John Dahlback

Label owner, producer, remixer and DJ: there isn’t much John Dahlback hasn’t done during his decade-young career. Now, at just 28, he sits atop the global dance scene with a forthcoming album on one of the world’s leading (and largest) electronic labels Ultra and a diary that defines the term transatlantic as he jets back and forth between America, Ibiza and beyond... Rewind just on eleven years and we find John at the start of his professional journey, signing his first releases at the tender age of 17, which even by the youthfully dominated standards of the world of dance, is prodigious. “It wasn’t that remarkable I signed a track at such a young age,” he humbly explains, “I come from a musical background so it had been a part of my life from day one. Both my parents are musicians, as are many of my immediate family, which includes my cousin Jesper who a few of you may also be aware of!” But, this debut turned out to be the tip of the iceberg, as the release marked the birth of a discography that would go on to become one of the most prolific and prestigious in the modern dance age. Whether it was deep house and techno for legendary imprints like Kompakt, Dessous, Systematic or Brique Rouge, through to the later expansion of his style to incorporate the energy of big-room electro for the likes of Ultra, Protocol, Spinnin’, Dim Mak Universal, Atlantic (Big Beat),Toolroom, Ministry of Sound, Defected, Vendetta, Subliminal and Rising, there are few - if any - who can boast such a varied and impressive musical CV. What makes this achievement even more remarkable though is that alongside this burgeoning discog’ he found time to establish and develop not one, but two labels all his own. His first, Pickadoll ran for five years from 2005 to 2010 and featured some of the world’s most cutting-edge producers; alongside his own material, which included 2 (of 4 to date) artist albums, Sebastien Leger, Style of Eye, Pig & Dan, Dada Life and Zoo Brazil all featured on a regular basis.