DJ Latam (or Marius for friends) was born on October, 8 under the Libra sign. Place of birth: great city of Bucharest, wonderful land of Romania. He loves music from an early age, his first big influence being the electro-disco-synthpop sound of the 80's (still likes that a lot). And the real electronica artist: Jean-Michel Jarre.
Stepping into the adolescence years, things get serious: KLF, Prodigy, Chemical Brothers, Orbital, Underworld, Daft Punk, The Crystal Method, Faithless, BT, Fluke. And the list could continue...
Then he discovers goa psytrance. This style greatly influenced him regarding both music and existence. Behind that music he found an entire culture of sound spirituality and, to a great extent, neo-hippie; perhaps too neo-hippie... Probably the most important component of the newly discovered world are the outdoor festivals. These festivals take place in special locations all over the world (Goa beaches represent the beginning) and strongly promote the relation between human and nature. This attracts him heavily. Initial favourite artists are: Astral Projection, Hallucinogen, Etnica/Pleiadians, X-Dream, Shpongle, Infected Mushroom, The Infinity Project - all big classics on the genre.
The beginnings of the Romanian clubbing scene follows, which he fully enjoys. The progressive sound is dominant and the sparkling patterns of DJs like John Digweed are shaping him.
Mixing came by chance years later (meanwhile he spent some time in Italy). The debut took place at Transylvania Calling 2004, the first outdoor psytrance festival in Romania, an event that had a greater impact after it took place. A friend asked if he wanted to “play some music” and he accepted. At that moment, he fully enjoyed the spontaneity of the act and he did not think at the implications for a further DJ career. But the few tracks were enough for him to discover that he loved the feeling behind the decks and that the wanted to experience it again.
Different little indoor and outdoor parties followed. There he had the chance to work his technique. He understood that being a DJ meant hard work, desire and perseverance. He actively involves in events organization and promotion. He begins working as manager afterparty.ro - an important portal for events and clubs in Romania. There he learnt many things about professional work in the music industry.
After reaching a satisfactory level on psytrance, he started experiencing and going deeper into the more and more various sub-genres of electronic music. The first was progressive, then techno, electro, house, minimal and any fusion of those. Dub, chill-out, ambient and IDM for relaxation moments too. This training may seem odd to many people, but it defines his style that clearly reflects the recent fusion tendencies in the electronic music. The result: as a DJ, at this moment he can play all these genres.
An important confirmation of his work and ascension comes with the nomination at nights.ro Awards - Romania's most important poll for the electronic music scene - in 2008 for the first time. And the second nomination follows next year, in 2009.
Starting December 20, 2008, he hosts his own show on Radio Deea - www.radiodeea.ro - called Oscillator, where he presents every week a personal mix and a guest DJ mix.
At the moment, besides mixing, he is still involved in organising and promoting events and artists through his Thrancians and Oscillator projects, or with his friends from Spacesheep (together they are the organisers of the ReBirth Festival).
He appreciates DJs and producers who have the courage to experiment and innovate, to change themselves and succeed to change the others and the scene. A few of his favorite artists are: Minilogue, Dusty Kid, Extrawelt, Younger Brother, D-Nox, Beckers, Anthony Rother, Oliver Koletzki, Gregor Tresher, Ticon, Antix/Fiord, Cobblestone Jazz, The Hacker, Tiefschwarz, James Holden, Nathan Fake, Josh Wink, Guy Gerber, Guy Boratto, DJ Hell, Sven Vath, etc. In his psychedelic sets he's spinning artists and music from labels like Vagalume (Brazil), Nano (South Africa), Alchemy (UK), Antu (Chile), Twisted (UK), Neurobiotic (Italy), Free-Spirit (UK), Iboga (Denmark), TIP.World (UK), PsyTropic (Germany), Solar Tech (UK) and others.
The party’s profile, location, audience, line-up and hour are the factors that highly influence the set of a DJ. Latam tries to keep in mind all these things, but irrespective of the chosen genre, his sets are usually dynamic and hypnotic, elegant and provocative, groovy and cutting edge.
He played in Romania at numerous events and festivals (Delahoya, ReBirth, Iarmaroc, Transylvania Calling, Synthplants Ekzit, FanFest, Forest Vibes, Teknival), in many clubs and locations like throughout the country: Studio Martin, WEB, Fabrica, Frame, Suburbia, Stamba, CoolCat, Control, Avantgarde, Silver, Kado, Spider, Baraka, Propaganda, Traian 42, Parfumului 13 (all in Bucharest), Chill Out (Sibiu), The King (Cluj), Domino, HangOut (Constanta), Orange (Mamaia), Escape (Rm Valcea), Palace Cafe (Iasi), etc. Internationally he was invited to play at events like EarthDance Festival (Bulgaria), EuphoriaMania (Ukraine), Vola Open Air (Bulgaria), Wind Of A Sun (Crimea). Well known DJs he played along or been on the line-up are: Banco de Gaia (UK), Gabriel Le Mar (Saafi Brothers / Aural Float - Germany), Antix (New Zeeland), Jody Wisternoff (Way Out West - UK), Protonica (Germany), Loopus In Fabula (Italy), Echomen (UK), Saiko Pod (Denmark), General Midi (UK), Pacou (Germany) & others, plus many romanian DJs. Other public appearances would be also many radio shows, romanian or foreign, live or prerecorded.
Our DJ has many plans in perspective that he hopes to accomplish. Until then, his sets will try to make feet jump on the dance floor, banish boredom, soothe the spirit and excite the ears. Watch him closely.
