DJ Yellow

 

In the rapidly evolving scene of electronic music, there are few DJ’s that have seen the beginning, and even fewer that have maintained their position as forward thinking musicians over the last decades.  It is without a doubt that DJ Yellow is among these select few.

With influences that range from the bells of Mike Oldfield to the beats of Jeff Mills,  the depths of James Holden to the drive of Josh wink, its Yellow’s signature blend of hypnotic techno and deephouse that he is respected for. With both drive and melancholic strains apparent in his works, Yellow is a master at weaving melodies and grooves that continue to hypnotize and energize over the course of a night.

DJ Yellow’s real name Alain Ho has been around for ages.  He purchased his first slabs of vinyl at the tender age of 13, in the year of 1979. With a pair of turntables that he acquired from his older brother, the sounds of James Brown, Barry White and more obscure contemporaries inspired him to pursue his dream to become a DJ, his chance to rise from a life in poverty in the Parisian ghetto.

His eagerness, talent, and true love for what he was doing quickly gained him recognition and guest spots at several of the Parisian hotspots such as the clubs Bain Douche, Palace (the studio 54 of Paris), and of course Chez Roger Boite Funk, the very first Hip Hop club in the city.  His fame spread all over the city, garnering him the nickname ‘the Hip Hop DJ’ as he was one of the first to recognize the potential of the French Hip Hop sound.

When he met Chris (Bob Sinclar) in the early 90’s during a night out, things took a turn. As young Alain was not satisfied with local fame alone, they jointly set out to explore new means to bring the music he loved so much to a larger audience.

With this philosophy in mind, they started their label Yellow Productions in 1993, to critical acclaim.  An underground label at first, it was perhaps Yellow’s search for personality and his ear for quality that opened the door to a colourful palette of signings, that included artists as diverse as Dimitri From Paris, Kid Loco, Bang Bang, Joe Claussel, Salome de Bahia and of course Bob Sinclar himself, all of which have helped to shape the French sound, as it is today.

After a decade of fruitful cooperation and dedication to helping other people’s careers, Yellow finally decided to begin Composite Records , as an outlet for his own sounds, and that of his close friends, including King Britt, Dubfire, Varoslav, Hitech 2,Mindz Kontrol Ultra, Daniel Kyo, Coyu etc….

The label has shone more than ever in 2024.  Through differents projects, Mindz Kontrol Ultra ,  Alain Ho, Dine D’Ruscha and Paule (non-dance), Yellow has created a wide canvas to push his diverse sounds and inspirations into the world.

After MKU first release “Under the Silence”, with remixes of the british Perc, on Dieb Audio (2008), came the debut of their Composite Records, with the EP’s “How can I Stop This loop?” ,”Clubbed to Death”, and “Fubu”,  supported by living legends such as Josh Wink, Richie Hawtin, Luciano, Laurent Garnier, Locodice, just to name a few…

The recognition came with the Ovum Recordings release “Dance with Me”, where you can find an edit of Josh Wink himself for the “Sleep with Me” track that was included later at Space Ibiza 2024 compilation, released by Cr2. At  the same time, “Fubu” is selected by Locodice to the Cocoon Records 2 CD mixed compilation, that celebrated the 10th year of Cocoon in Ibiza!

Freerange Records, one of the best nowadays deep house labels, was their next big step, releasing the “Mindz” Ep, with Dplay remix and reaching the top 20 of Beatport Deep House chart. Better than this, just the chalenge that Plastic City dropped, to do his second album “Ending of time” with 10 originals. The result is an album that fuses characteristics of deep, funky and tech house, by using tender basses and well dosed percussion lines, from deep and sexy vibes to proper dancefloor tunes, and that will be out by the end of November 09.

Watch this man, while he continues to unleash his magic, inspiring many music lovers, clubbers and artists worldwide.