Eric Cloutier
Tanstaafl Records, The Bunker NY, US
Now making music as considered and carefully crafted as his DJ sets, Eric Cloutier has long been an influential selector.
Though he recently started releasing his own music, it’s fair to say that Eric Cloutier has established himself as an influential underground figure purely off the back of his DJ sets. Known to be able to tease and control crowds for extended periods of time without resorting to cheap thrills or lowest common denominator kicks, since first emerging in 1996 he has been installed as resident at some of the most knowing venues around the world, and for good reason.
These include local hotspots in his native Detroit, internationally acclaimed clubs in his current hometown of Berlin but also mythologised places like The Bunker in New York. In terms of festivals, only the finest will do, and as such Cloutier is one of the select few who gets invited to play the culturally considered affair that is Japan’s Labyrinth.
“I like to keep it really body-oriented,” says the man of his inimitable DJ style. “I like to focus on hypnotising people in to a deep groove and just locking them in.” House, dub and techno are all fair game for Cloutier, and be they deep and driving tracks or harder hitting selections, every one bridges the gap between the old and the new in seamless and unpredictable ways.
2014 finds the high quality DJ further focussing on making and releasing music. As such and as well as being involved with the forthcoming Bunker label and already established TANSTAFAAL imprint, his first productions and remixes have been snapped up by Studio-R, Freund Der Familie and Steve O'Sullivan’s influential Mosaic. Given that he is such an acclaimed and informed DJ, it’s no wonder Cloutier’s deep, airy and atmospheric music is turning out to be just as essential for those who know.