Loco Dice

Loco Dice is without any doubt one of the most respected electronic music artists of the scene. On the decks since the late 90s, his solid and physical groove is clearly influenced by his hip hop roots. His style instead, has been shaped by the many years spent on the dancefloor, during which he took in all the sounds and styles he came across. From the legendary Dances into May at Panorama Bar in Berlin with sets that never lasted less than 6 hours, to the Under 300 Tour in some of the most iconic European underground clubs, and also the 24 hours set at Space Miami. Co-founder of Desolat, one of the most renowned labels of the scene, he also had residencies in Circoloco at DC-10, Used & Abused at Ushuaïa, and the Amnesia Terrace, and brought his Hyte itinerant parties, known especially for the NYE marathons, around the globe. He features releases on top-notch labels such as Cadenza, Cocoon, M_inus, plus collaborations with fashion brands. Loco Dice is one of those enduring artists who can merge different worlds into one, who can’t be labelled solely as techno or house, but always keeps the focus on his sound. Loco Dice, originally Yassine Ben Archour, was born on the 10th of August 1974, in Düsseldorf, Germany, from Tunisian parents. As a kid, he loved listening to soul and funk music with his mother, especially when going on vacation to Tunisia. It’s here that he began his dice collection, starting by accumulating his grandfather’s backgammon ones. And this is where his infamous nickname came from, combined with Loco, from his years in Ibiza during the late 90s. Although before that, in Düsseldorf, he spent his youth into the hip hop culture doing graffiti, rapping and, most of all, touring with Ice Cube. In the same years, with already a few releases in his backlog, Death Row Records recognized his talent and asked him to go on tour with Snoop Dogg. This prepared him to handle very big crowds, for which in fact he’s always able to create the right atmosphere. Hours and hours of music digging and practising brought Loco Dice to djing and, after having discovered electronic music in 1998, he decided to start a new career from scratch. It wasn’t long for him to go on his first world tour with Timo Maas, while being introduced to the world of electronic music production by Martin Buttrich. His first successes arrived in 2002 when he released “Phat Dope Shit”, followed by other releases on top labels of the industry, as well as remixes for artists such as Moby, Kevin Saunderson, Boys Noize, Skrillex and Black Coffee. In 2006 he released tracks on Cadenza, Cocoon, Ovum and M_nus, some of the most respected labels of the scene. In the same year, he relocated to Brooklyn where, together with Martin Buttrich, he co-founded their label Desolat. Here he released and believed in artists such as Guti, Francisco Allendes and Yaya. The time spent in New York was described by his debut album “7 Dunham Place”, published in 2007, and by a photo series taken by Martin Buttrich and Loco Dice himself while working on the album. Whoever visited Düsseldorf in 2008, might have been lucky enough to see their photography exhibition. Loco Dice’s second album “Underground Sound Suicide” came out on Ultra Music in 2016, featuring collaborations with major artists such as Neneh Cherry, Just Blaze and Giggs. The summer of 2017 saw the birth of Serán Bendecidos, his new series of parties, which are developed around the concept of community and family. The guests of the events are in fact friends from the past decade, plus new names, of course. The following year, Serán Bendecidos was also released as an album on Desolat, which remains one of the most pivotal and enduring labels of the industry. In most recent years, thanks to his side project FKD, he was able to find the right connection between hip hop and electronic music, not taking into account only techno and house. And as if music wasn’t enough, he is also interested in visual imagery and fashion. He was part of the PlayStation 2 “Decks & FX” video game, and had collaborations with the fashion labels Daily Paper and New Era. Also, he composed the music of the 2019 and 2020 County of Milan fashion shows of Marcelo Burlon, during the Milan Fashion Week. 2020 has also marked for Loco Dice the launch of his second record label: En Couleur, where he publishes his solo productions and all kinds of collaborations with friends and other artists. It’s because of all these projects, his passion, his charisma, and his ability on the mix as well as in the studio that Loco Dice is recognized as one of the most forward-thinking and innovative artists of the scene.