Thee J Johanz has been on the wheels of steel since he was about fourteen years old. He's been creating music since he was about twelve. So let's not mention the over a hunderd hours of music this man recorded (check the 'records out' section for all the more dance related stuff), or his long reputation as being one of the first generation Dutch house DJ's who brought Detroit Techno to northern Netherlands and becoming a true triphop/loopdisco/futurefunk pioneer in 1994.

As a DJ he played all over the Netherlands and abroad. Big festivals like Frozen Land, Virus Festival, and more recently each day at Oerol 2001 (picture!), 5 Days Off and Lowlands, but also many gigs for smaller amounts of people. Parties out in the open air, illegal warehouse parties, regular club nights all over the country (Effenaar, Doornroosje, Paradiso, Melkweg, Patronaat, Nighttown, 013, etc.) and in his hometown Groningen, where he started the Zapclub (each week in Simplon) and the promising Ballyhoo Future Funk nights(monthly in Platform). There's also a new weekly night coming up, where he plays with live musicians.

Playing technofunk live for many years, these days you can find him on stage with Dakar Sound System where he's spinning African grooves and world beats, which are accomplished with vocals and talking drum by Smilin' Osei from Ghana, and the young and talentfull Mamour Seck from Dakar, Senegal on djembé and talking drum. This soundsystem is like a Jamaican soundsystem, but with an African (uptempo) flavour. Check out their performances at the 'Thee J Johanz Live' section.

His fame came with the critically acclaimed records for the groundbreaking experimental London label Irdial. He released a couple of records on his own Ballyhoo Records and other stuff at many different labels. DJ's like Carl Craig, I-F, 4 Hero and Rude 66 are know for playing Thee J Johanz Tracks. The Grooves 'n Juice record (party lounge/triphop) was record of the month in Music (most respected and rewarded English dance magazine). The reggae/experimental/drum'n bass of his act Simm Alley was very succesfull on Noorderslag and later toured with Lamb. He also played with Calexico, who specially enjoy his latino flavoured beats. More releases are coming up, like African-house stuff for Dakar Sound, and personal eclectic Thee J Johanz stuff.

Check www.noorderzon.nl for information about the Ballyhoo Lounge Theatre at Noorderzon Festival, 10 days with great musical enterprises. Thee J Johanz will play some of his best and most collectable records at the Rio Disco. Summer madness, musical enterprise. People who read his reviews in the late Opscene magazine know he's not into only one genre or style, but he defenitely has his own style. Post-lounge party music without borders and boundaries, skillfull played with perfect timing, great DJ capabilities and a true love for music, proven by each track he plays from his huge record collection.