John Tejada: Sucre, Sweat & Everything Nice

Although rooted in Detroit techno, tagging John Tejada's sound with a definitive label is a tricky job indeed.


While his main body of work is comprised of dancy minimalist tracks, Tejada never shies away from exploring the boundaries of other varieties of music, blurring the lines that divide house and techno along the way, crafting twisted cross-genre groovers that never rest until the dance floor is filled.

From the relentless beat of "Sweat (On The Walls)", the curious playfulness of "Sucre" or the cheerful peppiness of "Voyager", to the suspicious mood of "Paranoia", the unending progression of "Mono on Mono" or the hypnotic taunting of "Big City Life": you never know where John Tejada will end up next, but you always enjoy the ride.


The multitalented & prolific California-based DJ/producer/remixer has been active since the mid '90s, releasing all kinds of records under different monikers, and with a varied array of collaborators, including Arian Leviste, Justin Maxwell, guitarist Takeshi Nishimoto and Titonton Duvanté. Of course, neglecting DJ Qzen's wonderful vocal contributions to hits such as "Paranoia", "Sucre", "Sweat" or Tejada's 2005 remix of Christopher Just's "I'm a Disco Dancer" would be an unforgivable mistake.

Often released on his own label Palette Recordings, John Tejada's songs are not entirely alien to the beats propagated by imprints such as Poker Flat or Trapez. Therefore, it came as no surprise when Steve Bug invited Mr. Tejada to join up with the Poker Flat crew and mix his label's fifth anniversary compilation back in '04. John Tejada is also associated with Plug Research and Dan Bell's Seventh City, amongst many others, which should give music-lovers a decent clue about how the man's song may sound.

DiskHo is bringing John Tejada to town this Friday, July 7th, for their Statik night at the Société des Arts Technologiques which will also feature Mossa & John Schmidt. The party starts at 10, and will set you back a mere $15. In the meantime, you can listen to a John Tejada mix on AudioFamilies' website.