Blame it all on the disco ball. Born in 1969 in the city of Dusseldorf, at the tender age of nine Koch succumbed to the seductive charms of black wax. By this time, his family had moved to Frankfurt, and disco had reached its zenith; Koch’s parents plied him with early vinyl compilations, triggering what would become a serious and lifelong collecting streak. T.’s burgeoning obsession went beyond disco and hi N-R-G – Village People, Donna Summer and Evelyn Thomas were soon followed by early rap music (via Grandmaster Flash) and finally – from 1983 – electro funk and its seminal protagonists Afrika Bambaataa, Planet Patrol, Newcleus and Mantronix. Their tracks had everything Koch craved: glam, funk, beats and bass. They were the soundtrack to a new dance culture. For Koch, this was love at first sight and he decided to take up breakdancing. Until this day, many of DJ T.’s own productions preserve the musical spirit of this period. Some loves do last forever.
Koch’s career on the decks began with trial stints at private parties back in 1986, which were soon to be followed by his first professional gigs at his own nights in Frankfurt club Nouvelle a year later. He adopted the pseudonym DJ T. – a moniker he retains to this day. Early fare on his turntables: black music in all its variants. Spinning at a range of different clubs in and around Frankfurt, T. soon found himself swept away by the powerful acid house wave that hit the city with the opening of Sven Väth’s Omen in 1988. Koch switched to straight beats to move the crowds with early house, EBM and techno tracks, followed by his first residency at Frankfurt’s seminal Music Hall. Throughout the 90s, he played almost all of the city’s essential clubs, including extended stopovers at Plastik, Dorian Gray and The Box. By now, Frankfurt, one of Europe’s foremost epicentres of electronic dance music, has become indelibly linked with the name DJ T.
Towards the end of the millennium, after a decade of experience organising major events and club nights, Koch felt the urge to make his own vision of a club come true. In 1999, he, Patrik Dechent and others opened their own venue Monza, an intimate and cosy little club situated right in Frankfurt’s city centre. In his capacity as DJ and the one in charge of the club’s overall musical direction, Koch played a decisive part in shaping the profile of this hot-spot as well as that of its Ibizan satellite events for the next five years. Impressive names like Steve Bug, DJ Hell, Ricardo Villalobos and Tiefschwarz were among the venue’s welcome and frequent guests. Run without Koch since 2004, Monza continues to claim its place among Germany’s foremost clubbing locations; operating from its Ibizan offshoot, his former partner Dechent strives to extend the club’s sphere of influence all over the globe.
Moving back in time: In 1989, Koch founded the influential German-language magazine Groove. To this day, it remains Germany’s most important and high-quality publication for the electronic aspects of life, alongside De:Bug. According to Koch, it was all about “creating a magazine that would meet my own needs. I assumed there were many others with similar needs out there.” And history proved him right. Besides serving as Groove’s publisher and editor for fifteen years, he has also contributed to anthologies on club music, among others Localiser 1.0 and Techno.
In 2002, Koch and friends decided to start their own label, Get Physical Music. Within ten single releases the label had gained a worldwide reputation, its popularity and fame spreading well beyond its Berlin base – reaching #4 in the annual Groove reader’s poll of their favourite labels in 2004, Get Physical also claimed the coveted ‘label of the year 2005’ award from British clubbing bible DJ Mag. Ever since, one would be hard-pressed to find a single techno/ house DJ around the world who does not reach for at least one Get Physical track when things get hot.
Featuring six seasoned veterans of electronic music and club culture, the label collective also includes DJ and production team Patrick Bodmer and Philipp Jung (otherwise known as M.A.N.D.Y.) as well as producers and studio owners Booka Shade (Walter Merziger, Arno Kammermeier, Peter Hayo). Focussing on A&R, among other responsibilities, Koch tirelessly scours the scene for new talent and takes care of those already signed and their current productions. And yet, besides all these other activities, Koch still finds the time to pursue his own artistic endeavours.
2000 saw the release of his first production with ‘Monsterbaze’, a Steve Bug co-production on the latter’s Pokerflat label. To this day, in addition to releases on Moodmusic, 20:20 Vision, Pokerflat and Kindisch, Koch has put out a total of sixteen 12’’ singles on Get Physical. In 2005 he unleashed his first album Boogie Playground, a reverential and reference-laden piece of music paying homage to T.’s own past and all those strands of early club music that had shaped his future path. Conjuring the moods that gave classic funk and electro as well as disco, italo and acid house records their good name, Boogie Playground wrapped them all up in contemporary sound design.
In addition, Koch’s talents as a remixer have not gone unnoticed. His interpretations of acts like Spektrum, Mylor or Newcleus plus remixes for labels like ArtofDisco/ Yellow, 20:20 Vision, Simple and Naked Music have moved critics and crowds alike. In 2006, Berlin daily TAZ commented on his first commercially available DJ mix, Body Language Vol. 2: “Koch combines tracks from the most varied of genres...triggering the most disparate of euphoria-soaked locations, he touches on the different waveforms of twenty years of party bliss”. Whether somewhere in Europe or on one of his extensive tours of North and South America, Australia or Asia, T.’s sets are invariably stirring and extraordinarily varied. Koch is most certainly no ‘style fascist’, but rather something like a bass and groove-addicted club historian with a firm grasp of the contemporary. His sets turn 25 years of electronic music history into one fine, homogenous blend, reminiscent of expansive narratives that transform the significant links between genres and ages into a truly physical experience. Yet despite all this inherent party spirit, Koch also knows how to send 6am crowds into veritable danceathons – as anyone who’s heard him play at Watergate, Panorama Bar and Bar25 will attest.
