Uroš Umek (; born May 16, 1976), better known as DJ Umek or simply UMEK, is a Slovenian

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded dance musi ...

producer and DJ. Musically active since 1993, he is the owner of several

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

record labels. In 1999 he founded Consumer Recreation and Recycled Loops, the former of which he co-runs with

Valentino Kanzyani Tine Kocjančič, better known as Valentino Kanzyani is a Slovene techno deejay and music producer. He has also released records under the name Recycled Loops, which is also the name of one of the record labels that he co-runs (with DJ Umek), ...

. Recycled Loops formed the sublabel Earresistible Musick in 2001, and in 2007 Umek founded the large techno label

1605 Events January–March * January 1 – William Shakespeare's play ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', copyrighted 1600, is given its earliest recorded performance, and witnessed by the Viscount Dorchester. * January 7 – Shakespeare's play ' ...

. In 2010, he won Best Techno Artist at the Beatport Music Awards, and in 2013 he was named Best Techno DJ at the EMPO Awards. In 2013, he won Best Techno Track at the

International Dance Music Awards The International Dance Music Awards or IDMAs was an annual awards ceremony held in Miami Beach, Florida, United States as a major part of the Winter Music Conference. The awards were held every year from 1985 to 2020, except for 2017, when the ...

, and the following year he won Best Techno/Tech House Artist. He has released singles and remixes on

Spinnin' Records Spinnin' Records is a Dutch electronic music record label founded in 1999 by Eelko van Kooten and Roger de Graaf. In September 2017, Warner Music Group acquired Spinnin' Records for over $100 million. Background Van Kooten is the son of former ...

and

Ultra Records Ultra Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, which is a subsidiary of Sony Music Group. Company history Established in 1995 in New York City by Patrick Moxey, a former executive of PolyGram and Virgin Records ...

. Since 2015 UMEK switched back to darker techno style and is now releasing mostly on his own imprint 1605.

Career

Early years (1990s-2006)

Umek began DJing in 1993 at the age of 17. He was among the pioneers of the electronic music in Slovenia. In 1999 he released music on his own labels Consumer Recreation and Recycled Loops, the former of which he co-runs with

. Umek became famous by techno-supporters in Europe about 2001, for his fast mixing skills and his uplifting dj-sets. In the later years he changed his style a little bit. In 2001 he released music on Earresistible Musick, and in 2006, on Astrodisco.

1605 and hit singles (2006-2015)

In 2006 he released a single "Posing As Me," which was a big hit in

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

. In 2007 he did another video supported project with a

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

n singer and lyrics writer Anđa Marić Carbon Occasions, and also released music on the label 1605 Records. On his birthday May 16 he organized a musical event called ''Dan Elektronike'' (Electronica Day). He was ranked at position 29 of the TOP 100 DJs for the year 2007 by the ''

DJ Magazine ''DJ Magazine'' (also known as ''DJ Mag'') is a British monthly magazine dedicated to electronic dance music and DJs. Founded in 1991, the magazine is adapted for distribution in the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, France, Italy, Lati ...

''. Some people regard Umek as one of the Top 10 Techno DJs in the world. During all the subsequent years - until 2015 he managed to rank in the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs chart among the best DJs. He performed an ''

Essential Mix The ''Essential Mix'' is a weekly radio show on BBC Radio 1 currently broadcast between 0:00 and 2:00 a.m. UK time on Saturday morning. Originally broadcast on 30 October 1993, the ''Essential Mix'' features contemporary DJs and music pr ...

'' on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

in November 2007.BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix - Umek
-

24 November Events Pre-1600 * 380 – Theodosius I makes his '' adventus'', or formal entry, into Constantinople. *1190 – Conrad of Montferrat becomes King of Jerusalem upon his marriage to Isabella I of Jerusalem. *1221 – Genghis Khan def ...

2007 2010 was an adventurous and creative year for Umek. He released 2 No.1 Beatport hits: OMGWTF and "Back In the Race". He also teamed up with former Slovenian president Danilo Türk to appeal to high-school graduates not to drink alcohol on their prom dance. And in March of the same year he released his second authorial album and first on his label 1605 - "Responding To Dynamic", which acquired much attention in the world of techno music. In 2011 Umek launched his first radio show "Behind The Iron Curtain with Umek", currently present on more than 130 FM and online radio stations worldwide, where he weekly presents new talent and new music selection. From 2012 Umek's music style switch more to tech-house and commercial waters, which got him his first performance on

Tomorrowland Tomorrowland may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Tomorrowland (Disney Parks), a theme land at a number of Disney theme parks around the world * Tomorrowland (festival), an annual electronic dance music festival in Boom, Belgium * ''Tom ...

and mainstage performance on Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas in 2013. He started releasing much of his music on

and in the beginning of 2015 he released a collaboration with an American rapper

Waka Flocka Flame Juaquin James Malphurs (born May 31, 1986), known professionally as Waka Flocka Flame, is an American rapper. He first became known for his 2009 single "O Let's Do It", which entered the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and led him to ...

