DARTEK

DT - dj producer

DARTEK is PLASS former member Mauricio Daniel Maranghello (Danny) solo project. He was born in 1978 in Neuquen, the heart of Argentinean Patagonia.

A LIFE OF DEVOTION TO MUSIC: His musical career begins at the age of 8, when he entered his local music conservatory. After two years of basic training there, he gets into the ESMN (Escuela Superior de Musica de Neuquen), studying piano as his main instrument. At the age of 16 he starts taking Musical Composition, Orchestration, Harmony and Morphology courses in a division of the UNC (Universidad Nacional de Comahue), where he did exhaustive training, composing and directing his own pieces with the University´s Orchestra. In the meantime he decided to enter the CinemaSchool in the IUPA (Instituto Patagonico Superior de Art) got get further training, and to become an OST composer. He abandoned the institute 3 years later, because of differences in the career direction.

Along with his expertise with acoustic instruments, he developed a fascination for electronic instruments in the early 90´s, mostly because of the possibility of making music with complete creativity & freedom in his own room. His first hand experience with synthesis & sequencing started in the music school laboratory, using a hardware setup based around a KAWAY Q80, a –hard to program- additive synth called KAWAY K5, several YAMAHA modules and some fx processors. The results were highly positive, but everything changed with the arrival of the PC-based production era. Using just a small sampler, several plugins, a Future Music magazine collection, and a“Peter Siedlaczeks Advanced Orchestra” soundbank, he began producing several soundtracks for short movies , TV and theater.

A FASCINATION WITH HOUSE MUSIC: In the mid 90´s, a new electronic movement started growing in the underground music scene. He was captured by the raw sounds, the hypnotic beats and the never-ending pulses. Close to 1998 he began producing house music under the “Plus One” guise, alongside partner Federico Coppis (aka Fefo), both very influenced by the London sound of that time. After noticing that “Plus One” was a very common name, they changed it to just “PLASS”. With the support of “Big Head” Fernando Amabili, their first production got licensed to Toryumon UK, to be distributed in Japan and other countries. Short after that, they signed their first 12” (Plass – Treasure) to Sinister Recordings in the UK. Since then, they have released several other singles, and enjoyed massive support from John Digweed (KISS100, Space Ibiza), Habersham, Hyper, D:Fuse, Chris Fortier, Hernan Cattaneo, Jonathan Lisle (Bedrock), Steve Gerrard (Bedrock), Will Saul (Simple), Moshic, Anthony Pappa, Momu, Release Records, IDJ, Resident Advisor, Frisky Radio AOW, Proton radio and others.

A PERFORMER: In 2002, and after a denial period, he started Djing (coached & influenced by Neuquen´s hottest DJ, Dario Arcas), developing a very subtle mix of sounds. He quickly became the logical choice for doing warm ups, and he developed a true passion for Djing, which he hasn´t stopped doing since then. After several years of DJ gigs (mostly under the “DT” name) he started looking for a new approach for his sets, something closer to a live experience rather than the usual DJ mixing. He designed a highly customized laptop/controller setup to create a distinctive mixture of sounds to use on stage. The result is a complex and hypnotic blend of sounds, without ever loosing the groove.

SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY:

Treasure (original mix)
SINISTER 12'/digital

Treasure (breaks mix)
SINISTER 12'/digital

We Are Going to BA (original mix) "beatport.com N1 top downloads"
SINISTER digital

We Are Going to BA (Dobbs breaks mix)
SINISTER digital

We Are Going to BA (3beat exclusive house mix)
SINISTER digital

Shine On (original mix)
ACUTE digital

Fefo - Cherry Flavor
ACUTE digital

Playing With Expensive Toys
PISSED OFF digital

Dartek – Husky (original)
OFF SIDE RECORDINGS

Dartek – Husky (fefo rmx)
OFF SIDE RECORDINGS

HOUSE AND PROGRESSIVE SOUTHAMERICAN SESSIONS
Mixed by Big Head
MUSIC BROKERS