Juan Atkins Juan Atkins Resident Advisor

Juan Atkins' music and DJing is deified in Europe and embraced all over the world, yet his music has had limited exposure in America, which is ironic, considering Juan has lived his life in Detroit. His first and only US hit was the influential electro classic "Clear" in 1983, as part of the duo Cybotron (charted in the Top 40). A series of important records on Metroplex under the name Model 500 followed beginning in 1985, and continuing still today. Juan has also been prolifically releasing albums, remixes and collaborations on Belgium' R&S Records, Germany' Tresor, and others. His six full-length releases are available only as imports.

Along with the tracks made by two schoolmates from the grade below, Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson, Detroit Techno quickly made its way across the Atlantic and immediately sparked the emerging rave culture, and soonafter the entire global dance community. The soil of which all the electronica subgenres grew from, Detroit Techno is the purest, most perfect distillation of emotional electronic dance music.

Juan Atkins, alongside Alixander III and Gingy, will perform March 2, as part of the Foundry Toronto Series, at the BLK BOX Theatre.

Omar-S Omar-S Resident Advisor

Detroit's Omar-S (Alex Omar Smith) emerged in 2003 as an underground techno/house maverick, releasing rigidly funky productions, made with analog gear, on his FXHE label. Though his 12" releases were pressed in small quantities with handwritten labels (and with run-out etchings like "Techno music is my heritage - techno is not dead DAMN IT!" and "Thanks to Rick Wilhite - I know I get on your nerves"), it wasn't long before his releases reached specialty shops in the U.K. and Germany.

Though he was building a cult following and was often placed by writers within the same context as fellow Detroit natives Moodymann and Theo Parrish, it wasn't until 2009 that he truly strayed from his low-profile, self-sufficient mode. Parrish's Sound Signature label released his "Blown Valvetrane" 12", and shortly after that, Smith provided the 45th mix for London club Fabric's self-named mix series.

Omar-S, alongside Reference and Martin Fazekas, performs March 9, as part of the Foundry Toronto Series, at the BLK BOX Theatre.

Andy Stott Andy Stott Resident Advisor

During the latter part of the 2000s, Manchester-based DJ/producer Andy Stott transitioned from making high-quality dub techno to releasing a singular and more adventurous strain with an approach that favored leaden tempos and unsettling, sample-based textures. From 2005 through 2011, Stott recorded exclusively for his hometown's Modern Love label, where he quickly became a key member of the roster alongside fellow travelers Claro Intelecto and Demdike Stare. He released a dozen singles and EPs, along with a taut 2006 album (Merciless) and a 2008 compilation (Unknown Exception).

The producer made a significant creative advance in 2011 with a pair of creep-outs, Passed Me By and We Stay Together, that were combined and expanded for CD release by the end of the year. Stott has also recorded some exceptional breakbeat-oriented dubstep as Andrea for Daphne, a Modern Love sublabel.

See Andy Stott and Box of Kittens perform March 16, as part of the Foundry Toronto Series, at the BLK BOX Theatre.

Martyn Martyn SoundcloudMartyn Resident Advisor

Martijn Deijkers', aka Martyn's, unique strand of bass defies easy categorization. Yet no matter the genre, tempo or drum pattern, there always remains that immersive, intricately detailed and rhythmically precise sound: to his fans and admirers, it's known simply as 'Martyn Music.' A unique character that's become emblematic for all that's forward thinking in dubstep and techno, a defiant out-of-the-box mentality is pushed into his every artistic venture, side-stepping convention and continually stepping forward towards what's new. Or, more often than not, what's next.

Throughout the many turns and layers of his winding career, the Holland native (and now Washington DC resident) has always stood in a scene of his own. Never a complete outsider but never quite one to fit in, each of his releases is a progression on from where he left off, and an evolution into where the electronic world is likely to move in the near future.

Martyn, alongside Kevin McPhee, Nautiluss and Mymanhenri, will perform March 22, as part of the Foundry Toronto Series, at the BLK BOX Theatre.

Bicep Bicep SoundcloudBicep Resident Advisor

Bicep are a duo that hail from Belfast, brought together through a common obsession with all things analog. Their blog, Feel My Bicep, has grown to be the first port of call for those searching for cutting-edge and hard-to-find disco (nu and old) / chicago-house / detroit techno / italo / edits and the like. Growing with an amalgamation of jazz, rock and funk helped Bicep form an obscure approach and understanding of music. After each picking up a pair of Technics turntables in their early teens, Andy and Matt set about collecting records and experimenting to find their own style. Skip forward several years and countless DJ gigs and they realized they needed to make their own brand- succumbing to, as Bicep describe it, "80s inspired analog house".

See Bicep, alongside Lapelle and Members Only, perform March 23, as part of the Foundry Toronto Series, at the BLK BOX Theatre.

Andres Andres Resident Advisor

Detroit house and hip hop don DJ Dez aka Andrés was destined for a life in music. The son of Humberto 'Nengue' Hernandez, an original player on Detroit's jazz scene who sang and played percussion with the likes of Mongo Santamaria, Santana and Cachao Lopez, got his first drum set aged three, and was raised on the Motor City's rich musical history. Partly brought up in California, Andrés cut his teeth DJ-ing on the Cali underage party scene, before moving back to the 313 with his family. Already a certified crate digger and vinyl archivist, he started working at the legendary Buy-Rite Records store, the very same place that Kenny Dixon Jr. received his paycheck from. After spending some time at Amp Fiddler's home studio, Dez met J Dilla, who recruited him to DJ for his hip hop crew, Slum Village.

Parallel to revolutionizing the US rap landscape with the new-found electrified smoothness of S Villa, Andrés started to explore his hometown's house legacy from the late 90s onwards. He hooked up with his former record store buddy to release a string of freewheeling house-not-house 12"s on KDJ, leading up to a highly prolific relationship with Mahogani Music. After three acclaimed full-length albums for Mahogani, which really put him on the map as one of the most versatile figures on the Detroit dance music circuit, he launched his own imprint La Vida with the future classic New For U 12".

Andres, alongside Bruce Trail and Colin Bergh, performs March 29, as part of the Foundry Toronto Series, at the BLK BOX Theatre.

DVS1 DVS1 SoundcloudDVS1 Resident Advisor

Zak aka DVS1(devious one), 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 well over 10,000 records.

DVS1's first release on Ben Klock's label Klockworks (KW05) in August 2009 and was charted by the likes of 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, Marcel Fengler, Kevin Gormann, Tobi Neumann, and Ben Klock. There's no slowing down with releases for the Legendary label Transmat (Love Under Pressure EP) and another release on the horizon with Klock.

See DVS1 and How Does It Make You Feel perform March 30, as part of the Foundry Toronto Series, at the BLK BOX Theatre.