Seth Troxler is an American
DJ and
record producer
A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
from
Lake Orion
Lake Orion ( ) is a village in the northern outskirts of Metro Detroit in Oakland County, Michigan, United States. The population was 2,973 at the 2010 census. "Lake Orion" can refer to either the village or the much larger Orion Township, of w ...
,
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
. His DJ work focuses on
house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
and
techno
Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...
, while he has produced on the
Wolf + Lamb, Crosstown Rebels and Circus Company labels, collaborating with artists
Art Department
Art department in filmmaking terms means the section of a production's crew concerned with visual artistry. Working under the supervision of the production designer and/or art director, the art department is responsible for arranging the overall ...
, Deetron,
Tiefschwarz
Tiefschwarz () are a German house group consisting of brothers, Alexander "Ali" (June 7, 1967-) and Sebastian "Basti" (December 28, 1969-) Schwarz, which formed in Stuttgart in 1996.IMO Records"Tiefschwarz Biography", ''IMO Records''. Retrieved ...
, Matthew Dear and Subb-an.
Troxler draws upon the musical heritage of
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
and
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
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and his influences include
Richie Hawtin
Richard "Richie" Hawtin (born June 4, 1970) is a British-Canadian electronic musician and DJ. He became involved with Detroit techno's second wave in the early 1990s, and has been a leading exponent of minimal techno since the mid-1990s. He becam ...
and
Moodymann
Kenny Dixon Jr., better known by his stage name Moodymann, is an American musician based in Detroit, Michigan. He is the owner of the record labels Mahogani Music and KDJ Records. He is a member of 3 Chairs.
Career
In 1997, Moodymann released his ...
. He is one of the founders of the record label Visionquest, as well as head of labels Tuskegee, Soft Touch and Play It, Say It. He also owns a restaurant in East London called Smokey Tails.
Early life
Troxler was born on September 29, 1985, in Kalamazoo, Michigan. His parents split up when he was two years old and his step-father hosted a local radio show in his home town. As a boy, Troxler used to listen to his step-father's radio show in the studio. Such early exposure to early
house music
House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...
and
hip hop paved the way for Troxler to begin his career as a DJ.
When Troxler was fourteen years old, his family moved to the outskirts of
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
, where he involved himself in the musical heritage of the city. In the 90s, Troxler went to underground techno raves, and shortly after threw his own underground parties – notably booking Magda to play for him when he was only fifteen years old.
Around the same time, he landed a job as a techno buyer in the record store ‘Melodies & Memories’ 23013 Gratiot, Eastpointe Michigan, just a few block north of 9 mile, working alongside Reggie Harrell and Terrence Parker.
His sound was influenced by underground techno legend Drew Maddox. Troxler spent countless hours trainspotting Maddox at underground techno parties during his rise to success. It was through his work at ‘Melodies & Memories’ that Troxler met his future Visionquest label-mates Ryan Crosson, Lee Curtiss and Shaun Reeves.
A week after graduating from high-school Troxler was invited on a small European tour for
Omar-S Omar-S (real name Alexander Omar Smith) is an electronic music producer from Detroit, Michigan, United States.
Discography
Albums
* ''Just Ask The Lonely'' (FXHE, 2005)
* ''111'' (2006)
* ''It Can Be Done But Only I Can Do It'' (2011)
* ''Tha ...
’ FXHE label, playing at the German clubs
Panorama Bar
Berghain () is a nightclub in Berlin, Germany. It is named after its location near the border between Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain in Berlin, and is a short walk from Berlin Ostbahnhof main line railway station. and Robert Johnson. Once he finished his degree in America, he decided to move to
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
.
He now tours throughout the year playing at festivals and clubs.
Career
As a DJ
Troxler has played at a number of clubbing institutions such as
Fabric
Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...
,
Circo Loco
"Circo Loco" is a song by Canadian rapper Drake and Atlanta-based rapper 21 Savage from their collaborative studio album ''Her Loss''. It was sent to Italian contemporary hit radio on November 11, 2022, as the lead single from the album. Produced ...
, Panorama Bar, Watergate, Warung, Womb and Robert Johnson as well as festivals like the
Detroit Electronic Music Festival
Movement Electronic Music Festival is an annual electronic dance music event held in the birthplace of Techno, Detroit, each Memorial Day weekend since 2006. Previous electronic music festivals held at Hart Plaza on Memorial Day weekend inclu ...
,
ZoukOut
ZoukOut is an annual dance music festival held in Singapore since 2000. One of Asia's biggest music dance festivals, it is organised by Zouk Singapore. DJs that have performed at ZoukOut include Paul Van Dyk, 2ManyDJS, Masters at Work, Gilles Pet ...
,
Glastonbury
Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury ...
,
Coachella Coachella may refer to:
* Coachella, California
* Coachella Canal, in California
* Coachella (festival), an annual music and arts festival in California
* "Coachella – Woodstock in My Mind", a 2017 song by Lana del Rey
See also
* Coachell ...
