Speedy J

Dutch producer and DJ based in Rotterdam, Speedy J — born Jochem Paap — established himself in the early 1990s as a key figure in the development of European techno. First noticed for his maxi singles on Plus 8, he soon appeared within the wake of Warp’s Artificial Intelligence series and released the album Ginger (1993), which blends techno, ambient and structures close to IDM, followed by G-Spot (1995). At the end of the decade he hardened and fragmented his writing with Public Energy No.1 (1997) and A Shocking Hobby (2000), released on NovaMute, which explore a more industrial and experimental techno. In 2002 he shifted toward a loop- and club-tool-oriented approach with Loudboxer. Concurrently, Jochem Paap built an extensive live presence on club and international festival stages and pursued several collaborations, notably the Collabs project with Chris Liebing, extended on the album Collabs 3000: Metalism (2005). During the 2000s and 2010s he founded the Electric Deluxe label and the STOOR studio/performance platform in Rotterdam, where he developed an improvised, often long-form and evolving techno between abstract textures, repetitive rhythms and an emphasis on the physical dimension of sound.