NIKO's BIO: Born in Athens on May 2nd 1973 and growing up in GREECE, NIKO had a unique upbringing in terms of exposure to different types of music. From the folk and mid-60s to 80s Greek music to the Beatles and the 80s new-wave sound, NIKO constantly searched and collected music from different genres and as early as 1985 started creating his own compilations of mixed tapes using a double cassette player given to him by his parents for his 12th birthday. At the age of 19 he moved to the U.S. to pursue his education and also fulfill his dream to play NCAA basketball where he earned a spot on the nationally ranked Villanova Wildcats Varsity team (1994-97). It wasn't till the summer of 1994 when he got his first DJing gig in his home town of Thessaloniki, Greece where he spun a unique blend of acid jazz, funk, soul & mellow hip-hop. At the same time being exposed to the legendary local house parties in Philadelphia by the then upcoming DJs such as Josh Wink (Vagabond), King Britt & Dozia (Back to Basics), Big Daddy Blake (Don't Fake the Funk), Lee Jones (Black Banana), NIKO started falling in love with house music. After numerous guest spots at local venues it wasn't till 2000 that he got his first weekly gig at a French owned bar/club in Rittenhouse, downtown Philadelphia called L'Hexagone. Since then he has held weekly spots in various venues in Philadelphia with only goal to preserve his love of house music and expose new people to the scene. He has spun at gigs along side the likes of Frankie Feliciano, KARIZMA, E-MAN, Chris Udoh, J-Justice, Deep C, Christian James, Rob Paine, Willyum, Lee Jones, Randy Flash, Venus7, Glenn Thorton just to name a few.His parties have always been followed by a distinct blend of people of different cultural backgrounds & nationalities having a strong international element. His sound has developed into a unique blend of deep, soulful, Latin and African/percussion-based house beats. When asked what style of house he prefers spinning his answer was "If you ask me what I play, I honestly can't pinpoint one genre of house music. I believe in developing a set, taking people into a journey through house music, a rollercoaster ride if you like, I like my sets not to sound monotonous from beginning to end."