Oskar Szafraniec (DE)

Oskar Szafraniec (pronounced Shafranis for those wondering) isn't quite 23, yet at this delicate age where some producers and djs perhaps get their first gig, ep release or a review in a magazine, say, this Berlin resident has already clocked up a whole decade of tours and record releases. That's certainly something that would make many artists twice his age blush and look really rather impressive. Aged just 13 he released his first remix (and then his debut ep) on Italian label NuZone Tools, then later going on tour with A Guy Called Gerald in Japan. The mind boggles at the thought of how this experience began to shape the young man who had possibly only just begun shaving. It obviously had its desired effects in many ways, as to this day now Oskar is playing his live shows in revered spots such as Berlin's Tresor and perhaps most crucially of all he's worked with, and continues to collaborate with, many of the most influential and revered electronic producers on the planet. Ricardo Villalobos, Ron Trent, Fred P and Pier Bucci are amongst the names he's made records with or featured on releases with. The double A sided 'Rawax Aira Series Vol 1 ep' with Oskar and Mr Villalobos himself (each of them occupying an impressive side each of this essential piece of wax) did hugely well with its vinyl only release recently on the series that Oskar's involved in with Roland Aira. Previously known as Oscar Burnside for his formative projects, it was in 2014 that Oskar signed a deal to release a track (the percussively driving and ingenious 'I Did') on respected UK house and techno imprint Murge Recordings, pushing himself effortlessly into the record boxes of legendary djs such as Sven Vath and Stacey Pullen . A full release then followed on the label, the forward looking Savalli ep (at the time described as 'Kerri Chandler meeting up in secret with Aphex Twin in a backsteet in Berlin'), allowing him to evolve his housey techno dub blend which he himself describes as 'a bit jazzy, a bit exotic'. This can be witnessed evolving effortlessly now on the yearning techno of 'Miles Away' on Cyclo Records, and the simply marvellous and melodic new dancefloor offering, 'Russian Roulette', from the same stable. . He's got a charm and charisma to his music which regularly shows up in himself as an artist too. It's already won him accolades (he popped up in the Kluboterapia Awards gaining status as a top 5 artist in his native Poland), proving perhaps that there's a whole lot more to him than those who just stick to a more rigid techno formula. Indeed, he's found his voice literally, by singing on many of his own productions (such as the new 15minute opus Night Trip), finding this route often vastly preferable to the usage of other people's samples in his music. It's this purity, yet an open minded approach to writing and producing that keeps on pushing him upwards in what's already an epic journey into the very heart of the scene. Gaining those all important slots at the world's leading clubs and festivals such as ARMA 17 (Moscow), Mountain Festival (Osaka) and Into the Valley in Sweden (with lineups that will simply make most djs insanely jealous), all the while developing his sense of culture and expanding his mind to fit his cultural surroundings whilst travelling thus creating an essential filter through which he sees the world. His first release might have been called 'Dark Days' but this rising star of electronic music certainly has a bright future ahead of him. As fabric resident & vinyl lover Terry Francis said in The Guardian recently, 'I've been buying a lot of stuff by this guy lately'. Time then to brighten up our lives with some new records and shows by this charming young talent who just happens to have been around for 10 years already.