(FR/Institubes)
 
Surkin is the wild boy of Institubes, known for ripping up dance floors, surfing frenzied crowds and questionable stage antics. And he’s a remixer of renown. Whether it’s tracks from label mates like Para One or from the neighbours, Ed Banger’s DJ Mehdi; aggressive tracks from Boyz Noize or a quiet killer from the Klaxons, Surkin gives them a once over and the script is flipped every time.
 
Surkin is also known as Benoit Heitz (b. 1985). He’s from Avignon in the south of France but he’s based in Paris now. He once studied contemporary art, but became fed up with the convoluted theory. He’s now an occasional graphic designer and a full-time music producer, with a mid- to up-tempo (rhythm & fuse) focus. A former four to the floor hater (rap was his main interest until 2003), Surkin got into dance music after hearing DJ Assault and other Detroit Ghettotech dons like DJ Nasty, DJ Godfather or Disco D.
 
He also owes much to his countrymen, Jess & Crabbe, or Cassius and obviously Daft Punk. As a Nintendo generation lad, Heitz feels more comfortable mixing with Ableton Live than vinyl. The sound he has at the moment has been describes as ruthless house, though his sets at the Rex and Triptych in recent months have been pitched down to a sexier 120-130 bpms.
 
Heitz collaborates with Bobmo on a project called High Powered Boys – they produce ghetto tracks done through MSN Messenger within a handful of hours.
 
> Surkin on Myspace
> Surkin on Virb.com
 
Appearances:
> CTM.08 > CRANKED UP DISCO