Accelerate Records was created as an outlet for Bell’s music. Recording under the name DBX, the 1994 single “Losing Control” was described by AllMusic as “one of the biggest underground smashes of the decade.” The hypnotically stark compositions released on Accelerate proved to be influential and sent his contemporaries (and copycats) off in a new “less-is-profoundly-more” direction. As well as being active behind the scenes running a distribution company and a record store in Detroit, Bell cofounded the 7th City, Harmonie Park and Elevate record labels. Bell’s releases on Elevate especially have become some of the most sought after records in the collector’s market. In 2000, after the overwhelming success of his first mix cd, “The Button-Down Mind of Daniel Bell” (Resident Advisor awarded it 2nd Best Mix CD of the 00’s”), Bell became the first North American dj to take up permanent residence in Berlin, Germany. While in Berlin, he recorded for several European labels including Logistic, ~scape, Perlon and Tresor, and spent the bulk of his years there on a relentless dj schedule that took him to almost every part of the globe. In 2008, Bell launched his first world tour as a solo live act. Despite the trend toward laptop live shows, Bell travelled with a collection of vintage synths and drum machines. The tour was met with critical acclaim and was awarded Resident Advisor’s Best Live Act of 2008 – “DBX live proved that Bell remains techno’s greatest reducer”.

Please e-mail daniel@connectbookings.com for Daniel Bell booking requests

Thomas Brinkmann is a highly regarded German producer of experimental minimal techno music. Although experimenting with records since the early eighties, he gained wide reputation with his re-workings of material by fellow artists Mike Ink and Richie Hawtin released in the second half of the 90s. These productions were made by playing physically modified vinyl records on highly customized turntables with an additional tone arm.

Brinkmann later founded the Ernst record label and introduced his own productions on a series of 12” records taking their titles from female names. He has since expanded his extensive production catalog on his own Max Ernst label, as well as other highly respected outfits such as Traum Schallplatten, Raster-Noton and Mute Records (under the Soul Center alias).

Kenneth Christiansen has been djing all over Europe the last 2 decades, playing clubs like Fabric, Berghain, Tresor, and at Festivals like Sonar, ADE & Dimension + many more.
Running the 3 labels Echocord, Echocord Colour, Echo Echo and Pattern Repeat with Resoe.
Celebrating 20 Years of Echocord.

Today, Mike has been dubbed Detroit’s “Ambassador” among the city’s underground music community and those that know him well.

This is exactly what makes the Agent the essential DJ. His level of understanding and appreciation in the industry places him at an immediate advantage – one could say that Clark is the anthropologist of the dance floor. Born on the north-end of downtown Detroit and raised on the West side off the infamous 7 Mile Road, to an energetic mother and musical father he was surrounded by the electrifying energy of the Jazz, Funk and the Disco era. Heavily influenced by this at the early age of 13 Mike took a serious interest in the DJ world.

As the 1980’s dawned it was the competitive nature around this time that pushed Mike. His older brother began sneaking him into the hottest local dance clubs and Mike would spend much of his time playing backyard, underground parties and battle his peers in full on exhibitionist turntablist showcases where eventually fast coming up behind his peers he played with the best of them in legendry discotheques such as, L’uomo, Cheeks, Studio 54 and the Park Avenue Club after joining forces with the then well known Direct Drive DJ Collective being one of their youngest members. In the mid-80’s, Clark spent time studying Detroit’s legendary “1st Dj” Ken Collier also two New York icons Tony Humphries and Larry Levan. Mike travelled back and forth discovering the Chicago House Scene and the famed club “The Warehouse” meeting Ron Hardy and building strong bridges with the windy city’s Hotmix 5 of which Farley Jackmaster and Julien Perez was two of Clark’s favourites and a permanent influence on his spinning goals. So merging this fast growing Chicago style with the Euro-disco and progressive sound popular in Detroit, by the late 80’s Clark became a major figure in the birth of ‘Detroit techno’ alongside other DJ’s such as Derrick May, Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunders, Blake Baxter and Eddie Fowlkes.

