David Schifino has been playing the underground rave circuit as DJ Venom since the early ’90s, after cutting his teeth as a hip-hop battle DJ. Finding the hard-core techno scene a better fit, Venom took hip-hop’s turntablism and applied it to techno, resulting in a unique electro-booty mash-up. Over the…

Taking to heart the notion that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, DJs Etain, MLE, Jamie Kent and Ms. Vicious formed the all-female DJ collective known as Angelic early this year. Each of these ladies has spent much of the past decade carving out a name…

Anthony Child made his first splash in the techno world as DJ Surgeon with the 1995 release of the Surgeon EP, which was quickly endorsed by techno tastemakers of the time and put Birmingham, England, on the electronic-music map. A decade later, Surgeon himself has become one of techno’s foremost…

Lee Burridge’s DJ career may have begun nearly twenty years ago in southern England, but it was after relocating to Hong Kong that he really honed his craft and became one of the biggest names in the house and trance scenes. That’s also where he met his future collaborator, Craig…

Danny Williamson — or LTJ Bukem, as he’s known in the dance world — is one of the few electronic musicians around who can lay legitimate claim to the distinction of being a true innovator. Having gotten his start in London’s hard-core breakbeat scene at the dawn of the ’90s,…

In the drum-and-bass scene, Paul Harding, Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen, known collectively as Pendulum, are an anomaly. While most drum-and-bass DJs and producers readily cite hip-hop as a primary influence, Pendulum swings in a vastly different direction. For these three musicians, who earned their stripes playing in metal bands…

Heavily dreadlocked and impossible to pigeonhole, New Zealand nu-breaks pioneer Freq Nasty (Darin McFadyen) helped set the stage for dance music’s genre-bending resurrection in the new decade. His music also helped yank electronic music out of the creative mire it was — and arguably still is — in. In Freq…

Though not exactly a hotbed of musical talent, Israel can lay claim to the distinction of producing one of the most critically acclaimed trance and psy-trance acts around today. Amit Duvdevani and Erez Aizen, who make up Infected Mushroom, have been producing trance music in one form or another since…

In a classic case of “If you want something done right, do it yourself,” Tyler Stadius began deejaying in Vancouver in 1991 after being consistently dissatisfied with the DJs he was hearing at warehouse parties around town — including some he threw himself. Already a veteran musician — he cut…

Seb Fontaine insists he never wanted to be a DJ, but it seems he was almost predestined for the profession. His mother was a DJ, and he was conceived in Ibiza, the world’s electronic-music party mecca. Although he grew up in London’s 2-Tone ska scene and still fantasizes about being…

Jon Bishop got his start when electronic music was still a very underground phenomenon. Spinning house and techno in warehouses and outdoor events throughout California, the San Diego-based jock was at the forefront of the burgeoning rave scene in 1990. Bishop made his name at San Diego’s Club Hedonism, which…

After spending years behind the scenes, Tommie Sunshine has stepped into the spotlight and turned dance music on its ear. Although the New York City-based DJ came of age in the Midwestern rave scene, it wasn’t until the electroclash explosion of the new millennium that he really began to make…

Jason Amm, better known to the experimental dance music contingent as Solvent, creates some of the most melodic and beautiful techno-pop music since the heyday of Kraftwerk and New Order. His attention to melody and sweeping synth lines is what distinguishes him from just about every other producer on the…

London’s James Zabiela (due at the Church this Thursday, July 14) is living out every bedroom-DJ’s fantasy. Once a record-shop clerk and amateur deckmeister who only dreamed of success and stardom, Zabiela is now one of the hottest jocks around, thanks to Musik Magazine’s mix tape contest, which Zabiela entered…

As half of critically acclaimed dance duo Way Out West (the other half is Jody Weisterhoff), DJ Nick Warren has released his share of classic tracks, cuts such as the seminal ’90s trance anthem “The Gift.” Warren got his start spinning dub and hip-hop in his native Bristol, England, and…

DJ John Acquaviva has been blazing a trail in the dance scene since its earliest days. From launching the Plus-8 imprint with partner Richie Hawtin in 1989 to his involvement in pioneering Final Scratch technology (and his subsequent stake in Beatport.com), Acquaviva has been all about pushing the scene forward…

It takes a lot more than just being able to mix records and look cool doing it for a DJ to stand out these days. Even well-established jocks like Steve Lawler are aware that to stay ahead of the pack, you’ve got to do something to make your sets special…

The typical superstar DJ’s career can sometimes span decades. Jocks like Paul Oakenfold, Wink and Bad Boy Bill, who’ve been around forever and show no signs of letting up, can make it tough for an up-and-comer to make a name in the scene. But it’s these new faces who are…

Kill Memory Crash has spent the majority of the past ten years operating in relative obscurity, playing underground raves and clubs in Chicago and Detroit. Its style has developed from a pretty typical dance sound into a dark hybrid of Detroit techno, IDM and heavy industrial music reminiscent of Nitzer…

Nearly two decades after breaking up, the Smiths have become one of the most beloved acts to come out of the ’80s. Heralded groups like Bright Eyes, the Postal Service and Interpol owe a massive debt to Morrissey and company, who were named the most influential band ever by the…

San Francisco’s DJ Dan was at the forefront of L.A.’s burgeoning rave scene in the early ’90s. Originally a techno DJ, Dan began incorporating elements of hip-hop and funk into his mix after becoming a member of the West Coast’s Funky Techno Tribe. A major player in the mid-’90s breakbeat…

The Crystal Method was one of the few American dance acts to enjoy the electronica boom of the late ’90s. With a sound akin to the Chemical Brothers’, the Method’s huge breakbeats, samples and acid lines helped tracks like “Keep Hope Alive” and “Busy Child” become club, rave and radio…