DJ Hell

DJ Hell described his musical beginnings in an interview with The European, telling them “I was socialized with German electronic music of the 1960s and 1970s.

There were no commercial aspirations; it was all about experimentation.”

Helmut Josef Geier (born 6 September 1962), known professionally as DJ Hell, is a German DJ.

Hell has worked as a DJ since 1978.

At the end of the 1980s, he developed his style at various Munich clubs and dance halls from New Wave, EBM, Electro, and Hip hop to include House and Techno.

Stylistically, International Deejay Gigolos focused, beyond the Electroclash genre, also on Electro, EBM, electronic avant-garde House, Tech-House, and Techno, with influences from 1980s Pop and Disco.

Starting in 1983, he began working as a DJ at Club Libella in Kirchweidach, Germany, near his hometown of Altenmarkt an der Alz.

This would be his first residency, where he cultivated his eclectic style of mixing New Wave, Ska, Punk, Rockabilly, Hip hop, and Disco in the same set.

Further residencies followed, at Park Café and Tanzlokal Grössenwahn in Munich, where, as one of the first house DJs in Germany he regularly performed at house music parties.

In 1987 he organized the first acid house party there, and in the same year at Grössenwahn deejayed at Run–D.M.C.’s aftershow party.

In the early 1990s, DJ Hell was resident DJ at Germany's first afterhours club Babalu Club in Munich.

During the 1990s DJ Hell had further residencies in Berlin, at E-Werk and WMF, from 1992 at Tresor, and in the 2000s at Watergate.

During this period in the late 1990s, numerous releases on International Deejay Gigolos notably fuelled the 1980s revival in the German and international club scene, establishing DJ Hell as one of the founders of the Electroclash subgenre.

International Deejay Gigolos has released works by big names on the international Techno, House, and Electro scenes, including Jeff Mills, Miss Kittin & The Hacker, Dave Clarke, Tiga, Fischerspooner, Dopplereffekt, Vitalic, Bobby Konders, The KLF, Tuxedomoon, and Laurent Garnier.

Fischerspooner was discovered by DJ Hell and debuted on International Deejay Gigolos.

In 1991, Hell was instrumental in establishing Peter Wacha's label Disko B, and until 1996 was closely involved as A&R.

The label's first release in 1991, Silicon Soul’s track Who Needs Sleep Tonight was licensed by Hell, who produced a remix for the b-side: The DJ G. Hell Remix.

To sign the contract with the New York band, he flew to New York City.

Disko B Records was launched for the release.

Hell's first self-produced single, My Definition of House Music (on R&S) became a club hit in 1992 with over 100,000 records sold, drawing recognition to DJ Hell among the first generation of Techno DJs who also released records.

Parallel to his A&R work in Munich, in 1992 DJ Hell became A&R manager for the label Logic Records in Frankfurt, and in the same year compiled the world's first trance compilation, Logic Trance.

In 1993 he lived for a year in New York City, where was booked as a resident DJ at Limelight, together with Jeff Mills.

In 1994 DJ Hell moved to Berlin and worked for the record store Hard Wax.

Hell's debut album Geteert & Gefedert (Tarred & Feathered) was released on Disko B in 1994.

In 1995, he moved back to Bavaria.

That same year, Hell was the only German DJ to be invited to be on a John Peel Session, including a radio interview, in London.

The session was released that year on Disko B.

In addition to his work as a DJ and producer, in 1996 he founded the label International Deejay Gigolos in Munich, for which he served from the first day onward as the label mastermind, A&R, and art director.

Parallel to managing the label, as a DJ and event organizer, Hell also curated over 40 Bavarian Gigolo Nights featuring international DJs and live bands in various clubs in Munich.

In the 20 years spanning 1996 to 2016 that he has handled A&R for the label, Hell has released over 300 singles and albums on International Deejay Gigolos.

During his time with Disko B and until 1997, DJ Hell was also a resident DJ at Ultraschall, Munich's first pure techno club, located on the site of the former Munich-Riem Airport and later at the former Pfanni factory compound Kunstpark Ost.

In 1998, Hell's second album Munich Machine was released on Disko B and V2 Records.

According to The Guardian Munich Machine was an important record that helped to catalyse electroclash.

According to the music magazine De:Bug: “Munich Machine feels like the result of a dynamic collaboration by Munich residents engaged in the club scene and who know how to work with it.

Every aspect of it has been carefully crafted and sometimes it seems as if DJ Hell is using this kind of mega-mix to grow beyond himself.

This is particularly evident when he mixes together very different sources.”

In 1999, Arnold Schwarzenegger sued International Deejay Gigolos for using his picture in the logo.

Hell had to stop selling all records that bore the logo and pay a fine of 150,000 euros.

From 2000 to 2003, he ran the disco and nightclub Villa Traunstein, located in the Bavarian town of Traunstein, where he was responsible for the club's high-profile, international DJ bookings, including the likes of WestBam, Sven Väth, and Jeff Mills.

In 2003, DJ Hell lived for a second time in New York City, where he produced his third studio album NY Muscle, for which he collaborated with several artists, including Alan Vega, Erlend Øye, James Murphy, and singer Billie Ray Martin.