Idriss D

Music is in Dib Idriss’s blood. The DJ/producer—known onstage as Idriss D—grew up in a home filled with music. His grandfather, Zerouala El Aarbi, was a well-known artist in Idriss’s native Algeria, and several of his uncles also loved to make and perform music. Idriss fondly recalls family gatherings at his grandparent’s home, playing and listening to traditional Algerian music.

These memories and the music of his childhood surely influenced his signature rhythmic and meditative sound of today, as did the funk and disco music he later fell in love with. And the club scene—which he discovered in the early 90’s—surely played its role as well.

Idriss was introduced to the dance music world through frequenting clubs in Alger. It was here that he discovered and became acquainted with Adel and Chafik, two prominent Algerian DJs, who laid the groundwork for a young Idriss to play his first set for an audience.

But although music was undoubtedly Idriss’s calling, he moved to Italy to work in insurance for several years in order to sustain his passion financially. It was here that he began to chip away at his dream of making a career in music, first opening a record shop, then starting to organize small events in Mantova. As his events built up steam and word of his hypnotic music spread, he began to book larger and larger venues, like Cocoricò and Red Zone.

Now, still based in Italy, Idriss D holds a residency at Cocoricò and has founded his own label, Memento, which counts Carl Craig, Luciano, and Ten Walls among its signees. He’s also the founder of dbArtists, an artist management company focused on championing up-and-coming international artists in the Italian nightlife scene.