KiNK Breaches the Gap Between Audience and Performer in Stone Techno Festival Debut

Catch These Stunning B2Bs and Live Sets at Time Warp USA

Bulgarian DJ and producer KiNK, born Strahil Velchev, has been on the scene for over a decade now and has earned his spot as a crowd favorite. Not only does he perform techno and house under KiNK, he also puts on live shows under his alias Cyrillic, a project he launched back in 2015.

KiNK signed with this first booking agent, Kai Fischer, in 2008 after he had already spent several years making a name for himself in Bulgaria. After signing with Fischer, KiNK built up the courage to start touring internationally but it was no walk in the park. In an 

 KiNK describes the transition to playing for international crowds as being quite difficult.  “It was very difficult to make it work. I think it's because my diverse selection and intense way of mixing didn't fit the crowd's preferences at that time,” says the producer.

Because of his difficulty transitioning, KiNK’s booking agent suggested he start performing live instead of merely DJing. “Playing live was not my first choice, I looked at it more like a door to a DJ career, but meanwhile, I had my live bookings” (

). However, KiNK grew a passion for performing live and has been doing it this way ever since. He says that his sets are not planned in advance but in order to perform live he has all of his production elements imported to Ableton for easy access during the performance.

Performing live is no easy feat as a music producer and crowds are usually pretty receptive to that fact. KiNK goes on, “I can stretch boundaries musically in any way, take risks and [make] mistakes, which I could never get away with [in] a DJ set” (

In 2019, KiNK in collaboration with his buddy Konstantin Petrov (KEi) launched his very own record label named after his hometown, Sofia. The music housed by the label will pay tribute to Bulgarian culture and aesthetics.

Bulgaria

KiNK

Germany

electronica

german house

german techno

microhouse

minimal tech house

minimal techno

Âme

United Kingdom

uk dance

Horse Meat Disco

United States

DJ Holographic

Australia

Merve

HE.SHE.THEY

Spain

Amnesia Ibiza

HE.SHE.THEY Opening Party

Switzerland

house

swiss house

Andrea Oliva

Chloé Robinson

Italy

italian techno

Davide Squillace

deep disco house

raw techno

Eats Everything

melodic house

progressive house

Eli & Fur

australian house

FISHER

Ilario Alicante

Netherlands

dutch tech house

Joris Voorn

leipzig electronic

Matthias Tanzmann

tribal house

Nic Fanciulli

spanish techno

Paco Osuna

Prunk

SYREETA

Ushuaïa Ibiza

ANTS Opening Party

Adam Port

alternative dance

big beat

Basement Jaxx

techno

Ben Klock

downtempo

indietronica

instrumental hip hop

jazztronica

nu jazz

trip hop

Bonobo

detroit techno

outsider house

Carl Craig

Austria

electra

Cassy

Belgium

belgian techno

Charlotte de Witte

frankfurt electronic

schranz

Chris Liebing

chicago house

deep house

Derrick Carter

deep funk house

electro jazz

jazz house

Mark Farina

detroit house

DJ Minx

lo-fi house

DJ Seinfeld

deep groove house

Dom Dolla

John Summit

Colombia

colombian indie

latintronica

pop electronico

Ela Minus

FJAAK

puglia indie

Giorgia Angiuli

tech house

Green Velvet

Canada

Heidi

Sweden

swedish electronic

swedish techno

Ida Engberg

experimental techno

Lauren Flax

Lee Foss

ukg revival

Logic1000

latin tech house

melodic techno

Maceo Plex

Moodymann

Octave One

ONYVAA

Ireland

irish electronic

Rebūke

Chile

Ricardo Villalobos

Rimarkable

acid house

dark disco

Robert Hood

uk house

Sam Divine

dark techno

Sara Landry

Seth Troxler

TSHA

Underworld

jersey club

trap queen

UNIIQU3

brostep

canadian electronic

dubstep

electro house

progressive electro house

Zeds Dead

Hart Plaza

Movement Music Festival 2023

CiCi

France

french techno

François X

Russia

russian electronic

russian techno

Nina Kraviz

Patrick Mason

Pyramid Week 14

Pyramid

Mar-T

Richie Hawtin

Marco Faraone

Pyramid Week 9

garage house

Kerri Chandler

DJ Deep

Club Chinois

Kerri Chandler: Kaoz Theory Week 3

Kerri Chandler: Kaoz Theory

Israel

Saraga

Trace

Miss Nine

VNTM

classic progressive house

Danny Tenaglia

Dance System

FLORENTIA

montreal indie

pop dance

Goodboys

disco house

LEFTI

KiNK

Articles

Other artists