Seth Troxler

Seth Troxler is an American DJ and record producer from Lake Orion, Michigan.

His DJ work focuses on house and techno, while he has produced on the Wolf + Lamb, Crosstown Rebels and Circus Company labels, collaborating with artists Art Department, Deetron, Tiefschwarz, Matthew Dear and Subb-an.

Troxler draws upon the musical heritage of Detroit and Chicago and his influences include Richie Hawtin and Moodymann.

He is one of the founders of the record label Visionquest, as well as head of labels Tuskegee, Soft Touch and Play It, Say It.

He also owns a restaurant in East London called Smokey Tails.

Troxler's third label - Play It, Say It - draws its name from the stickers which used to appear on records in the 1980s and 1990s, where promos sent to US radio stations often had stickers on them saying, "When You Play It, Say It" to encourage disc jockeys to mention the names of the songs they were broadcasting on air.

Troxler's intentions behind this label are both simple and functional: "just me putting out records that I've been field testing but have never come out. They aren't moody, the critics might hate them, but I know they work a floor and are awesome in that context. This isn't some crazy art thing, just high grade white labels to play in clubs. It's that basic."

The label has seen releases from Sharam, Steve Lawler, Berkson & What, and Clarian.

Troxler won the Amsterdam Dance Event DJ cook-off for three years in a row and subsequently judged in the competition.

Troxler was born on September 29, 1985, in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

His parents split up when he was two years old and his step-father hosted a local radio show in his home town.

As a boy, Troxler used to listen to his step-father's radio show in the studio.

Such early exposure to early house music and hip hop paved the way for Troxler to begin his career as a DJ.

When Troxler was fourteen years old, his family moved to the outskirts of Detroit, where he involved himself in the musical heritage of the city.

In the 90s, Troxler went to underground techno raves, and shortly after threw his own underground parties – notably booking Magda to play for him when he was only fifteen years old.

Around the same time, he landed a job as a techno buyer in the record store ‘Melodies & Memories’ 23013 Gratiot, Eastpointe Michigan, just a few block north of 9 mile, working alongside Reggie Harrell and Terrence Parker.

His sound was influenced by underground techno legend Drew Maddox.

Troxler spent countless hours trainspotting Maddox at underground techno parties during his rise to success.

It was through his work at ‘Melodies & Memories’ that Troxler met his future Visionquest label-mates Ryan Crosson, Lee Curtiss and Shaun Reeves.

A week after graduating from high-school Troxler was invited on a small European tour for Omar-S’ FXHE label, playing at the German clubs Panorama Bar and Robert Johnson.

Once he finished his degree in America, he decided to move to Berlin.

He now tours throughout the year playing at festivals and clubs.

Troxler has played at a number of clubbing institutions such as Fabric, Circo Loco, Panorama Bar, Watergate, Warung, Womb and Robert Johnson as well as festivals like the Detroit Electronic Music Festival, ZoukOut, Glastonbury, Coachella, Wonderfruit, Sónar and Burning Man.

He was a member of the Visionquest collective which includes Ryan Crosson, Lee Curtiss and Shaun Reeves.

Troxler's constant touring (158 gigs in 2012) resulted in him being subsequently voted number three, two, then one in the Resident Advisor Top 100 DJs poll from 2009–2012.

Visionquest is both a DJ collective and record label, headed by Troxler, Ryan Crosson, Lee Curtiss and Shaun Reeves.

The label has seen releases from Footprintz, Wareika, Benoit & Sergio, Tale of Us and many more.

In 2013 the four DJs undertook their Visionquest Thirteen world tour which saw take over various clubs around the world for an all night multi-deck DJ performance.

In August 2013, Troxler undertook a new venture, with three other collaborators, to set up the pop-up restaurant Smokey Tails in Hackney Wick – an American BBQ serving smoked meats and cocktails.

The restaurant ran for two months before moving to Dalston as part of a new venture called ’Night Tales’ which combines food, experimental bar culture and nightlife.

Smokey Tails has taken over the kitchen at Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen in Shoreditch to host his 'Midwestern modern' family recipes.

At the beginning of 2014, Troxler decided to step back from his role in Visionquest to pursue a different musical direction with some new record labels of his own.

In 2014 Troxler founded three new record labels: Tuskegee, Soft Touch and Play It, Say It

Troxler set up Tuskegee with New York City-based DJs The Martinez Brothers - a "label of cultural heritage" exposing "more people of [Troxler and Martinez's] background, to the opportunities of electronic music and to create a platform to release music of people of ethnicity".

The label has seen releases from William Kouam Djoko, Filsonik, Kyle Ridings, Ibellini, Jesse Calosso as well as a collaboration between Troxler and The Martinez Brothers.

Soft Touch was set up with the intention of displaying a less 'dance oriented' side of Troxler's taste, he explains "“Soft Touch is an indie label putting out all sorts of random stuff- some folk, some rock, all limited editions. It’s about music by artists I’ve met over the years whose music is amazing but not finding its niche.” The first release was a limited 10" from Clarian, titled 'Is There A Light At The End'

In 2017, Seth Troxler and Phil Moffa created a multidisciplinary project Lost Souls of Saturn.

The project combines music, performance and art.