,
Wonderfruit
Wonderfruit is an annual gathering that explores wonder through art, culture, music, and nature taking place at The Fields at Siam Country Club, outside Pattaya in Chonburi Province, Thailand. With an emphasis on experiences that explore the rela ...
,
Sónar
Sónar is a festival dedicated to music, creativity and technology, founded in Barcelona in 1994 by Ricard Robles, Enric Palau, and Sergi Caballero. The festival has been divided into two parts since its inception: Sónar by Day and Sónar b ...
and
Burning Man
Burning Man is an event focused on community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance held annually in the western United States. The name of the event comes from its culminating ceremony: the symbolic burning of a large wooden effigy, referred ...
.
He was a member of the Visionquest collective which includes Ryan Crosson, Lee Curtiss and Shaun Reeves. In 2013 the four DJs undertook their Visionquest Thirteen world tour which saw take over various clubs around the world for an all night multi-deck DJ performance.
Troxler's constant touring (158 gigs in 2012) resulted in him being subsequently voted number three, two, then one in the
Resident Advisor
''Resident Advisor'' (also known as ''RA'') is an online music magazine and community platform dedicated to showcasing electronic music, artists and events across the globe. It was established in 2001. ''RA''s editorial team provides news, musi ...
Top 100 DJs poll from 2009–2012.
Visionquest
Visionquest is both a DJ collective and record label, headed by Troxler, Ryan Crosson, Lee Curtiss and Shaun Reeves. The label has seen releases from Footprintz, Wareika,
Benoit & Sergio
Benoit & Sergio are a dance pop and house music duo composed of Benoit Simon and Benjamin "Sergio" Myers and based out of Washington, D.C. and Berlin. Their music has been described as an intelligent and often melancholy mix of pop and electronic ...
, Tale of Us and many more. At the beginning of 2014, Troxler decided to step back from his role in Visionquest to pursue a different musical direction with some new record labels of his own.
Record Labels
In 2014 Troxler founded three new record labels: Tuskegee, Soft Touch and Play It, Say It
Tuskegee
Troxler set up Tuskegee with New York City-based DJs
The Martinez Brothers
The Martinez Brothers are a duo of disc jockeys, music producers, and remixers from The Bronx, New York known for their long-term residencies at clubs in Ibiza. In 2014 they were named as DJs of the year by ''Mixmag'', who wrote that "no other DJ ...
- a "label of cultural heritage" exposing "more people of
roxler and Martinez'sbackground, to the opportunities of electronic music and to create a platform to release music of people of ethnicity". The label has seen releases from William Kouam Djoko, Filsonik, Kyle Ridings, Ibellini, Jesse Calosso as well as a collaboration between Troxler and The Martinez Brothers.
Soft Touch
Soft Touch was set up with the intention of displaying a less 'dance oriented' side of Troxler's taste, he explains "“Soft Touch is an indie label putting out all sorts of random stuff- some folk, some rock, all limited editions. It’s about music by artists I’ve met over the years whose music is amazing but not finding its niche.” The first release was a limited 10" from Clarian, titled 'Is There A Light At The End'
Play It, Say It
Troxler's third label - Play It, Say It - draws its name from the stickers which used to appear on records in the 1980s and 1990s, where promos sent to US radio stations often had stickers on them saying, "When You Play It, Say It" to encourage disc jockeys to mention the names of the songs they were broadcasting on air.
Troxler's intentions behind this label are both simple and functional: "just me putting out records that I've been field testing but have never come out. They aren't moody, the critics might hate them, but I know they work a floor and are awesome in that context. This isn't some crazy art thing, just high grade white labels to play in clubs. It's that basic."
The label has seen releases from Sharam, Steve Lawler, Berkson & What, and Clarian.
Awards
*No. 1 DJ – RA Top 100 DJ Poll, 2012.
*No. 2 DJ – RA Top 100 DJ Poll, 2011.
*No. 1 Tech House DJ – Ibiza DJ Awards, 2012.
*No. 13 of 25 DJs that rule the world,
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
, 2012.
Smokey Tails
Troxler won the Amsterdam Dance Event DJ cook-off for three years in a row and subsequently judged in the competition. In August 2013, Troxler undertook a new venture, with three other collaborators, to set up the pop-up restaurant Smokey Tails in
Hackney Wick
Hackney Wick is a neighbourhood in east London, England. The area forms the south-eastern part of the district of Hackney, and also of the wider London Borough of Hackney. Adjacent areas of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets are sometimes a ...
– an American BBQ serving
smoked meats and
cocktails
A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink. Most commonly, cocktails are either a combination of spirits, or one or more spirits mixed with other ingredients such as tonic water, fruit juice, flavored syrup, or cream. Cocktails vary widely across ...
.
The restaurant ran for two months before moving to
Dalston
Dalston () is an area of East London, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is northeast of Charing Cross. Dalston began as a hamlet on either side of Dalston Lane, and as the area urbanised the term also came to apply to surrounding areas includ ...
as part of a new venture called ’Night Tales’ which combines food, experimental bar culture and nightlife.
