Speedy J

Jochem Paap, one of Techno's most brilliant luminaries, was an integral part of the early 1990s evolution into headphone, mind-warping Techno. His sounds were central to the birth of Intelligent (IDM); he created tracks that were too elaborate and heady for the visceral movements of the dancefloor. From Rotterdam, he was also one of the first DJ/programmers to bring the Detroit and Chicago sounds to Germany and Holland. His tracks create cold urban environments that echo Detroit's futurist projections. He also produces entrancing, luminous, synthetic textures, often eschewing the hard, dropping break for beat evolution and rushing rivers of atmosphere. In recent years, his beats have become crisper and more distorted with a tense, midnight paranoia despite his ever-present florescent glow.