Artist of the Year -Umek

Umek has been rated as the Artist of the Year… and he sure knows how to carry that title well!!!!!...... catch him if you can, because he is always on the move , with shows lined up one after the other, he will be shuttling between France, Ukraine and Usa in the month of may which proves that Umek  stays focused on his primary goal – making and selecting high quality productions that stand out from the rest and bringing his sound closer to people all around the world. 

I know we all do know about this maverick who has put the sound of the Slovenian techno on the world map of electronic music. The drastic change that he has brought about are worth talking about again and again.

Born in 1976, in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Uros Umek began DJing in 1993. He and his friends were the pioneers of dance music in Slovenia, and between them they were responsible for putting on the first large scale parties in Slovenia. The result has been that Umek is Slovenia’s most famous DJ, and techno is Slovenia’s favourite form of music. Accompanied with his affiliates and colleagues he organized the first electronic music parties – so called “raves” in homeland Slovenia in the begging of 90’s of the 20th century. Pioneering the genre and parties he became worldwide simply known as “Fotr” – the Father of Slovenian techno and electronic culture. His current style is the combination of many different roots, which the more long term Umek fans may recognize. His dedication and impressive work rate have led to his studio skills being increasingly called with a wealth of successful releases under his belt.

In the beginning of the year 2007, Umek started a new 1605 Music Therapy - Sixteenofive, with which he marked the beginning of the second era of his music creation and what an era it is! After 4 years the label is tagged as a great success and is one of the world’s fastest growing techno labels, which spawns releases and new talents almost every week

Nominations and awards on world's prestigious music contests seem to just pour into Umek's pocket – he was voted to first place on last year’s Beatport's world Music Awards in techno category and he’s again nominated; this year as best artist overall, along with David Guetta, Deadmau5, Mark Knight and few others. 

But Umek’s success story is far from done. Successful projects like interesting documentary named “Techno heavy-weights Umek & Carl Cox in back to back interview” that were already completed and many in the oven for this year that only horizon is the limit for Umek

One aspect that sets him apart from the rest is his inculcation of  a humanitarian aspect in the realm of the music industry. He started of with Humanitarian open air party in Tivoli in 2005. With Umeks name in the forefront, the cause has gathered the much needed attention, help and donations, thus imbibing in youngsters a social responsibility. The proceeds have been used to help victims of criminal offences, and to help young people to cure from cancer