DJ Spen

Born Sean Spencer and rooted in Baltimore’s local scene, DJ Spen began very young as a radio and party DJ before emerging in the mid-1980s with the hip-hop group Numarx, alongside figures such as Kevin Liles. With Numarx he contributed to writing “Girl You Know It’s True” and released the album Our Time Has Come in 1988, before turning toward dance music. From 1989 DJ Spen joined The Basement Boys, a production team associated with the Baltimore house sound, where he honed an aesthetic situated between house, garage house, soul and gospel house. His work became known for supple club rhythms, warm basslines and a strong emphasis on vocals. DJ Spen then built a prolific career as producer and remixer, collaborated with Karizma under the name Deepah Ones, and launched Code Red Recordings in 2004 and Quantize Recordings in 2011. His trajectory links radio culture, hip‑hop heritage and the international house scene, with appearances at clubs and festivals such as Ministry of Sound, Southport Weekender, SunceBeat and Coachella.