Uros Umek grew up in the former Yugoslavia, but the restrictive regime didn’t halt his passion for music. In his teens, he used to tune into an illegal London radio station via a satellite programme. *It played techno, rave, hardcore and breaks non-stop at the weekend and, we never left the house all weekend in case we missed something?*, he laughs.

When Yugoslavia imploded at the start of the 90s, Umek’s native Slovenia was the first country to exit the federation. Although the tiny state had always been more liberal than other parts of Yugoslavia, Umek, who was beginning to DJ, found it hard to buy records in his home town of Ljubljana. This meant he had to drive eight hours to Germany to feed his growing vinyl addiction.

*There’s a huge passion for music here and that was part of our ritual,* he explains. Umek was also the first DJ to put on events in Slovenia in 1992-93. Although his first few parties were underground affairs, word of mouth soon meant that thousands of people were attending his events and, as he says himself,*the police and authorities didn’t know what to do, so they just left us alone.*

By this stage, Umek had honed his DJ skills and was spinning on three decks. He also started to book international guests and names like Billy Nasty and Surgeon were among the first guests to play at his parties.

The latter DJs’ sound left a lasting impression on Umek and he admits that his earlier releases were heavily influenced by Birmingham techno. As Umek became more confident in the studio, his sound shifted to the rolling grooves of his Mumps releases for Billy Nasty’s Tortured label. Informed by Umek’s love of early house as much as passion for club techno, the first Mumps release thrust the Slovenian DJ into the international spotlight, but he says that his background was at first a hindrance: *It took me about twenty releases before I got to play a lot outside of Slovenia.*

In the meantime, Umek honed his art as a DJ and set up two labels, Consumer Recreation and, together with Valentino Kanzyani, Recycled Loops. While the later explored the duo’s love of sped-up, disco infected crossover tracks, Consumer saw Umek reignite the flame under the synthetic techno sound.

By the late 90s, clubbers around the world were able to experience Umek’s dynamic DJing. Spinning on three decks, his sets are a whirlwind of energy, as he works the seemingly disparate musical elements that also characterise his productions. Umek barely touches the pitch control and cues effortlessly as he works every effect possible on the mixer. From tribal tech-house to rolling party techno and taking in the disco influenced Recycled output, the drum heavy Voices Of Africa; trilogy and his firing minimalism, Umek’s performances fuse his different production sounds, but still manage to entertain. This ability to appeal to all dance audiences is reflected in his non-stop DJ schedule and on his 2002 Tortured Chamber mix for Tortured – where Umek pieced together a whirlwind 27 track selection.

Tortured Chamber was followed by a mix for German party organisers Timewarp this year, which saw the DJ opt for a tougher, more full on approach. Unlike the techno purists who have kept the music safe from outside interference, Umek clearly wants his music heard by as many people as possible and has even hinted that, in the future, he may release an electronic pop album.

Indeed, the crossover support for Umek’s work on Recycled Loops, Bugged Out! and End Recordings and the Mumps and Voices Of Africa series as well as for the dubby, tribal tech-house house sound of his Earrisistible label which he launched in 2000 has been remarkable, with mainstream names like Pete Tong charting and supporting his work.

That’s not to suggest that he has deserted his underground roots: apart from the Slovenian producer’s Consumer Recreation releases, his Zeta Reticula series for Electrix which is at number four so far show Umek is also adept at making underground electro and Maurizio / Basic Channel inspired dub tracks. *I want to be an all round producer, I need new challenges. I’ve got to a stage where my tastes have changed: I love electro, tech-house and percussive house, so what’s the point in just putting out banging techno* he asks.

2003 also saw Umek release his debut album, ‘Neuro’ and make a break with the dance floor. Inspired by abstract artists like Autechre as well as industrial artists like Nitzer Ebb, the album was a brave move for Umek. It might not have appealed to fans of his club techno, but it satiated his need for making new, innovative music.

Umek has also been prolific as a remixer in the last few years, and has lent seminal synth pop act Depeche Mode his magic touch. He also worked with fellow Slovenian act Laibach on their recent comeback, providing remixes for the art terrorists’ comeback single, ‘Tanz Mit Laibach’.

*I work seven days a week on music, and the reason I produce so much is that I love what I do,* Umek maintains.

Perhaps the most stunning indictment of Umek’s crossover appeal was his comeback gig in Slovenia in the autumn of 2001 after an 18 month break, where he played to five thousand adoring fans, who screamed his nickname

Umek – Live at Design Of Love 4, Rdeca Hala, Velenje, Slovenia 00-00-2000

Umek – Live at I Love Techno, Gent 11-11-2001

Umek – Live at 11th Anniversary Of Industrial Copera, Granada, Spain 08-02-2003

Umek – DJ Set on Proton Radio 27-11-2007
Umek – Guestmix on Nocturnal 13-10-2007
Umek – DJ Set on Simplicity 02-10-2007
Umek – Live at Radioactivity on Proton Radio 14-06-2007
Umek – Live at Hardwired 11-03-2007

Umek – DJ Set Recycled Loops Presents UMEK 02-2007

Umek – live at Proton Radio 19-12-2008
Umek – Live at Arion Tuzla 08-12-2008
Umek – Live at Sala Boss, Almeria Spain 21-11-2008
Umek – DJ Set at Music Gates Show on SenseFM 09-11-2008
Umek – Live at Tresor meets Popkomm Cologne 17-10-2008
Umek – Live at Clash Club Sao Paolo 30-09-2008
Umek – Live at Shine Belfast 07-06-2008

