Starting early in the year 2000, the seed for electronic music was planted in the young rising trance DJ's life. Having spent a lot of time around the video game culture, especially at the PC Cafe's, it should come as no surprise that Happy Hardcore was the first dose of electronic music to incite him. Delving deep into the "rave" culture soon after, he began attending underground events whenever possible. It was this exposure that gave life to the dream of becoming a professional Dj.
In 2004 John attended his first Monster Massive Festival in Los Angeles, where having had the chance to see the giant superstar DJ headliners like, Paul van Dyk, Judge Jules, and Pete Tong, it was at that very moment that the true inspiration and emotion of trance was instilled.
Soon after the discovery of Trance, John would scrape together all the extra money and change he could to have his older friends use their credit cards to purchase new releases off of the online EDM distributors. Using simple programs like winamp, and any open source sound editing programs he could find, he began mashing, cutting, and stitching his trance mixes together, creating beauty from nothing more then a Frankenstein-like screen of sound waves and track names.
According to John, "I never really thought about being a DJ when I first got into all of this. My main dream was to be in a band, and play the guitar in front of millions, not command the crowd with turntables."
Continuing the ever so subtle art of playing the "right" tracks, as opposed to the popular ones, it was again after attending the 2006 Monster Massive Festival and seeing Armin van Buuren and Markus Schulz that the urge to DJ began. "After hearing all of the songs that I would put together on mix sets, getting played by world class talent in front of thousands literally sparked something... Something saying that “why couldn't I do this”.
John’s next mission was to scrape together as much money as he could save, which he did, so he could by the cheapest CDJ's and mixer he could find. It was this very moment that marked the starting point of becoming a glorified bedroom DJ, locking himself away until he perfected the art of knobs.
Soon thereafter John began recording his spin sessions and passing them out to promoters hoping he would get a call back. Then finally, Alan Fucile from 3Dc approached John and offered him a spot to DJ at his events. Willingly accepting john was able to spin along side such respected talent as DJ Keoki, and none other then International Superstar DJ/Producer DJTrance, aka Kris Sweeton. “John represents the passion Trance music Stands for, and is one of the very few upcoming dj’s who truly get, that Trance music isn’t really for listening, its for journeying. This kid is defiantly at his best when behind the decks, delivering a mixture of dark, driving Trance combined with a passionate blend of uplifting and melodic tracks exposing his true talent. Definitely not something a true trance fan would ever want to miss”, says DJTrance.
Having mastered the art of Djing, john still had not been able to reach within and deliver the sounds he was driven to deliver. So he did what every other well known DJ has done, he turned to producing. It was here he was finally able to reach deep within himself, to discover the imagination of his soul lived for trance music as well, and gave way to finally produce the sounds he was seeking. Having befriended DJ/Producer DJTrance, who was one of the first revolutionizing Trance Djs and Club Dance Remix Producers of the late 80’s and 90’s, having worked with such artists as Cher, Daphne, Whitney Houston, and the Pet Shop Boys, it wasn’t long before this friendship soon became about the business and John’s first EP was signed to Trance’s record Label, Trak1.
With Merki under his wing, Kris and John soon began to focus on promotions, and branding the name John Merki. This landed John a premier resident’s position on DJTrance’s EDM Radio Network, known globally as NetMix.FM. (http://netmix.fm) Merki now holds three internationally syndicated programs on the NBN Network including the stations: NetMix.fm, XMix.FM 93.1 and now the Netherlands #1 Dance Club Radio Station, Project One: FM, also spearheaded by international DJ/Producer DJTrance.
As the shows became popular, Merki soon became a recognized name in not only the US Trance circuits, but in the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany and Spain as well. With plans to launch NetMix Asia, John Merki will be one of our first premier performers says Ashley Clark, Traffic Coordinator for NBN. In addition to the weekly broadcast shows, it was no surprise to find him spinning side by side with DJTrance, on his globally syndicated radio show, A State of Readiness, now webcasted every Friday night at 10pm pst, exclusively on Project One: FM (http://www.projectone.fm)
Now signed to Omni Entertainment Group’s RMX Project Team, he also holds the #13 roster position of Talon’s Creative Artist Agency, who also represents DJTrance, Kai Tracid, Wayne Siegfried, Ant, Dr. Bones, DJ-Ren, and many many others.
So what’s next for John Merki, for now, keep your eyes and ears open for the release of his new EP, and be sure to see him spin live in Southern California, at this years Illuminate, Dreamland, and the Kosmic Festival. For more information about John Merki please contact Sparrow Marcioni, Booking Agent and Creative Affairs Director, at Omni Entertainment Group, Inc. (866) 280-1696 |
