More DJs With Surprising Pasts

Active for over two decades, DJ EZ (real name Otis Roberts) is one of the finest and most highly regarded DJs on the planet. Known as the “DJ’s favorite DJ,” the London-born garage artist is a creative mixer with unparalleled instincts and exceptional technical abilities. He has some of the quickest fingers in the game, showcasing his cue button action during his sets.

Roberts is the man behind many of the biggest UK garage compilations to date. His Boiler Room live stream is touted as one of the greatest UK garage sets of all time, with millions of views. Another notable live stream, Roberts played a 24-hour set in 2016, with all proceeds going to Cancer Research UK.

Across multiple decades, the UK DJ has won many awards, solidifying his place at the top. He won ‘Club DJ of the Year’ at the 1998 Underground Garage Awards, ‘Best DJ’ at the UK Garage Awards in 2000 and 2002, and won three awards at the 2004 People’s Choice Music Awards, ‘Best DJ,’ ‘Best Old School DJ,’ and ‘Best Radio Show.’

Being inspired by pirate radio and his love for house, hip-hop, and electro, Roberts began recording mixes in the early 90s in the hope that he would have his own show one day. He landed his first DJing gig with the pirate radio station Dance 93FM, where he played house music and was known as Easy O. He tried his take as his own station called Dimension FM, but it wasn’t long-lived. Instead, he went on to host his own show every weekend on Freek FM 101.8 in 1994, changing his name to EZ.

Roberts finally hit commercial radio in the late 90s, covering for Steve Jackson and Bobby & Steve’s shows on Kiss 100. In 1999, Kiss offered him a permanent show, starting with just one show a week and quickly progressing to two more shows. He hosted a range of shows over a 14-year period, which came to an end in 2014.

In 2020, he held a monthly residency with BBC Radio 1. This was also the year he started his own record label and globally syndicated radio show called NUVOLVE. It quickly became known as the place to discover some of the hottest UK garage talent, both emerging and established.

Also as of recent, Roberts goes beyond UK garage and back to his roots with his alias Elvin Zedo, dedicated to house and techno music.

Roberts has performed at some of the biggest festivals, including Coachella, Glastonbury, and Creamfields, on top of countless sold-out tours globally. Over two decades later, Roberts continues to perform live and on air, soon hitting events like Boiler Room London, Dekmantel Festival, and Contrair Open Air.

United Kingdom

DJ EZ

house

pop dance

uk dance

Sonny Fodera

uk tech house

Danny Howard

2-step

Oppidan

Spain

Amnesia Ibiza

Amnesia Presents Week 9

Amnesia Presents

future garage

Gorgon City

tech house

Miane

deep house

Dusky

Amnesia Presents Closing Party

Hannah Wants

bass house

deep groove house

Low Steppa

disco house

funky house

funky tech house

tribal house

vocal house

David Penn

Arielle Free

uk house

Monki

Ushuaïa Ibiza

Defected Week 2

Defected

Greta Levska

charva

Belters Only

Amnesia Presents Week 13

experimental club

Ahadadream

Ammara

deep minimal techno

minimal techno

techno

Alan Fitzpatrick

Ben Hemsley

ambient house

electronica

Bicep

deep rai

Darius Syrossian

deep disco house

raw techno

Eats Everything

Eliza Rose

scottish techno

Ewan McVicar

old school bassline

ukg revival

Flava D

Fleur Shore

Girls Don't Sync

Hannah Laing

drum and bass

liquid funk

Hybrid Minds

breaks

experimental house

Interplanetary Criminal

float house

uk bass

wonky

Joy Orbison

K Motionz

irish electronic

KETTAMA

LALA

LF SYSTEM

dutch tech house

Luuk van Dijk

aussietronica

australian house

lo-fi house

Mall Grab

Oden & Fatzo

ghettotech

Partiboi69

Paul Woolford

Prospa

Sam Divine

Sammy Virji

Sarah Story

dutch house

Shermanology

classic dubstep

Skream

Solardo

Sosa

modern jungle

Special Request

Hideout Festival

Croatia

Zrce Beach

Hideout Festival 2024

Amnesia Presents Week 7

french tech house

Amine Edge & DANCE

big beat

nu skool breaks

trip hop

Groove Armada

Rio Tashan

Eden Ibiza

Defected with DJ EZ and Groove Armada

latin tech house

spanish techno

Miguel Bastida

Amnesia Presents Week 8

uk pop

Alex Mills

deep tech house

progressive house

CamelPhat

Chloé Robinson

Kitty Amor

SYREETA

Fat Tony

Fatboy Slim

Chris Stussy

minimal tech house

Enzo Siragusa

Layla Benitez

german tech house

Kolter

Carlita

Desiree

ambient techno

intelligent dance music

microhouse

shiver pop

Daniel Avery

Logic1000

jazz house

Dan Shake

Lauren Lo Sung

KILIMANJARO

garage house

Honey Dijon

Glastonbury

Worthy Farm

Glastonbury 2024

Ferreck Dawn

Majestic

Defected Week 11

acid techno

belgian techno

dark techno

electra

Amelie Lens

german house

german techno

Âme

Marcel Dettman

south african house

south african pop

south african pop dance

Black Coffee

outsider house

Call Super

Chloé Caillet

Horse Meat Disco

electro house

progressive electro house

Eric Prydz

DJ Holographic

detroit house

DJ Minx

Peggy Gou

hamburg electronic

melodic techno

Solomun

Advanced Music

Fira Montjuïc

Sónar Barcelona 2023

Germany

organic electronic

Kollektiv Turmstrasse

Italy

italian techno

Deborah de Luca

DJ EZ

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