Blow

Who is Dr Lektroluv?

Hailing from the vast flatlands of Belgium, the Green, half-human bespectacled pioneer is an enigma. Not much is known about this mysterious, 6ft tall being, other than an ability to blend and create a potent, intoxicating brew of big room sounds, hard 4-4 beats and jacking, twitching electro that sends high-voltage charges through his subjects.

Without any implications toward his personality and character, it is unclear who or what the Green Giant is or where he has come from – other than that he resides in an abandoned hospital somewhere in Ghent, formulating and creating potent musical concoctions. Dr. Lektroluv has released no less than ten mix-compilations since 2002, showcasing his crazy, sonic experiments deep from his lab in Ghent, where people have reportedly recalled seeing him walk around giddily in dishelved focus, heavily infected with a case of the Lektro virus.

Summing up Niyi is no easy task. With a musical repertoire as (refreshingly) unpredictable as a crate of mischievous puppies, this softly-spoken “rapper” cannot be lumped into an existing categories: and so he is forging his own...

The genre-bending musical path began six years ago when Niyi’s creative juices turned to flow against the current at Central St. Martin’s, leading him to drop out. Twice. His energies went into founding a new seminal club, “Gauche Chic”, which “The Sunday Times” credits as having been the kick-start behind the Nu-Rave dressing-up phenomenon. News of Niyi’s tempo-switching and generally odd approach to DJ-ing flagged him up on the music radar, and though his delightfully irreverent DJ-ing style once managed to clear the floor at Fabric, “Gauche Chic” drew a savvy crowd: Gareth Pugh and Björk were often seen shaking a leg on the dance floor to hybrids of surf-rock and hardcore gabba. Every Tuesday for one year queues snaked outside his weekly “I Heart Niyi” night at “Punk” in Soho, London. One such Tuesday during London Fashion Week 2008 saw the club night join forces with the “Super Super Magazine” party, which had Lady Gaga performing alongside Niyi’s DJ Set. Other guest DJs and performers at “Punk” have included Calvin Harris, Golden Silvers and Little Boots. Niyi has enjoyed guest slots on Radio 1 and Xfm, interviews on Steve Lamacq’s show, as well as remix duties for artists such as “The Puppet Mastaz” and “Crazy Girl”. Beyond DJ and remix activities, Niyi’s own musical creations are of an equally cheeky, genre-defying calibre.

Multipurpose, genuine and in possession of a very sparky, inspired chunk of grey matter, this young man will first leave you a little speechless and in no time at all will have you chanting: I HEART NIYI.