For bio in portugese and german or more infos go to:
www.myspace.com/raphaeldelan
Raphaël Delan is one of the best known and most consistent DJs in Switzerland. Technically, he is a master of his trade. His experience and mature musical taste allows him to know which hits will get the crowds dancing. For him, playing a wide range of music without being repetitive or banal is an art form. Raphaël Delan knows his audience, whether he gigs at huge venues, smart clubs or in squatted houses.
As a teenager, Raphaël Delan was a big fan of 80’s funk. Based in Berne, he experimented with old school rap, but eventually stuck to disco and early forms of electronic dance music. Dance halls were no longer popular, and as the Swiss club scene became hot he was one of its main protagonists, sending crowds into raptures, together with Mr. Mike for the French-speaking public and Oliver Stumm in Zurich. All of them were major contributors to the development of clubbing in Switzerland. At this time, Raphaël Delan was also a music editor and host at Radio Canal 3. He was at the heart of the Swiss music scene.
Raphaël Delan has amassed a collection of over 20’000 vinyl records and nearly 10’000 CDs. This collection is mainly made up of black- and club music, but also includes folk, country, singer/songwriters and a lot of jazz. In 1999, he opened his own record store: Delan Records. For the last 10 years, this has been one of the best addresses in Switzerland for electronic and black music for DJs and collectors. At the same time, Raphaël Delan has continued his DJ’ing career. He has played at all of the well-known clubs in Switzerland, was booked abroad and shared gigs with Gilles Peterson, Richard Dorfmeister, Frankie Knuckles, Tiefschwarz and Dimitri from Paris. The only break he took during this period was a trip of several months to the USA, to discover the roots of African American music.
These days, Raphaël Delan is working on a dance-floor project, with DJ Minus 8 (Compost Records) and the Swiss songwriter Adrian Weyermann.
To balance his creative work in the studio, he is also involved with other musical undertakings such as working with the oscar nominated filmmaker Reto Caffi as MUSIC SUPERVISOR. Moreover, hotels, shops, boutiques and bars rely on his rich musical knowledge and his vast repertoire.
Since March 2009, Raphaël Delan has organised his own series of music events entitled Is It Disco? at the Dampfzentrale, Berne.
