ÍøÆغÚÁÏ

Belgium's Charlotte de Witte produces dark, driving techno that focuses on stark, pounding rhythms, occasionally incorporating shreds of haunting melodies or vocals. Following buzz for her early electro-house work, de Witte gained wider attention developing her darker, more atmospheric style on EPs such as 2018's The Healer. She also launched her own KNTXT label, on which she has released more EPs and singles, including 2022's Universal Consciousness and 2023's "High Street."

Born in Ghent, de Witte first started to DJ in 2010, when she was 17. She initially adopted the pseudonym Raving George so that people would concentrate on her DJ skills rather than her gender. Initially, she played electro-house and EDM, and got her first big break by winning a Studio Brussel DJ contest and spinning at the Tomorrowland festival in 2011. She returned to the festival several times and became a resident DJ at Studio Brussel, in addition to performing at other festivals such as I Love Techno and Pukkelpop. She began producing tracks as Raving George in 2013, releasing EPs on Bad Life and Crux Records before scoring a hit with the 2015 single "You're Mine," which featured Oscar and the Wolf (Belgian vocalist Max Colombie).

By 2015, de Witte's sound had switched to a darker, more straightforward brand of techno. She decided to drop her pseudonym and go by her real name, as she had fully established her career and felt no need to hide behind a misleading pseudonym. Her Weltschmerz EP was issued by Tiga's Turbo label at the end of 2015, and additional releases soon appeared on imprints like ÍøÆغÚÁÏe Records, Mary Go Wild Black, and NovaMute. She maintained a residency at the Brussels club Fuse, and became an in-demand DJ across the globe. De Witte appeared on the cover of DJ Mag in 2017, and recorded an Essential Mix for BBC Radio 1 in 2018, shortly before the release of her second NovaMute EP, The Healer.

Over the next few years, de Witte continued a slow drip of EP releases, all maintaining her dark rhythms and tendencies toward vocal samples. In 2019, she issued the EPs Pressure and Selected, and crafted an ominous remix for Eats Everything's track "Space Raiders." That year, she also founded her own KNTXT label. More EP releases followed, including 2020's Vision and Return to Nowhere, and 2021's Formula and Asura. Universal Consciousness and Apollo appeared in 2022. She collaborated with Enrico Sangiuliano for 2023's Reflection EP and released the solo single "High Street." ~ Paul Simpson

The mesmerizing, atmospheric techno of Belgian producer Amelie Lens was the natural progression from her meteoric rise as one of Europe's most sought-after techno DJs, which started with her minimalist-sounding 2016 debut, the Let It Go EP.

Born and raised in Antwerp, Lens grew up on a diet of alternative rock and dance music. Clubbing at the age of 16 exposed her to the likes of Boyz Noise and Ellen Allien before she really caught the bug after attending Belgium's Dour Festival. Immersing herself in the history of electronic music, Lens continued to go clubbing, where she met her partner, who happened to be a DJ and producer. Learning how to mix, she quickly realized that music was her natural path and left her career in fashion to focus on it full-time. From playing small clubs, Lens quickly developed her own style and became a sought-after DJ, playing huge festivals and club nights across Europe. Producing was a natural progression, and Lens delivered her first EP for Pan-Pot's Second State Audio label in 2016. The following year saw her deliver two more EPs for the label, building on her low-key, atmospheric techno sound, which now featured her own hushed vocals.

By 2018, Lens' DJ career had exploded and saw her playing dates across the world, yet she still found time to set up her own label, Lenske, which pushed new underground techno from the likes of Farrago and Milo Spykers, and featured her own release, the Basiel EP. A split single with Regal on Involve also followed that year, with each artist remixing the other for the release. In 2019, Lens worked with the Fabric label to release Fabric Presents: Amelie Lens, a DJ mix that highlighted her full-on DJ approach. ~ Rich Wilson