Barcelona-based DJ and producer Funk D’Void has influenced across the tech house and techno scene over the last 20 years at a deep level. His melodic masterpiece “Diabla”, released in 2001, became a huge global hit and DJ Mag’s ‘techno record of the year’. Played by house, progressive, techno even trance DJs, its release saw the Scotsman’s career soar to new heights!
Other hits, “Jack Me Off,” “Bad Coffee”, “Emotional Content”, remixes for Underworld, New Order, and Laurent Garnier, plus releases for Bedrock, Drumcode, and All Day I Dream, are just a mere snapshot of his discography. Seminal mix compilations for Balance Series, Soma’s Sci-Fi Hi-Fi, and Cocoon followed, further cementing his place in dance music history.
Still not content with conquering techno, Sandberg was the mystery figure behind “Francois Dubois”, with releases such as “Blood” and “I Try” named as a significant influence for Darius Syrossian, plus many other leading tech house DJs of his generation.
His new link-up with True Underground sees him hosting the fortnightly DJ promo show “Belters “, showcasing the world’s best music and artists to a vast global audience.
We caught up with Funk D’Void for a chat about his new show and some exciting projects in the pipeline:
Can you tell us about your all-genre fortnightly ‘Belters’ show on True Underground?
It’s a specially-curated fortnightly showcase of all the best unreleased rave, drum and bass, techno, electro, house, and garage seamlessly fused together. I’m sharing the release dates and details about the artists. Absolutely love putting these mixes together.
How did the idea of ‘Belters’ arise, and what makes it different?
We felt there wasn’t really a show with this kind of format, plus one that supported new and upcoming artists. Shows like the BBC’s essential selection seem to favour the major labels and bigger artists, and the curation is shrouded in secrecy. We actively promote how to send us music, and people seem to like that. Our last show got about 11k plays, plus it is syndicated to Spotify, Apple, Google Podcasts and Amazon now, so we’re definitely on an upward curve. We encourage new producers to send us music and have partnered with Trackstack, who has given us one inbox for demos. Our policy is we’re only looking for Belters, so it doesn’t matter who you are. If your music is good, we’ll play it on the show.
What are some of the challenges you face while curating the show?
We go through over 1000 promos per show and end up with about 250 on the shortlist for every edition. All the tunes are Belters, and the difficulty is making everything flow as a journey without sacrificing quality, as well as smoothing out the slow rise in BPMs over the entire mix. Sometimes we have to miss good tracks out. The mix could easily be over 4 hours long in every episode.
The show is also going on tour over the next few months. What can you tell us about that?
I’m just back from a Belters gig in Guernsey and am playing Sonar this week. Really enjoying bringing the show on the road - meeting a lot of listeners who have been following the mixes and demonstrating their support by partying with us! The support has been incredible.
Has the show helped you discover new artists, and which ones are you really digging at the moment?
I’ve had my eye on Urgula for some time, with his raw modular techno grooves. Goosey is another artist I think is doing good things. The Belters show really exposes me to a lot of new music, so I’m feeling really prepared when DJing at shows now.
Can you share with us some of your favourite moments from the show?
I still get a buzz from unusual combinations that shouldn’t work but do; it’s happened a few times over the shows. I think discovering that Picasso’s great-grandson was making tech-house was a big surprise :)
You last released original material in 2019. Can you tell us about your upcoming release?
I’m still remixing away; I have a big remix of Reboot’s “Sherbet” that’s coming out later this year, as well as an original techno release coming in October.
How has your music evolved since your last release?
I have a few more toys in the studio, so let’s see what culminates!
Lastly, what can we expect from Funk D’Void over the rest of 2023?
Lots of Belters!
Funk D'Void: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Soundcloud
True Underground: Web | Facebook | Instagram | Soundcloud