Smokey Tails has taken over the kitchen at Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen in Shoreditch to host his 'Midwestern modern' family recipes.
Discography
EPs
*2006: Love Bezerker
erettamusic Grey*2007: Rave Loot
speranza*2007: Aggression
oodgadget*2008: Hot / I Like You Too
aum... musik*2008: Love Never Sleeps
rosstown Rebels*2008: Sexplosion EP
agon Repair*2009: Panic, Stop, Repeat
pectral Sound*2009: Aphrika EP
olf & Lamb*2015: Evangelion
umors*2015: Just Back
uskegee
Collaborations
*2008: Patrick Russell & Seth Troxler – Valt Trax
ircus Company*2009: The Royal We – Party Guilt
rosstown Rebels*2009: Tiefschwarz ft. Seth Troxler – Trust
ouvenir*2009: Tiefschwarz ft. Seth Troxler – Trust (Remixes)
ouvenir*2010: Deetron ft. Seth Troxler – Each Step
ircus Company*2010: Art Department ft. Seth Troxler – Vampire Nightclub
rosstown Rebels*2013: Subb-an ft. Seth Troxler – Time
isionquest*2014: Space & Time - Seth Troxler,
The Martinez Brothers
The Martinez Brothers are a duo of disc jockeys, music producers, and remixers from The Bronx, New York known for their long-term residencies at clubs in Ibiza. In 2014 they were named as DJs of the year by ''Mixmag'', who wrote that "no other DJ ...
uskegee*2015: Seth Troxler & Phil Moffa - Rogue Music
ypercolour*2015: Seth Troxler & Tom Trago Present T & T Music Factory - De Natte Cel
Mixes
*2009: RA.156
esident Advisor*2010: BoogyBytes Vol. 5
Pitch Control
A variable speed pitch control (or vari-speed) is a control on an audio device such as a turntable, tape recorder, or CD player that allows the operator to deviate from a standard speed (such as 33, 45 or even 78 rpm on a turntable), resulting i ...
*2010: Jamie Jones vs. Seth Troxler
ixmag*2011: The Lab 03
RK*2014: The Illusion Nouveau (Live Mix)
ixmag*2015: DJ-Kicks
tudio !K7
Remixes
*2007: Stefan Tretau – Chittagong
eftout*2007: Sweet n’ Candy – Dirty Gotches (Visionquest Remix)
umb-Unit*2007: Ben Parries – Breakfast With Thorialanus
oopzilla*2007: Butane – How Low Can You Go (Visionquest Remix)
umb-Unit*2008: Nicolas Jaar – The Student
olf + Lamb*2009: Mirco Violi & Fabio Giannelli – Blues Brunch
dult Only*2009:
Cesar Merveille – Crapette
afari Electronique*2009: Jimmy Edgar – Funktion
tems & Things*2009: Fever Ray – Seven
abid Records*2009: Kiki – Good Voodoo (Visionquest Remix)
Pitch Control
A variable speed pitch control (or vari-speed) is a control on an audio device such as a turntable, tape recorder, or CD player that allows the operator to deviate from a standard speed (such as 33, 45 or even 78 rpm on a turntable), resulting i ...
*2010: dOP & Seuil – Prostitute (Visionquest Remix)
klo
Klo or KLO may refer to:
* Kalibo International Airport (IATA: KLO), Philippines
* Kamtapur Liberation Organisation, India
* Karabakh Liberation Organization (), Azerbaijan
* Korea Liaison Office, an American intelligence unit in the Korean War
* ...
*2010: Tracey Thorn – Swimming (Visionquest Remix)
trange Feeling*2010: Paul Ritch & D’Julz – RUN (Visionquest Remix)
uartz Music*2011: Azari & III – Into The Night (Troxler, Masemenos & Jaw)
cion*2011: Benoit & Sergio – Boy Trouble (Visionquest Remix)
FA*2011: WhoMadeWho – Every Minute Along (Tale Of Us & Seth Troxler Edit)
ife and Death*2011: Dinky – Acid In My Fridge (Visionquest Remix)
ocoon*2012: David Lynch – Pinky's Dream (Visionquest Remix)
unday Best*2012: Matthew Dear – Fighting is Futile
pectral*2013: Blood Orange – Champagne Coast (Seth Troxler & Subb-an Remix)
*2014: Hercules & Love Affair - I Try To Talk You (Seth Troxler Extended NYC Mix)
*2014: Douglas Greed ft. Mooryc - Driven (Seth Troxler Remix)
*2015: !!! - I Feel So Free (Troxler X Moffa Lost Souls Of Saturn Remix)
*2016: Kate Simko & London Electronic Orchestra - Tilted (Seth Troxler & Phil Moffa Remix)
References
External links
*
Seth Troxler live @ Time Warp Mannheim (video)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Troxler, Seth
Living people
American DJs
Record producers from Michigan
People from Kalamazoo, Michigan
Musicians from Detroit
People from Lake Orion, Michigan
1985 births