A lover of music in all its forms
A lover of music in all its forms, QUENUM has an established 30-year career and has gained the respect of techno pioneers as well as the following of the younger generation.
When QUENUM settled in London in the 90s he started working with Paulo
Nascimento, a studio musician and sound engineer. In 1997 they released their first
EP on Pacific Records - that is how Access 58 was born. They performed live and
played DJ gigs at all the legendary London clubs, such as The End and the Velvet
Rooms, for Carl Cox’s Ultimate Base nights. Access 58 collaborated with major
artists of the 90s, such as The Advent and Umek and released over 30 EPs on
various labels including their own (also called Access 58).
In 2001 QUENUM moved to Switzerland, where he soon met another talented artist
with whom he would make history, Luciano. Together, in Luciano’s studio in the
Swiss mountains, they composed “Orange Mistake” – recognized as one of the
anthems of techno music. But when they approached various labels to release it,
no one was interested. That’s how they started their own label, Cadenza. Soon
after Luciano moved to Berlin, becoming the label’s boss. From his base in Geneva,
QUENUM continued playing all the big clubs in the US and Europe – especially with
Cadenza in Panorama Bar where they invited Apollonia, Thomas Melchior, Loco Dice
– riding the wave of interest that “Orange Mistake” generated.
QUENUM continued solo on his path for the perfect beat. What’s said most often
about his music is “elegant”, “warm” and “deep”. In the next decade he
continued producing groovy techno released on all the top labels (incl. Transmat,
Crosstown Rebels, Cocoon, Fabric, Get Physical) and playing clubs all over the
world. Above all, QUENUM is a classic DJ whose primary concern is to bring the
dancefloor alive and ensure everyone leaves the club happy and fulfilled. His love
for the groove was nurtured in his music-filled Afro-Caribbean home. When the
hip-hop wave first arrived in France, he went crazy for it and became one of the
country’s most skilled break-dancers (all his brothers are top dancers too). One
day, when he was 17 years old, he went to visit his uncle who worked as a security
guard for the Palace nightclub in Paris. That experience cemented QUENUM’s love
for the dancefloor and nightlife. Around the same time, he saw DJ DST perform
with Herbie Hancock at the Roxy club in New York and then he knew that’s what he
wanted to do. And he’s never diverted from that path.
Fast forward to the 2000s and you will find QUENUM playing all over the world.
Standout releases include: Agbaja EP on Butane’s Alphahouse label (2007) /
Captain Deutschland 2 on Dandy Jack’s Ruta 5 label (2010) / Dachshund & Quenum, the Mammoth on Damian Lazarus’s Rebellion label (2012).
From 2013 to 2019 Quenum worked in partnership with Cesare vs Disorder.
Together as Azimute they toured Asia, Australia and South America. They released
Azimute on Serialism and ran their label nights in Brazil, London and Berlin.
QUENUM is known as one of the friendliest faces in techno, which explains why he
loves collaborating with his brothers-and-sisters-in-arms. 13 years after releasing
“Orange Mistake”, he was back on Cadenza with his EP “Solitaire”, which got rave
reviews on Resident Advisor. They said: “It has one of those muted beats that marked the best early Cadenza releases.” For QUENUM, each collaboration is an
opportunity to learn and share his passion with friends.
QUENUM has just one other obsession, apart from music, and that’s running. He
keeps in top shape by taking his running shoes all over the world with him, clocking
an average of 60ks a week.
