Madloch

We become DJs for different reasons. For many, it’s about sharing their record collections because the DJ booth becomes a place to express themselves in a way the rest of their life seldom caters for. Some use it to meet girls or score free drugs and for a select few, there is simply nothing else they could ever see themselves do. In Madloch’s case, it was the natural progression of an ever-growing love for a new music style he was first exposed to in the early 90s - Progressive House. He yearned for that life less ordinary and by ’97, was deep into his musical obsession having collected mix tapes from his favourite DJs and started to buy vinyl to learn to DJ himself. From these solid foundations, he began playing to audiences across Belgium, which, by the beginning of the 00s, included some high profile residencies where he could warm up for his heroes, Nick Warren, Hernan Cattaneo, Matthew Dekay and more.

Over time, this lead onto gigs across Europe and tours to North, Central and South America where he could play longer sets which gave him a chance to really flex his musical muscles across multiple genres and styles from chill out and deep house to progressive and beyond. “ My first Argentina tour was in November 2015. ” He tells me, “ This was one of my biggest goals ever, touring the the greatest clubbing country of the world. Now it’s already a tradition to go back there every winter! ” As the new millennium began, Madloch realised he needed to add to his DJing. He needed a new string to add to his bow and began to explore music production. After years of honing his skills and forging a direction with his music, his first real break came in 2010. The newly formed ‘Mitinique’ burst onto the progressive scene with their debut release ‘Saturday’, earning early support from El Maestro himself. Hernan Cattaneo played and charted the Eelke Kliejn remix, which was unreleased at the time for many months. Spurred on by this success, a year later the idea of a new label was tabled and Sound Avenue was born.

Quickly climbing the ranks of the progressive elite with the help of some exceptional releases, the new label closed out the final quarter of 2011 as one of the most hyped imprints of the year having achieved several well deserved #1 spots on Release Promos’ Hype chart as well as a few Beatport homepage features. Interestingly, as the label skyrocketed, so did Madloch’s DJ career with the launch of the Sound Avenue radio show. He broadcast internationally to destinations as diverse as Russia, Mexico and India garnering attention from internet radio giants, Proton who added ‘Sound Avenue with Madloch’ to their already impressive portfolio which included ‘Transitions’ with John Digweed and Hernan Cattaneo’s ‘Resident’ show. Success breeds success, so as the label grew in stature some of the World’s best producers have contributed to the Sound Avenue sound, such that it’s been necessary to start to two sub-labels - 3rd Avenue and Crossfade Sounds.

With all this label work, it’s amazing to find that Madloch still has time to produce his own tracks. Ever the humble artist, by his own admission he’s as proud of the artists who have remixed his tracks - King Unique, Martin Roth, Cid Inc, James Teej - as the music itself. Released across his own imprints and others such as Hookah Records, Particles, MNL and Magician On Duty, Madloch’s considered and musically diverse productions regularly find their way into the charts and sets of the Progressive A-List, and has allowed him to play a range of gigs all over the World even some for the Fashion industry across Europe. He is also in great demand as a remixer with tracks for Donatello, Roger Martinez and Lonya recently released.

Not at all bad for a quiet, well-spoken chap from Belgium, who like many of his contemporaries has chosen to lead a life less ordinary: the life of the sonic artist.

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