During this exiting era of innovative discovery, Mike began producing and remixing. He teamed up with Mad Mike Banks group ‘Members Of The House’ to form the alias Underground Resistance label which became “Members Of House” singing group, which very clearly stood shoulder to shoulder with Ten City as one of the first two “House” music groups in history. Clark suddenly elevated his presence in Detroit, once again becoming one of the city’s most prolific DJs and producer now known as ‘Agent X’ beginning his Dj journey around the globe. A few years later in the late 90s mike joined forces with Carl Craig’s Planet E label. The result of this would be the smash hit EP “In the morning” which would yet again catapult his Career across the Atlantic into Europe and as far as Japan.

Beatdown Sounds was born in the turn of the millennium. A term used by his local peers and founded by Mike Clark “Beatdown” is the true sound of Detroit, a coined phrase that refers to the urban house sound and that Detroit is not just about “Techno” or rather that “Detroit Techno” really means term for how modern, forward Detroiters have embraced but kept their roots from Jazz to Motown to Funk to Today and created a new sound that mesh all of these and spits out tomorrow.

Beatdown sounds launched their first residency at Club OneX on Michigan Ave in Detroit’s Cork town neighbourhood. This is where House Heads and dance addicts could receive a proper “beatdown” each week. Later on Rehab at Agave became the one of the longest running and popular nights in the Deep House history of Detroit electronic music. In 2005 the Detroit Beatdown Dj’s took the sound across the pond and smashed it in Japan, Glasgow, London, Berlin and Paris. Since then one of the world’s premier nightclubs, Fabric in London has had them back every three months and every time has been the same, off the hook that undeniable heavy bass line rhythmic sound that is Beatdown. The label, Strictly Beatdown uses the talents of Detroit musicians, artisits, singers and producers and together has worked with the likes of London Based label Third ear and put out a successful series of Beatdown compilations and remixes.

Mike Agent X Clark, a native Detroiter, founder of Strictly Beatdown and Beatdown sounds has worked with major dance labels such as UR, Nite Groove, Happy, Simply Soul, Planet E, GotSoul and Third Ear to name a few and a Dj true to his craft is now back by popular demand and across the sea’s into the UK and Europe once again. With projects on the horizon with UK producers it looks like a promising future for his already established label Strictly Beatdown.

Roberto Clementi is one of the most inventive and creative electronic music artists currently making his name known in the underground scene. Since debuting on Brendon Moeller’s Steadfast Records and seminal Scottish imprint Soma Records in the last couple of years, Roberto has become one artist that stands out from the crowd. More than your usual producer/sound designer, his own unique vision & spirit of his music of his music has helped to sculpt him as an individual. Using an array of analogue synths, groove boxes and more, Roberto has crafted more than just music with specific genre tags. He allows his artistic prowess to flow through each track making each one a living, breathing embodiment of himself. Clementi’s story starts in a small town on Italy’s East Coast in the picturesque region of Porto San Giorgio. “Growing up remotely I grew up with out external influences, MTV etc which enabled me to develop my own taste, discover new sounds and find out what I liked. There were a lot of problems with the TV signal so my father in 1989 bought one of the first models of satellite receivers and I discovered the live streaming of street parade! I was so impressed that I hooked my fisher price cassette recorder up to the TV and started recording”. It was these recordings that ignited Clementi’s passion for music although it wasn’t until he turned 16 and through his first job that he was able to acquire the equipment necessary to begin his foray into electronic music. Roberto is not only a skilled produced but also a talented DJ and Live performer. In his hometown he has held a residency with his local crew I-Rob since 2006 and was instrumental in founding the Maf Maf Festival. Fusing elements of dub-techno, house and electronica, Clementi aims to keep his performances full of emotion and feeling. Each DJ/Live set is derived solely for the moment allowing him to tap into each dance floors unique properties and tailor his set accordingly. Roberto strives to make each show as unique as possible for the listener whilst simultaneously pouring his soul and artistic drive into them Over the last year Clementi has been working hard in the studio on his debut album for and is now ready to unleash his opus entitled N Lights on Soma
Records. The album was created through the research of unique, new sounds, made with analogue equipment, samples from old tapes & field recordings. Elements he felt were key in creating an underground feel to an album of melodic, dance floor orientated music. With further releases coming on Echocord Colour with remixes from Marcel Dettmann and Norman Nodge and an EP on Sorry for This with a special remix from Steve O’Sullivan, 2015 and 2016 promises to be brightest yet for Roberto Clementi.

