Benoit Heitz (born 1985), known by his stage name Surkin, is a French musician, record producer, DJ and art director. He is known for his

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

compositions under the name Surkin and GENER8ION.

Life and career

Surkin was born in

Arles Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province of ...

, the south of France. He studied contemporary art at

Villa Arson The Villa Arson, also referred to as the École Nationale Supérieure d'Arts à la Villa Arson (National School of Fine Arts at the Villa Arson), is a French art museum, elite school and research institution for contemporary art, located in Nice ...

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

before moving to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

to start his music career. He first gained attention in 2006 with his first releases on the French Institubes music label, DJ performances in clubs and music festivals such as

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 ...

Fuji Rock Festival is an annual rock festival held in Naeba Ski Resort, in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. The three-day event, organized by Smash Japan, features more than 200 Japanese and international musicians, making it the largest outdoor music event in Japan. ...

and

Ultra Music Festival Ultra Music Festival (UMF) is an annual outdoor electronic music festival that takes place during March in Miami, Florida, United States. The festival was founded in 1999 by Russell Faibisch and Alex Omes. It was first held on Miami Beach, bu ...

, and remixes for artists like Paul Johnson,

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

Chromeo Chromeo is a Canadian electro-funk duo from Montreal, formed in 2002 by musicians David "Dave 1" Macklovitch and Patrick "P-Thugg" Gemayel. Their sound draws from blue-eyed soul, dance music, rock, synth-pop, disco and funk. , the band has rele ...

DJ Mehdi Mehdi Favéris-Essadi (20 January 1977 – 13 September 2011), better known by his stage name DJ Mehdi, was a French hip hop and house music producer and DJ. He was signed to the label Ed Banger Records, founded by his friend Pedro Winter, in ...

Kavinsky Vincent Belorgey (born 31 July 1975), known professionally as Kavinsky, is a French musician, producer, DJ, and actor. His production style is reminiscent of the electropop film soundtracks of the 1980s. Kavinsky claims that his music is inspire ...

. During this time, Surkin's productions are notable for their use of heavily modified vocal samples and the use of cut-up. In 2011 he launched the independent record label Marble along with

Para One Jean-Baptiste de Laubier (born 2 April 1979), known professionally as Para One, is a French electronic music producer and film director. Music career Laubier first came to prominence as one of the main producers of French rap group TTC, and ...

and Bobmo. Surkin released his first album "USA" late 2011, which was called by dance magazine

Mixmag ''Mixmag'' is a British electronic dance and clubbing magazine published in London. Launched in 1983 as a print magazine, it has branched into dance events, including festivals and club nights. History The first issue of ''Mixmag'' was prin ...

"one of the most exciting concept albums of the 21st century". The album is influenced by

Detroit techno Detroit techno is a type of techno music that generally includes the first techno productions by Detroit-based artists during the 1980s and early 1990s. Prominent Detroit techno artists include Juan Atkins, Eddie Fowlkes, Derrick May, Jeff Mil ...

, 80's electro and

Chicago House Chicago house refers to house music produced during the mid to late 1980s within Chicago. The term is generally used to refer to the first ever house music productions, which were by Chicago-based artists in the 1980s. History and origins Disco ...

, featuring vocals by

Ann Saunderson Ann Saunderson (born Ann Karen Joy Nanton in Birmingham) is a British dance music singer. Biography Early career Ann Nanton met Kevin Saunderson when she went to join her older sister Judy in London in 1987. (Judy was already a session singer). ...

(from

Inner City The term ''inner city'' has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Sociologists some ...

) and

Marshall Jefferson Marshall Julius Jefferson (born September 19, 1959) is an American musician, working in the house music subgenres of Chicago house and deep house. Biography Sometimes known as the father of house music, Jefferson was originally a record produce ...

collaborator Kevin Irving. In 2015 he released the E.P. "The New International Sound Part II" featuring vocals by M.I.A, under the name GENER8ION. The subsequent music video, directed by Inigo Westmeier and executive produced by French director

Romain Gavras Romain Gavras (; born 4 July 1981 in Paris, France) is a French filmmaker. He is known for directing Jamie xx's video " Gosh", Kanye West's video "No Church in the Wild" and M.I.A.'s video " Bad Girls". He also directed Justice's "Stress" and M ...

, was shot at the Chinese fighting school of Shaolin Tagou and featured a synchronized choreography by 36,000 of their students. In 2016, Surkin composed the original music of the

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

campaign 'Da Da Ding' which won numerous awards at international advertising competitions and scored the launch video of the

iPhone 7 The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are smartphones that were designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. They are the tenth generation of the iPhone. They were announced on September 7, 2016, at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Fran ...

"Don't Blink" which was shown in September at the

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

keynote in Cupertino. In March 2016 he released a visual magazine called "Unite Or Perish" and a new EP under the name GENER8ION called "GN8003" on French label Bromance. In 2017 Surkin collaborated with fashion brand

Dior Christian Dior SE (), commonly known as Dior (stylized DIOR), is a French Luxury goods, luxury fashion house controlled and chaired by French businessman Bernard Arnault, who also heads LVMH, the world's largest luxury group. Dior itself holds ...

to create the music of their campaign Poison Club and composed the music of the global

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...

campaign "Never Stop Improving" featuring

Roger Federer Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players#Weeks at No. 1, world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, in ...

Awards

* 2017:

D&AD Design and Art Direction (D&AD), formerly known as British Design and Art Direction, is a British educational organisation that was created in 1962 to promote excellence in design and advertising. Its main offices are in Spitalfields in London. I ...

Awards – 'Nike, Da Da Ding' – Wood Pencil - Use of Music for Film Advertising * 2017: Cannes Lion – 'Nike, Da Da Ding' – Bronze Lion - Use of Original Music

Discography

Production

* ''M.I.A. - Bring The Noize'' (2013, Interscope)

Albums

* ''Action Replay'' (2007, Institubes/Klee) * ''USA'' (2011, Marble/Ed Banger/EMI Japan) * ''USA Club Mixes'' (2012, Marble)

EP and singles

* ''Ghetto Obsession'' (2006, Institubes) * ''Play Do / I Joke On You'' (2006, Arcade Mode) * ''Radio Fireworks'' (2006, Institubes) * ''Fireworks Refired'' (2007, Institubes) * ''Next of Kin'' (2008, Institubes) * ''Next of Kin, Mark II'' (2008, Institubes) * ''Silver Island'' (2010, Institubes) * ''Fan Out Remixes'' (2010, Institubes) * ''Ultra Light'' (2011, Marble) * ''Lose Yourself'' (2012, Marble) * ''I Want You Back'' (with

Todd Edwards Todd Edward Imperatrice (born December 9, 1972), known professionally as Todd Edwards, is an American garage house record producer, DJ and singer from Bloomfield, New Jersey. He began producing primarily for New York's Nervous Records in the 19 ...

) (2012, Sound Pellegrino) * ''Advanced Entertainment System'' (2013, Marble)

Remixes

References

External links

Surkin's Facebook Page

Surkin's Twitter

Daily Music Guide review of Next Of Kin Mark II

Surkin at Discogs.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Surkin French DJs French record producers 1985 births Living people