Zak aka DVS1, is one of the most prominent figures in the Midwest/US dance music landscape today. A local DJ favorite since the mid nineties, DVS1 continues to move floors with a combination of deep musical knowledge, unparalleled enthusiasm, and a vinyl collection of more than 10,000 records. As a promoter he has been responsible for putting together some of the most memorable lineups and successful events of the past 2 decades, and his advanced understanding of sound design has built a reputation of unqualified excellence for his promotion company, Hush. Zak’s deep roots and his bold and uncompromising nature have won him great respect as a passionate and outspoken defender and promoter of quality music.

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Zak began DJing in New York in the early nineties, focusing on the acid sounds of that time.  After relocating to Minneapolis in the mid 90’s, his style evolved, like that of techno itself, into something more complex, something deeper and more rhythmic.  Since then, he has branched out into a wide variety of sounds—from hard and fast, to deep and hypnotic, to slow and soulful.  Rather than giving limiting names to the genres he plays, he describes the music as beats, rhythms, textures, and colors.  His philosophy is that the genre distinctions themselves aren’t important—the emotional content of the music is.  This focus is readily apparent in the way he moves crowds—both literally and figuratively by fusing together sounds that paint coherent, evocative, and powerful moods that are always appropriate for the time and place he is playing.

His range and emotional focus explains why as a DJ, Zak has garnered unique respect locally, around the Midwest/US, and now worldwide.  A consummate performer, Zak never maps out his sets ahead of time, opting to craft sets spontaneously from within the context they are intended for.  He does this the old-fashioned way—with bags of wax carefully assembled from his massive record collection.  This improvisational element makes each of his sets a one-of-a-kind personal expression, never again to be repeated, in which the audience’s mood and energy level always plays a notable role.   Unsurprisingly, DVS1’s sets tend to draw large and enthusiastic crowds.  In the past, he has shared the booth and been asked to open for some of the world’s most acclaimed DJ/Producers—Jeff Mills, Derrick May, Stacey Pullen, Rob Hood, Rolando, DJ bone, Gene Farris, etc..

As a producer, DVS1 makes music that is simple, effective and captures the feeling of the moment.  His productions, all though mostly made for himself in the past have caught the ears of others and have most recently been being played by the likes of Derrick May, Ben klock and many others.  DVS1’s first release, on Ben Klocks label Klockworks (kw05) was released in Early august 2009 and has already been charted by Derrick May, Samuel Sessions, Luke Slater, James Ruskin, Stephan Goldman, Funktion, Dj Deep, Tamo Sumo, Martin Landsky, Efdemin, Dustin Zahn, Dario Zenker, Ryan Elliot, Jonass kopp, Par Grindvik, James Ruskin, Marcel Fengler, Kevin Gormann, Tobi Neumann and Ben klock!!.  There’s no slowing down with future releases for the Legendary label Transmat (Love Under Pressure EP) and another release on the horizon with Klock.

As a promoter, he has been throwing events in the Midwest since 1996, putting aside opportunities to tour in order to build something meaningful and lasting at home.  That project resulted in his promotions company, Hush, which is known nationwide for the consistency, quality, and unique atmosphere of its events, bringing international heavyweights as well as national icons to Minneapolis. Hush’s fiercely loyal local following and its privately-owned, custom-built sound system have made Minneapolis a favorite stop for national and international talent.  Hush has helped give Minneapolis it’s reputation as a key stop for any major artist wanting to experience powerful sound and enthusiastic crowds.