T.

In today's electronic music world there are not many artists who can lay claim to a legacy like that of Thomas Koch aka DJ T. During a career spanning three decades he has not only injected every inch of his being into the music industry, but travelled the length and breadth of the planet to spread his gospel, but he has also been responsible for setting up some of the most prominent platforms in the business and kickstarting the careers of numerous international stars. DJ T. has an unsurpassed depth of knowledge, an unrelenting passion for discovering and nurturing new talent and unflinching determination, which has been the catalyst behind a hugely influential career lasting over 30 years and counting…

Born in Düsseldorf, DJ T. (aka Thomas Koch), relocated to Frankfurt with his family in the late 70s. During his formative years, he fell for the hypnotic grooves of Disco, inspired by his parents' record collection. At the age of nine, he was already completely enraptured by music, and that love affair continues until this very day. He began an obsessive quest to collect music, feeding his soul with everything from disco and Hi-Nrg, through to early Hip-Hop and Electro, Soul, Funk and R'n'B. The groovy, infectious rhythms of all those genres continue to permeate into the music he makes and plays today, providing an intrinsic part of his sound ethic.

Around this time, he took up breakdancing, compelled by the energy of Hip-Hop and early Electro pioneers to push himself physically, channeling the energy of true body music, which remains part of his musical DNA. From body-popping and locking and electric boogie, he progressed into DJing, a discipline through which he could share his undying passion for music. T. started to play at private and school parties, soon picking up his first professional gigs.

The late eighties proved to be a pivotal moment in his life as Acid House swept through Europe, landing in Frankfurt and taking over with the launch of Sven Väth's legendary Omen club in 1988. The first wave of House and Techno took hold soon after and T. was there at the forefront, absorbing all the fresh new sounds from Chicago, Detroit, the UK and what was called "the sound of Frankfurt" at that time. He picked up a residency at the infamous Music Hall and held residencies at countless clubs across the city during the next 10 years, from Plastik and Dorian Gray to The Box. By the end of the nineties, DJ T. had established himself as a reputable purveyor of electronic music and was one of Frankfurt's best-known selectors.

In 1989 DJ T. had tapped into another side of his creative energy to set up Groove Magazine. Identifying a niche in the market and fuelled by a need to satisfy his desire for specialised music journalism and focus on his interests – namely, underground dance music and club culture. Under his leadership, the magazine was launched into the public's consciousness, and he guided Groove to become one of the world's premier electronic music publications, which it still is today with his online formaT. During his 15 years being the publisher and editor, he took the brand on the road with numerous tours and club events in and around Germany, not only on the road but across the airwaves with a weekly radio show.

After a decade of events under the Groove banner, DJ T. injected all of his experience as a promoter into the launch of his own venue. In 1999, he teamed up with his best friend, Patrik Dechent, to open his own intimate club space in Frankfurt, called Monza. Over the next five years, his creative vision and unique international DJ programming kept the club buoyant and even spawned an Ibiza franchise; presenting the very best House music to a discerning, open-minded crowd.

DJ T.'s ambitions pushed him forward into yet another successful venture in 2002 when he collaborated with five friends to set up Get Physical, a seminal label that has received universal respect since its conception and has been responsible for launching the careers of a long list of global stars. Though he left in 2010, T. still occasionally is recruiting and supervising new talents for the label, lending his remarkable ear to support the continued success of the label.

As well as DJing, event organisation, journalism, club ownership, A&Ring and label management, T. has also produced an impressive catalogue of releases; both singles and albums, which demonstrates his ability to create a diverse range of sounds, drawing on his extensive experience of collecting and playing music. In the early stages of his production career, from his debut EP, 'Monsterbaze', with Steve Bug in 2000, to his first album 'Boogie Playground' in 2005, DJ T. was incorporating all the music he was surrounded by in his formative years into creating hypnotic House and Disco grooves. "Freemind", the biggest hit of the album, remains one of the essential tracks that shaped the early years of the Electro House genre. In 2009, he also produced his second album 'The Inner Jukebox' in collaboration with Thomas Schumacher, which injected a lot of soul and funk into Tech House, crowned by "Dis", a No. 1 hit of the genre. In 2011, on his third last album, T. partnered up with Stefan Eichinger (aka LOPAZZ) to create a long-player that explored his songwriting capabilities and allowed him to expand his creative boundaries, working with a fine selection of some of the world's most popular vocalists of the electronic circus, such as Cari Golden or Jaw (the siner of dOP). Entitled 'Pleasure Principle, it remains his most successful album project to date and spawned a hugely popular series of remix EPs, featuring contributions from the crème de la crème of contemporary House and Techno including artists like Maceo Plex, Tale Of Us, Jamie Jones & Lee Foss, Maya Jane Coles, Art Department, David August, Daniel Bortz.

DJ T. himself has also become synonymous with remixes, putting out numerous reworks for an array of artists and labels over the last decade, including: Get Physical, Defected, Suara, Exploited, Sol Selectas, 20:20 Vision, Strictly Rhythm, Roush, Flashmob and Culprit, among many others.

Having already made a name for himself as a selector and editor of music, it was no surpise that DJ T. would be chosen to curate several key compilations over the years. In 2006, he released his debut commercial mix, followed by 'fabric 51' in 2010, ensued by two Disco and Jacking House genre anthologies, in the following years. In 2013, he celebrated his 25 years of DJing with a very personal mix compilation that included a lot of his personal DJ edits of big classics, followed also by 'Body Language 15' and curate, mixed and edited the 25th anniversary compilation of the legendary house label Strictly Rhythm. DJ T.'s reputation has been cemented by these superlative collections of music, each of which has received widespread praise, often featuring many of T.'s edits of classic tracks. T.'s love for curating can be further attested to by his frequent instalments of "my classic of the week", a series of posts for which he attentively chooses a key track of his past to discuss its particular history and significance with his fans via his Facebook page.

With this extraordinary list of achievements behind him, T. is showing no signs of slowing down, his unrelenting drive and thirst for seeking out new avenues have led to several key changes in his circumstances recently. Since 2015, T.'s output has hit previously unexplored terrains, with music landing on high-profile labels such as Diynamic, AUS Music, Moon Harbour, Truesoul and Jackathon. Turning once again to his Chicago and Jacking House roots, T.'s latest tracks blend the old school styles with a modern sound ethic, focused around contemporary Tech House and the dark and ravy sounds emanating out of the UK underground—in unison with new production partners Riccardo Paffetti (aka Black Loops) and Emanuel Satie.

Celebrating 30 years in the business with another world tour, he has brought his art to the Americas and Europe since the beginning of 2019 and finished this chapter of touring one year later. DJ T. has taken this new wave of inspiration to the studio and produced a new album for his old label Get Physical Music, the 4th one of his career, which came out in March 2020. The name of the album "Trans Orient Express" says it all, and it is drawing a lot of influences from eastern/oriental cultural circles to inject them into a wide spectrum of Nu Disco and Indie Dance aesthetics. Meanwhile, five single EPs have been released with remix packages by artists like Adana Twins, Andhim, Musumeci, Bawrut, Theus Mago, Kiwi, Rey&Kjavik, Daniel Bortz, Mordisco, Balam and Alien Alien.

Forced to cancel his world tour that had been in the prepared to celebrate the album, DJ T. has put most of his energy into the production of new releases and remixes during the pandemic. He was never one to stick to one particular style for a long time. As a DJ, he is truly eclectic, and his sets tell a story of 30 years of underground dance music. References to dance music of the 80s and 90s and especially UK flavours have been a stable element in his sound, so it was no surprise when two EPs that turned out to be an expression of these roots, made it both to No. 1 of the Electronica genre on Beatport. "Patci" has been one of the key tracks in the genre for almost the whole of 2021, and "Blaze", the follow-up, a collaboration with the two Northern Irish producers Simon Sheldon and Loew had the same impact in 2022. Since then, the series of No. 1 releases has been ongoing. A remix for Eitan Reiter's remake of the 80s hit "Punp Up The Jam" was No. 1 in the Techno genre on Traxsource for months in a row. And his latest achievement, his debut EP "The Feeling" on Solomun's Diynamic label went to No. 1 of the EP Charts of the Melodic House & Techno genre. There are more surprises in the pipeline till the end of this year.

2023 is the year of the 35t anniversary of DJ T.'s professional DJ career, and he will celebrate that with returning to the Americas for the first time since before the pandemic for another extended tour from December till April 2024.