In a world of electronic-music hit and runs, John Selway is a rare beast: an innovator and originator whose current work rivals his groundbreaking early projects. And while the DC-born, NYC-based producer and DJ has left his mark on countless styles, he’s defined by none of them, remaining devoted to his own multi-faceted muse.

These days, Selway is best known for the ecstatic rush of “Total Departure,” his top-selling single with partner in crime Christian Smith, and for CSM, his long-running deep and minimal label. But Selway’s roots run deeper than most. He worked with deep-house luminaries Deep Dish in their earliest days; he produced hard, acid-laced techno with Disintegrator and mind-bending trance tracks in Koenig Cylinders with Oliver Chesler (aka The Horrorist); he collaborated on remixes with living legend Carl Cox; he helped spark the late-‘90s electro scene at the helm of Serotonin Records.

As a DJ and live act, Selway has performed the world over. When he’s not filling rooms, he collaborates relentlessly: with DJ Ulysses as Neurotic Drum Band, with his longtime friend Abe Duque, and with his CSM label partner Dave Turov. Still, Selway’s own productions and remixes are the center of his musical world: darkly glittering, gleefully syncopated dance tracks that effortlessly straddle the techno/house divide, sounding as good in headphones as they do at 115 dBs on the dancefloor. In other words, the work of a consummate professional working at the height of his powers.

-Todd Goldstein