Gerard Hanson was born in 1972. He hails from of Dallas, Texas USA. Little is known about this producer who seems to have Scandinavian roots. His productions have reflections with Basic Channel/Chain Reaction sound. His main inspirations are Juan Atkins and Derrick May. His music also has influences from Stefan Robbers, Red Planet and Carl Craig. He found a way where everything came together: Deepness, Minimalism and Soul, the Detroit-Berlin connection. In 1994 Gerard Hanson and Dan Kurzius started ‘Hardsync’, a Magazine dedicated to electronic music reviews and artist interviews. It has been defunct since 1996 as a result of a computer crash. Hard Sync was an outlet for several Texas-based electronic music enthusiasts to reach out to others around the world that shared similar musical interests. He released his first 12″ on Matrix in 1995. From 1995-1997, he released five ep’s, and then only two more in the next six years until 2005. After that some other labels approached him but just wanted more of the same and didn’t really seem to understand his sound. After that he stopped releasing music and produced only for his personal usage. After a couple of years the label Down Low convinced him to pick up his producing again. He is very careful about sharing his music with the rest of the world. In the last decade he only used the aliases Convextion and E.R.P. (Event Related Potential). E.R.P is an electro-edged moniker. Gerard has remained willingly anonymous since his debut in 1995, but he came out of obscurity for a debut European Live performance in London in April 2006.

Tyree Cooper is regarded as one of the most influential international artists of the last three decades. He is part of the first Global House music revolution that started in Chicago. His contribution to House Music & Acid House is unmatched and led him to co-create Hip House alongside The DJ Fast Eddie, widening the appeal of House music worldwide.
Growing up on the streets of Chicago’s South Side, listening to Farley Jackmaster Funk and The Hot Mix 5, Ron Hardy, Frankie Knuckles and his mother’s and uncles’ music collection, Tyree was well schooled in music at an early age. As a freshman he joined the Simeon H.S Concert and Marching Band.
Two years after college Tyree was already one of the most popular and highly sought-after DJs in Chicago. He was then approached by Vince Lawrence of the House band Jesse’s Gang (founded by Jesse Saunders) who persuaded Tyree to put together a demo tape of his music to start a career as a recording artist. From now on, it was only a question of time before signing the first record deal with the Chicago based underground label D.J. International Records.
The first 12′′ single – I Fear The Night (with female vocalist Chic) promptly became an underground classic in Chicago. Other hits followed, Video Crash and Acid Crash (1987) – Acid Over (1988) – Turn Up The Bass (1988/89) – Let’s Get Hyped (feat. Kool Rock Steady, 1989) – Let the Music Take Control (1989) and Hardcore Hip House (1989). In 2013, Tyree Cooper founded his own label: Chicago Vinyl Records with distribution from Juno Records UK. He has continued to release tracks and classic hits from DJ International and Dance Mania record labels.
He has also pursued his passion for DJing and has travelled throughout the globe to play at events such as Glastonbury Festival UK, Amsterdam Dance Event, DJoon Paris, Babel Sao Paulo Brazil, Mona Club Paris, Rhonda International San Francisco and Summer Dance Chicago. He was also hosting a monthly night with Bobby Starrr at the famous Tresor club in Berlin, called E-Man-Ci-Pate.

Scott Monteith is a musician, sound artist and music technology educator best known for his work under the stage name Deadbeat. Having launched his production career at the turn of the millennium, the Canadian-born, Berlin-based producer’s 16 Deadbeat albums, two-dozen singles, and countless remixes and collaborations represent one of most prolific and consistently rewarding catalogues in the modern electronic-music canon.

The city of Montreal played an out sized role in the sonic depths of his early works. Moving to the city in 1998 he secured a day job with local music software developer Applied Acoustics Systems and spent the late hours pursuing his own creative endeavours. In the spring of 2006 Monteith would make the move to Berlin. The move proved fruitful as his creative focus shifted from the studio to the stage, resulting in performance invitations from the most respected clubs and festivals the world over.

As a DJ, Monteith is a dub archivist second to none, with a collection spanning the genre’s early Jamaican roots, through the “steppers” versions of the 80s and 90s championed in the UK and Europe, to the current crop of global producers pushing the dub sounds into previously unheard directions and widely divergent rhythmic structures. This was most clearly highlighted with the release of his critically acclaimed DJ mix Radio Rothko in 2010, rated by various publications as one of the most genre defining mix CDs of all time.

