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 broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

compositions under the names Surkin and Gener8ion.

Life and career

Surkin was born in

Arles Arles ( , , ; ; Classical ) is a coastal city and Communes of France, commune in the South of France, a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône Departments of France, department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Reg ...

, the south of France. He studied contemporary art at Villa Arson in

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

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 (officially called the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and sometimes known as Coachella Festival) is an annual music festival, music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valle ...

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

and

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

, and remixes for artists like Paul Johnson,

Justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

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 soul music, dance music, rock, synth-pop, disco and funk. As of 2024, the band h ...

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

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 record producer, producer and film director. Music career Laubier first came to prominence as one of the main producers of French rap ...

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 printe ...

"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 Mi ...

, 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 original house music of DJs and producers from the area, such as Ron Hardy and Phuture History and origins D ...

, featuring vocals by Ann Saunderson (from

Inner City The term inner city (also called the hood) 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. Soc ...

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

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 developed and marketed by Apple Inc. They are the List of iPhone models, tenth generation of the iPhone. They were announced on September 7, 2016, at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium i ...

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

Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

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 A bromance is a very close and non-sexual relationship between two or more men. It is an exceptionally tight, affectional, homosocial male bonding relationship exceeding that of usual friendship, and is distinguished from normal friendship by ...

. In 2017 Surkin collaborated with fashion brand

Dior Christian Dior SE (), commonly known as Dior, is a French Multinational corporation, multinational luxury goods company that is controlled and chaired by French businessman Bernard Arnault, who also heads LVMH. , Dior controlled around 42% of ...

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

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to simply as Mercedes and occasionally as Benz, is a German automotive brand that was founded in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a subsidiary of the Mercedes-Benz Group, established in 2019) is based in Stuttgart, ...

campaign "Never Stop Improving" featuring

Roger Federer Roger Federer ( , ; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 3 ...

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. ...

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. Nicknamed "The God" and known by various aliases throughout his career, he has been credited as ...

) (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