Click to Play Interview

(Dekoze interview)

* Michael "Deko-ze" Babb was born in England, but grew up in Saskatoon, Canada — the city where his career began in 1991.

* Deko-ze's first residency was at a local gay bar called "Numbers", which later moved / renamed to "Diva's".

* He then went on to establish / co-own a highly regarded nightclub / production company called “Plastic Puppet Motive” (PPM).

* After years of hard work and brick-laying, he established himself as western Canada's most recognized dj / ambassador.

* A relocation to Toronto, Ontario in late 1997, led to Deko-ze's emergence as a leading force in the local scene.

* He has been labeled "Canada's hardest working DJ"; frequently playing gigs in nearly every Canadian centre — big and small!

* With numerous gigs in the USA, UK, Germany, Taiwan and Mexico already under his belt, Deko-ze is now focused on further increasing his presence internationally.

MIX'N IT UP

* Deko-ze regards electronic music as an artform; a natural extension of his classical training in piano.

* He believes music should induce a wide range of emotional response, but ultimately programs to create energy and positivity.

* If forced to categorize, Deko-ze would best be defined as a House DJ.

* In a scene that has become overly segmented, Deko-ze is increasingly unique: he is recognized for his ability to seamlessly fuse music of multiple genres (deep, funky & hard house; tribal; progressive; tech-trance; techno).

* Deko-ze's energetic and charismatic stage presence, engaging personality, and original musical style has uniquely cultivated a huge following in both the gay and straight scenes.

MUSICAL TASTE-MAKER

* STUDIO PRODUCTION — Deko-ze is currently working on independent studio projects, as well as in collaboration with local DJs / producers: Gavo (Juno Award winner, Gavin Bradley); Josh Ewert; Sydney Blu & Ludikris.

* “THIS TIME” by Deko-ze N' Gavo to be unleashed by Release Records, Summer 2005.

* “PENA'S GROOVE” by Deko-ze N' Gavo feat. Javier Pena, commissioned as Official Theme Song for Toronto Pride 2005.

* BALANCE PROMOTIONS (Orlando, USA) — long-standing member of prestigious record pool focusing on progressive / trance.

* RELEASE RECORDS (Toronto) — customer service rep. for this hugely successful Canadian on-line / retail record store.

* EASTERN BLOC RECORDS (Toronto) - previous customer service rep. and house, trance, techno, progressive buyer for now closed record shop.

SCENE TREND-SETTER

* TRIBE MAGAZINE (Canada) — "Fiends, Mischief & Mayhem" — monthly columnist: 1998 - 2004.

* TECHNOPOLIS - 1Groove.com / 100.7FM (Toronto) — weekly co-host: 1998 - 2001

* TECHNO PRISONERS - CFCR FM (Saskatoon) — weekly co-host: 1994 - 1997

* PPM (Saskatoon) — With partner, Wade Allan, produced many of western Canada's most legendary events and club nights — 1994 - 2000.

* MAYHEM (Toronto) — PPM, in collaboration with System Soundbar and Freak Entertainment, promotes musically and demographically diverse "Mayhem" @ System Soundbar — annual: Hallowe'en.