Sam GreenwoodIn an era drowned with superstar techno DJs, some would say the most valuable and loyal to the original movement have forged their own scene.
When techno originally started playing in clubs the DJ was no superstar, the party goers often danced with their backs to the DJs. Techno was an underground movement with no face or any desire to have superstars.
Artists to this day still keep this original movement going, playing with their faces covered with bags, masks or helmets.
Today we take a look at our five favourite faceless techno artists.
Redshape
“The future of the past never sounded more contemporary.” – Pete Chambers.
Redshape an electronic artist from Berlin has been hiding his identity behind a red mask since he first started playing.
He recently brought his live set to the Boiler Room Berlin 5th birthday edition. His name is well known around the scene with releases on labels such as 3024 and Music Man Records.
Headless Horseman
“The rest of this body shall eventually turn to dust.” – RA Bio.
There really is not much known about Headless Horseman, he runs his own label barely ever releasing outside it (bar a recent release on 47), he has an immense live set where no one is allowed to be in the room when he sound checks and he has a curtain covering his face.
He’s based in Berlin, Germany if anyone wants to bite the bullet and try find him.
SNTS
Rumour has it SNTS also has another alias where he plays without his mask.
He surfaced in late 2012 with the start of a string of EPs entitled Chapter 1, then Chapter 2 etc. Techno lovers in Berlin worship his productions and live sets. Covering his face with a black mask and hood, he also wears contacts to enhance the horror vibe.
After releasing his last album ‘The Rustling Of The Leaves’ he recently announced a new LP entitled ‘Loosing Sight’ which is due out in November.
SHXCXCHCXSH
Hailing from Sweden, this duo has created a strong cult following after releases on labels such as Shifted’s Avian and Barcelona based label Subsist Records.
Shifted’s interest in the duo sparked online rumours that the duo may be Shifted and Sigha, who often perform together, undercover as a new project.
Their recent album on Avian called ‘SsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSs’ had a track featured on the Boiler Room debuts. To many peoples surprise Boiler Room chose to debut the track ‘SsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSs’ over the duo’s other track ‘SsSsSsSsSsSs’.
DJ Stingray
A truly legendary techno selector, DJ Stingray for years was Detroit duo Drexcya’s DJ. He would play sets for them playing their new music whilst they stayed undercover and so did Stingray himself. For years DJ Stingray has played underneath a balaclava.
He recently played at Dekmantel festival and his set was rated as one of the best across the festival.