“I
like to play a lot of aggressive trance - stuff that builds up and stuff
that breaks down, but always stays uptempo. Depending on the energy
and mood of the crowd, I will vary all of this. It just depends on the
vibe…” (Massive Magazine)
dan
efexfis
well known for his ability to draw a frenzied excitement out of even
the mellowest of crowds. It is not uncommon to see fans packed shoulder
to shoulder, hands in the air, as he leads them through an energetic
and intoxicating journey on the dance floor. There are many who consider
him to be one of the founders of the Midwest’s trance scene, a
scene that is still strong and growing today. He was one of the first
to introduce the Midwest to the soaring build-ups and powerful explosions
characteristic of some of his styles of trance. But although Dan is
perhaps best known for his trance, do not be fooled -- he is as diverse
as he is skilled! His repertoire of past events includes sets with progressive
trance, psychedelic trance, hard techno, hard core, hard house, slow
breaks, tribal and ambient. He mixes it up and keeps it interesting.
His unfailing ability to read the crowd and know precisely what to plug
in ensures that he leaves no stragglers behind on his musical excursions.
A Little History
Dan has been a performer in the electronic dance
music scene for more than ten years. Dan made his first public appearance
DJing at the one-year anniversary event for one of the best-known promoters
in Milwaukee, The Drop Bass Network, in 1993. Even today, people still
speak of that explosive performance that put Dan Efex on the map.
From that first public appearance, Dan gained
instant recognition and quickly amassed an enormous following. His appearances
in nightclubs from coast to coast skyrocketed. Starting in the early
days, he appeared at the legendary Tunnel (New York), Rise (Baltimore)
and Time (Los Angeles). He has since traveled to more than 50 cities
throughout the United States and Canada headlining numerous events with
some of the world’s best known DJs including: Richie Hawtin, Sandra
Collins, Dave Clarke, Pablo Gargano, Chris Liberator, Nigel Richards,
Juan Atkins, Derrick Carter, Joey Beltram and Delta-9 -- to name a few.
Even with an extensive travel schedule, Dan does
not neglect his hometown. Dan has a lengthy roster of lounges, events
and benefits at which he has headlined. In addition, Dan is a weekly
resident at Crobar Chicago and makes frequent appearances at Spundae
events, recently playing alongside artists such as Tiesto, Ferry Corsten,
Armin Van Buuren and BT.
A New Calling
A turning point in Dan’s DJ career came
when he met Scott Gianquita and Jason Bloom of Deepsky in 1996. He began
his production career working with Scott and quickly signed several
tracks to Time Unlimited records out of Germany. Dan has been steadily
climbing into the hearts and souls of trance-lovers everywhere. He recently
contracted with Nepol Records for some of his newest tracks and completed
remixes of well-known tracks such as Sasha’s Wavy Gravy.
Dan Efex in the Media
With all the activity surrounding Dan, the media
quickly picked-up on his mass appeal. Dan has made guest appearances
on Energy 92.7 Clubland Underground and Q101’s Sonic Boom, Chicago’s
biggest electronic dance music stations.
Dan’s most recent project started in Fall
of 2001 when he was contracted to write the theme song for the new Chicago
television show Afterhours Television (ATV), a show dedicated to electronic
dance music. The show has featured Dan’s performances several
times. Due to overwhelming popularity, Dan is now a sound engineer for
the show and a resident DJ at all ATV events. The show airs on Friday
nights at 11:00 p.m. on WJYS channel 62 in Chicago.