, which stirred up the waters in the music industry.

Return to the dark side (2015-present)

2015 was an important year in Umek's career. He decided to return to his roots of darker techno sounds, accompanied by the revival of his old electro moniker Zeta Reticula. To power-up his label he started to release the majority of his music on 1605. He also renewed his visual identity, reflecting his darker music style. In 2016 Umek co-founded a new music start-up compan
Viberate
which analyzes musicians and ranks them by their popularity and which already moved from his home city of

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley ...

. During 2016 Umek teamed up once again with Toolroom Records and released his first ever music production course, titled
Techno Masterclass with Umek
, featuring 5,5 hours of quality music production tips and tricks. On December 21, 2018, Umek celebrated 25 years of making music at the sold-out event in Ljubljana, receiving congratulations from British techno DJ and producer

Carl Cox Carl Andrew Cox (born 29 July 1962) is a British house and techno club DJ, radio DJ, motorsport team owner and record producer. He is based in Frankston, Victoria, Australia. Cox has won and been nominated for numerous awards. He has perfor ...

and the President of the Republic of Slovenia,

Borut Pahor Borut Pahor (; born 2 November 1963) is a Slovenian politician who served as President of Slovenia from 2012 to 2022. He previously served as Prime Minister of Slovenia from 2008 to 2012. A longtime member and former president of the Social D ...

, among others.

Awards

Discography

EPs

The following is an incomplete list of EPs released by DJ Umek: *24: ''Burnfire'' (with Jay Colin) (

) *2014: ''All I Want'' (with Mike Vale) (

) *2014: ''Sweet Harmony'' (with

Groovebox A groovebox is a self-contained electronic or digital musical instrument for the production of live, loop-based electronic music with a high degree of user control facilitating improvisation. The term "Groovebox" was originally used by Roland Co ...

) (

) *2015: ''Cheezin (with Waka Flocka) (

) *2018: ''19119 EP'' ( Tronic) *2019: ''Vibrancy'' (

) *2019: ''Ravaged Original Mix'' (

) *2019: ''Collision Wall'' (

) *2021: ''Watchers of the Sky (

) *2021: Frequency differ

Remixes

The following is an incomplete list of remixes released by DJ Umek: * 2013:

Fedde Le Grand Fedde Le Grand (, ; born 7 September 1977) is a Dutch House music, house DJ, record producer and remixer. In 2006, his single "Put Your Hands Up 4 Detroit" reached the top five on the Dutch Top 40, number one on the UK Singles Chart and staye ...

- "Metrum (UMEK Remix)" (Toolroom Records) * 2013: Ralph Falcon - "The Dig" (Renaissance Back Catalog) * 2013:

Parov Stelar Marcus Füreder (born 27 November 1974), better known by his stage name Parov Stelar, is an Austrian musician, producer, composer and DJ. He is considered a pioneer of Electro swing and is one of the most internationally successful artists ...

- "All Night" (

) * 2013: Bontan - "The Revolution (UMEK Remix)" (Kraftek) * 2014:

Chris Lake Chris Lake (born 8 August 1982) is an English electronic dance music producer and DJ. He rose to fame in 2006 with his hit single, "Changes", featuring Laura V. He is a member of Under Construction with FISHER, and also a member of Anti Up wit ...

, Jareth - "Helium (UMEK & Mike Vale Remix)" (

) * 2020:

Quench In materials science, quenching is the rapid cooling of a workpiece in water, gas, oil, polymer, air, or other fluids to obtain certain material properties. A type of heat treating, quenching prevents undesired low-temperature processes, such ...

- "Dreams (UMEK Version)" (

)tus ideas 1605 * 2021: The Thrillseekers - "Synaesthesia (UMEK Remix)" (Armada Music)

References

External links

Official website

Discogs - UmekViberate - Official Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Umek, Uros 1976 births Living people Musicians from Ljubljana Club DJs Slovenian DJs Electronic dance music DJs Spinnin' Records artists Ultra Records artists