Joop Junior (NL)

"Straight up no-messing techno that hooks us in and transports us to the Amnesia dance floor where we wait for the bass to kick and the CO2 blasts to take our heads off!" Those are the words of Richie Hawtin. He’s talking about techno’s most engaging new talent, Joop Junior, and of course he is a man who knows. As such it’s no surprise the Minus boss has snapped up the Dutchman when Joop was only 20, and released two of his tracks on the label’s New Horizons compilation in 2012, as well as the Sonus.1 EP in 2013. His Itanimulli EP, on Dubfire’s equally influential SCI+TEC label, followed that landmark release. The reason? Joop Junior’s music is all carefully sculpted from scratch, with every sound synthesized by the Hague man with gorgeous synthetic textures, uplifting rhythms and plenty of the elegance associated with the best minimal has to offer. It’s moody and atmospheric music that transports you to another realm entirely and earlier releases have been supported by the likes of Adam Beyer, Umek and John Digweed. In the club Joop Junior deals exclusive in live shows. They help him transmit his message in the most personal way possible and see him working sounds into his own unique and exceptional sonic tapestries. He plays at esteemed places like London’s EGG, Air in Amsterdam plus festivals like Awakenings and Metropolis as well as many other cities around the world, sometimes alongside the Minus and SCI+TEC bosses that have been quick to showcase their man to the world. Now he is here, he has plenty to say and an ever-larger audience of people who are desperate to listen in.