Umek & Antonie Caesar – Mix on Fucking Famous Game 41 12-06-2008
Umek – DJ Set at Big City Beats on BigFM 16-08-2008
Umek – DJ Set at 1605 on Proton radio 22-04-2008
Umek – Warm Up Set for Mayday Dortmund 20-04-2008
Umek – DJ Set at 1605, Proton Radio 26-02-2008
Umek – DJ Set on Proton Radio 22-01-2008

Umek – DJ Set at Crobar BoraMusic HouseCast 30-12-2009
Umek – Live at from Chinese Laundry (Proton Radio) 18-12-2009
Umek – Live at Studio Martin, Romania 31-10-2009
Umek – DJ Set at Miami Underground Movement 16-11-2009 (Live at Awakenings Amsterdam)
Umek – DJ Set at Miami Underground Movement 12-10-2009 (Live at Monsters of House, Munich)
Umek – DJ Set at Miami Underground Movement 10-09-2009 (Live at Space, Ibiza)
Umek – Live at Carl Cox Join Our Revolution 14-07-2009
Umek – Live at Lazareti Nightclub Dubrovnik Croatia 27-06-2009
Umek – DJ Set at Ibiza Global Radio 05-08-2009
Umek – DJ Set at Miami Underground Movement 03-08-2009
Umek – Guestmix on White Noise 21-06-2009
Umek – Live at Alkmeria Spain (Guestmix) 12-06-2009
Umek – DJ Set at Miami Underground Movement 16-06-2009
Umek – Guestmix on Transitions on Kiss100 Radio 24-05-2009
Umek – DJ Set at Miami Underground Movement 18-05-2009
Umek – DJ Set at Miami Underground Movement 20-04-2009
Umek – DJ Set at Music Gates Show on Sense FM 12-04-2009
Umek – DJ Set at Maxima FM 20-03-2009

Umek – Live at Ambasada Gavioli NYE on Proton Radio 20-02-2009
Umek – DJ Set Miami Sessions 16-02-2009
Umek – DJ Set at Paris One Radio 08-02-2009
Umek – Live at Spark Nis on Proton radio 16-01-2009
Umek – In The Mix on Maximal FM 02-01-2009

Umek – Live at Space Ibiza 24-08-2010
Umek – Live at DI.FM (Live at Kiss, Bosnia & Hercegivina) 07-12-2010
Umek – Live at Shine Belfast 27-11-2010
Umek – DJ Set at MiamiUnderground Movement 16-11-2010 (Live at Space Ibiza Part 2)
Umek – DJ Set at MiamiUnderground Movement 18-10-2010 (Live at Space Ibiza Part 1)
Umek – Live at Club M47 Sarand, Hungria 19-02-2010
Umek – DJ Set at The Gallery Podcast 02-02-2010
Umek – Live at Inbox Ljubljana 25-01-2010

Umek – Live at La Vaca Ponferada, Spain 05-12-2011 (Part 2)
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Umek – Live at La Vaca Ponferada, Spain 05-12-2011
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Umek – Live at Sahar Club, Krasnodar 03-12-2011
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Umek – Live at Rise, Boston 29-05-2011
Umek – Live at U60311 Frankfurt 17-09-2011
Umek – Live at Sahar Club, Krasnodar 03-12-2011
Umek – Live at Oeste Festival, Imperio Romano, Marinha Grande, Portugal 07-12-2011
Umek – Exclusive Mix for Mixmag 00-12-2011
Umek – Live at Space Ibiza, 13-09-2011
Umek – Live at Escape from Wonderland, San Bernadino 29-10-2011
Umek – Live at I Am Techno & 1605, De Balie ADE Amsterdam 22-10-2011
Umek – Live at Žur z razlogom, Park Tivoli, Slovenia 27-08-2011
Umek – DJ Set at Soundwall Podcast 00-10-2011
Umek – Live at Space, Ibiza 02-08-2011
Umek – Live at Space Ibiza 26-07-2011
Umek – Live at SOL Lounge, St. Louis 31-03-2011
Umek – Live at Union Label Night, Halle 28, Bolzano Italy 06-05-2011
Umek – Live at Revolution 909, Amsterdamse Bos, Amstelveen 12-06-2011
Umek – Live at Row 14, Spain 06-03-2011
Umek – Live at Sakog Kulturwerk, Austria 11-02-2011
Umek – DJ Set at 1605 Session 05-04-2011 (Live at Club Metropolis, Sofia)
Umek – Live at The W Hotel Miami MMC 25-03-2011
Umek – DJ Set at UMF Radio 11-03-2011
Umek – DJ Set at 1605 Sessions 00-03-2011 (Live at Sakog Club, Trimmelkam)
Umek – DJ Set at Mocean District Radio Show 03-02-2011
Umek – DJ Set at 1605 Sessions 00-02-2011 (Recorded Live at Space Ibiza)
Umek – Live at Privilege, Bogota 00-01-2011
Umek – DJ Set at 1605 Sessions 04-01-2011 (Live at Alter Germany)

Umek – DJ Set at The Revolution Recruits Radioshow 07-08-2012
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Umek – Live at Coronet Theatre, London 28-04-2012
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Umek – Live at Toolroom Party at Cameo, WMC Miami 23-03-2012
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Umek – DJ Set at Delicious Housetunes 03-05-2012
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Umek – Live at Mixmag DJ Lab, WMC Miami 21-03-2012
Umek – Live at U60311, Frankfurt 25-02-2012

Europe, South America: Tina at KneDeep: +49 (30) 7978 1983. knedeep@gmx.de
UK/Ireland, USA, Canada, Japan, Asia, Australasia: Jon Terry at Archetype +44 7956 955 908. jon@archetype.cc

www.recycledloops.com