Diego Hostettler

Swiss born Diego Hostettler is the son of a professional jazz musician, a pianist since youth and a prolific producer since the mid nineties. It was an introduction to Stefan Riesen from Phont Music in 1998 that led to his first release, and since then there have been more than fifty 12”s and a total of eight albums on labels like Kanzleramt, Tronic, U-Turn and Damage Music. Growing up around raw motor city sounds, Hostettler has also produced both albums and EPs with Voco Derman as Shapes & Sounds, each one exploring dub, downbeat and more serene sounds as well as his techno staple. “I’m very versatile,” says the man himself. “My stuff ranges from new jazz to hard techno. I’m currently focusing on the harder side of techno for my own solo projects.” Most recently these include the launch of his own label, Impulse, during the first part of 2013. It will be an outlet for experimental and convention challenging techno that looks to the unfettered spirit of the 90s for inspiration whilst paying no heed to trends, boundaries or expectation. As second new imprint will follow, this time in cahoots with close friend Dave Ellesmere called Belief Systems, which will focus on raw techno, acid and more electronic experimentation, whilst many more releases with studio mates Heiko Laux will also come on Hostettler’s main home, Kanzleramt, and its sub label U-Turn. As well as honing his own unique take on techno for the past decade, so too has Hostettler been a much in demand DJ, weaving unpredictable journeys through sound at esteemed festivals like Awakenings, Melt and I Love Techno, as well as at influential clubs like Berghain, Tresor, Melkweg, Rex Club and many more across Europe, Japan and the Americas. After more than ten years in the game, then, Hostettler still has plenty to add to the techno conversation, and his own unique way of adding it.