In addition to his production and performance activities, his abilities as an educational speaker and workshop leader have been regularly called upon by the world renowned Red Bull Music Academy, as well as technology leaders such as Microsoft and Ableton among others. A tireless innovator of vast creative vision, 20 plus years on Scott Monteith’s restless creative spirit shows no signs of being quieted for many years to come.

Rod Modell (a.k.a. Deepchord) is a sound-designer with 25 years involvement in electronic music and over 50 releases under various aliases and styles. Beginning with more “industrial” and “ambient” forms of sonic experimentation (working with Kim Cascone and his -then- record-label Silent, and performing with notable industrial acts such as Chris & Cosey and SPK). While attending Art School for Photography, Rod lived in Detroit’s Eastern-Market area, the location of the infamous “techno boulevard”, and home to Derrick May, Juan Atkins and Kevin Saunderson during that time. Submersed in the blossoming Detroit Techno scene (early 1990’s), a journey from a more experimental sound into Detroit’s techno-world was inevitable. Modell co-founded the Deepchord record label in Detroit during the mid-90’s. Deepchord respected and admired (fellow Detroiters) Underground Resistance for their D.I.Y. attitude and independence. It was because of this respect and admiration that Deepchord declined offers from top techno labels of the time, in favor of doing it by themselves. Many consider Deepchord to be the second wave of the “Basic Channel sound”, and came years before the onslaught of imitators.

After 16 releases on Deepchord, Rod went onto co-found Echospace. Echospace released two full length albums and five 12″ singles on Modern Love (Boomkat), and a slew of releases on their Echospace imprint. 2007’s “The Coldest Season” and 2010’s “Liumin” are critically acclaimed electronic music classics, and were on top-lists of prestigious resources such as The Wire, xlr8r, and Resident Advisor (who wrote of The Coldest Season: “in terms of sheer quality, it rivals Basic Channel’s vaunted catalog. Put down that ultra-rare Basic Reshape 12” and check out what’s going on now. This album is bound to be one of the most fully realized listening experiences to grace your stereo this year, and is proof positive that DeepChord and Echospace are the rightful heirs to the dub techno legacy”). Rod also operated an audio-mastering facility in the Detroit area from 1995-2005, employing his services to many electronic record labels, including Richie Hawtin’s M-NUS imprint.

Rod’s recent projects include a collaboration with K Soublis (Fluxion) for Echocord in Denmark (Echocord #046 – “Waves EP”), remixes for fellow Detroiter Aaron Carl (R.I.P.) on Millions Of Moments (#MOM 004), remixes for DFA Records (#dfaemi 2194), reworkings of Juan Atkins’ “Starlight”, Remakes of “Miranda” for Convextion, and new versions of Slam’s Groovelock for Soma Quality Recordings in Glasgow. Deepchord has also been featured on numerous mix cd’s, including Deadbeat’s (Scott Monteith) “Radio Rothko” (theAgriculture, Brooklyn NY), and “Electronic Flavors” mixed by Henrik Schwarz and published by Philip Morris GMBH.

With a musical history spanning back to the early 90’s, as co-creator of the seminal techno band Body Release (alongside Todd Sines, Charles Noel and Mike Szewczyk), and on through a multifaceted career as a composer, recording artist, producer, remixer, record label owner and DJ, Titonton Duvante continues to evolve creatively. As a DJ known for blurring the boundaries of electronic music genres, Titonton deconstructs, blends and rebuilds beats with his special brand of funky turntablism. He’s brought his extraordinary style to nightclubs around the world: from Detroit and San Francisco to Berlin, London, Paris, Warsaw, Copenhagen, Sao Paulo, San Juan, Tokyo and beyond. Titonton has released an arsenal of music on labels such as Palette, Environ, 7th City, Planet E, Sonar Kollektiv, 2000 Black and Bitasweet to name a few, in addition to his own label, Residual Recordings. He’s done collaborative work with contemporaries such as John Tejada, Fabrice Lig and Morgan Geist. Titonton’s remarkable reputation has earned him an entry in Tim Barr’s book, A Rough Guide to Techno, as well as a mention in Dan Sicko’s book, Techno Rebels. Recently moving to New York City from his native Columbus, Ohio, Titonton has been working in the studio, with forthcoming releases on Residual, Frankie,7th City, Corner,Planet Harrier, Manuscript, Open Concept and Boogizm Recordings.