Spring 2009: four years after his debut Boogie Playground, DJ T. returns with his much-anticipated second studio album, The Inner Jukebox, a singular and accomplished set that reflects its maker’s ongoing interest in rigorously re-inventing classic sounds for modern ears and dancefloors.
A co-production with Thomas Schumacher, who used to helm Elektrochemie and now produces acclaimed solo material for Get Physical, The Inner Jukebox is an assuredly mature work, but is notable also for its youthful exuberance and confidence. The Inner Jukebox is not just a mere succession of club tracks, but it is again alive with narrative structures that tell a story, showing a deep respect for the history of electronic dance music and what has gone before.
While Boogie Playground was an exploration of T.’s 70s and 80s influences, The Inner Jukebox draws inspiration from the 90s and is a more focussed adventure. So much house around right now is really just glorified minimal techno, vibe-killing in its meticulousness; by contrast, the tracks which comprise The Inner Jukebox are bold, vivid, expressive. They’re cerebral and carefully crafted, yes, but more importantly they have a bounce and a sexiness to them – also not exactly a hallmark of current house music. T. has always sought to make proper, no-nonsense dance music with real groove at its heart – and The Inner Jukebox finds him fully realizing that ambition. This is no concept album – it’s about quality dance music that will sound great in the club, the car, the home, wherever. So put another dime in the jukebox baby…
Newest tracks: http://www.myspace.com/deejaytea
Let's Dance
DJ T. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Every time I see your face or hear your name
I just go crazy, thinking, maybe this may be my chance
What would you say to me if I said "Baby, let's lay down and dance"
I got to tell you, girl, you drive me wild
Every time I see you dance and see that smile
My world gets hazy and I'm moving like I'm in a trance
When it comes to love my heart is black and it's blue
Swore I was through with romance
But girl you're something and I'm counting on you
You're my brand new second chance
My friends all tell me that I'm not your kind
They say I better pray your love is blind
You got to save me, I'm a victim of your circumstance
Whoa, I know it's crazy, but baby, let's lay down and dance
When it comes to love my heart is black and it's blue
Thought I was through with romance
But girl you're something and I've nothing to lose
You're my brand new second chance
I gots to tell you, girl, you drive me wild
I've never known no one with quite your style
I'm going crazy, thinking, baby, this may be my chance
What would you say to me if I said "Baby, let's lay down and dance"
Girl, I know it's crazy, but baby, let's lay down and dance
The song "Let's Dance" by DJ T. speaks about a person who has developed feelings for someone they know. The lyrics express that every time they see the person or hear their name, they feel a feeling that they can't explain, and it drives them crazy. They believe that maybe this is their chance and wonders what the other person would say if they asked to lay down and dance. The person is willing to take risks and want to give love another chance despite having a wounded heart.
The lyrics suggest that the singer has been through heartbreak from a past relationship and has since given up on love, but meeting this new person has made them rethink their stance. They call this person their brand new second chance and believe that they may be the one to help them forget their past. Despite the warnings from friends, the singer is willing to take the chance and hope that this person reciprocates their feelings.
Overall, the song speaks about taking control of one's emotions and taking risks in love even when others may doubt the possibility of success.
Line by Line Meaning
I get this feeling that I can't explain
I have a strong emotion but I am unable to express it in words.
Every time I see your face or hear your name
You have a strong impact on me even when you are not around.
I just go crazy, thinking, maybe this may be my chance
I go insane thinking this might be my opportunity to be with you.
What would you say to me if I said 'Baby, let's lay down and dance'
I want to know your response if I ask you to dance with me.
I got to tell you, girl, you drive me wild
You bring out strong emotions in me and I cannot control myself.
Every time I see you dance and see that smile
Your dance and smile are captivating, and they make me feel alive.
My world gets hazy and I'm moving like I'm in a trance
I become unaware of what's happening around me and lose myself in the moment.
Whoa, I know it's crazy, but baby, let's lay down and dance
I understand that it might be unusual, but I want to dance with you nonetheless.
When it comes to love my heart is black and it's blue
My heart has been through a lot of pain and heartbreak.
Swore I was through with romance
I have given up on love.
But girl you're something and I'm counting on you
But there is something special about you that makes me hopeful.
You're my brand new second chance
You represent a new opportunity for me to find love again.
My friends all tell me that I'm not your kind
My friends don't think we are a good match.
They say I better pray your love is blind
They are suggesting that you overlook my flaws if we start a relationship.
You got to save me, I'm a victim of your circumstance
You have control over my life and I need you to rescue me.
I've never known no one with quite your style
You are unique and there is no one else quite like you.
I'm going crazy, thinking, baby, this may be my chance
I am losing my mind over the possibility that I could be with you.
Girl, I know it's crazy, but baby, let's lay down and dance
I understand that it might be unorthodox, but I still want to dance with you.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, STEVE DORFF, ME GUSTA MUSIC
Written by: Kent Blazy, Steve Dorff, Victoria Shaw, Kim Williams, Garth Brooks
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind