NOBODY SOUNDS LIKE ONUR ÖZER

They can make or break a modern DJ. In a global society where we are all hyper connected via the Internet, their finite nature largely favours artistic storytelling over simply hammering away at the heavy and the hard.

More than just a mixtape, or a live recording - a podcast is an entirely unique beast in itself. It lends itself to a totally different style of DJing, and one that should be cherished more openly in it’s own right. As skillful as it is to set a club on fire with bomb records, it takes another more thoughtful and measured ability when it comes to collecting music and curating a selection that can be truly transportative.

Never more so than over the last 18 months throughout the COVID pandemic, where coming together to dance has been almost universally prohibited. It allows DJs and their fans alike to escape and connect with the music they love. Listened to often in sobriety: at work, on the move, running, on the bus, or in the car, they have a certain kinetic energy that requires a deft touch. And in the same way a good film can drag you into a scene and setting, and suspend your disbelief for 90 minutes, so can the best podcasts. It is that escapism that makes them so very special.

Ever the enigma, both his persona and track selections have been constantly shrouded in mystery. What was his big secret? He was playing Belgian New Beat, mixed into Detroit Electro. Forgotten Techno into Trance played on the wrong speed. Unreleased dubplates, next to turn of the century nu-skool breaks into his own productions and edits - all delivered with his typical signature: a powerful and infectiously raw sound thread that runs effortlessly throughout. Records that grab you by the scruff of the neck and demand your attention. Itchy, menacing and mischievous bass grooves that get under your skin and stay there.

But there always seemed to be some other little bit of magic, some piece of the puzzle that regular DJs were missing and couldn’t get their hands on. Because what may sound simple when described on paper, is no mean feat. Incredibly difficult to cohesively craft, nevermind perfect with such finesse. And many DJs exist out there that (intentionally or otherwise) end up sounding like an imitation of another - but nobody sounds like Onur Ozer. You can guarantee when you are standing on the dancefloor in front of him that nobody else in the world is hearing that searing new vision of club music at the exact moment, and that is an incredibly special thing, that makes the atmosphere at his parties totally electric. His ability to create euphoria through bold and brave sounds are unrivalled, his robotic themes that evoke spaced out sci-fi imagery are expansive but never cliché, his technical mixing ability often unfathomably seamless for the outlandish complexity of his record selections. It is that special alchemy of factors that has gained him such a devoted cult following, not just for the one “big bomb track of the night” but for the relentless melting pot of sound where the rising temperature and drama that unfolds in his sets is circulated barely in whispers.