Sometimes a name change is simply an artist growing out of an identity that no longer resonates with them. Often it is accompanied by a complete musical overhaul and a venture into a new genre. It's always a way to try something new.

We're once again revealing the (somewhat) little-known stories of your favorite DJs and the identities they left behind before you knew them. Some DJs listed here didn't stray too far from what they knew, while others embraced a radically new style. New musical direction or not, prepare to have your mind blown with some of these artists' past lives.




Charlotte de Witte

When Charlotte de Witte first came onto the scene, she was known as Raving George. She adopted that name because she wanted to dispel preconceived notions about female DJs and for her music and skills to speak for themselves. She truly embraced techno's aggressive and despondent side and established herself as a force with which to be reckoned. As Raving George, she played festivals like Tomorrowland, I Love Techno, Sunset Festival, Pukkelpop, Summer Festival, and Dour Festival. In 2015, she decided to retire the Raving George moniker and switch to her birth name as she began to experiment with a more barebones and emotive type of techno.

Eric Prydz

You know him now as Eric Prydz, with the famous Pryda snare, but did you know he was a founding member of the first unofficial lineup of Swedish House Mafia? Informally, Prydz, Axwell, Steve Angello, and Sebastian Ingrosso found themselves DJing together a lot at The Rainbow Room in Stockholm in the 2000s. The quartet was dubbed Swedish House Mafia. But Prydz, a self-proclaimed "control-freak," chose to venture out on his own and has since adopted his own shortlist of monikers, Pryda and Cirez D.










Noizu

A quick look at the writing credits for Noizu's hit single "Summer 91" reveals the feel-good house producer's real name and a bit about his past. Previously known by his given name, Jacob Plant, the British dance producer and DJ got his big break in 2013 with releases on Ministry of Sound, Defected sublabel Speakerbox, Calvin Harris' Fly Records, and Steve Aoki's Dim Mak Records. He had several high-profile remixes for Rihanna, Calvin Harris, Benny Benassi, Iggy Azaelia, and Sub Focus. He even co-wrote a song with Rhianna for the soundtrack to the 2015 animated movie Home. Jacob's music earned him airtime on BBC1 Radio and billing at festivals like Lollapalooza and the Reading and Leeds Festivals.




Jeff Mills

Since the '90s, Jeff Mills' name has been synonymous with Detroit techno as he was part of the second wave of DJs to put the genre on the map. He felt he had to be more progressive and experimental than his contemporaries. Mills began DJing in the '80s under the name, The Wizard and was known for beat juggling, scratching, and turntablist tricks. 

He co-founded the techno collective Underground Resistance in the late '80s with 'Mad' Mike Banks, of Parliament fame, and minimal techno pioneer Robert Hood. Together, they created music geared towards abstract militancy and raising awareness about political, social, and economic issues. Mills ended up leaving the group to go solo in the early '90s, thus using his given name to fully take the techno world by storm. 




DJ EZ


House and techno DJ Elvin Zedo is also known as UK garage turntablist DJ EZ. He first used Elvin Zedo (and DJ Easy O) back in 2004. The names allowed him to play house and techno without interfering with his progress in the garage and bass scenes. Throughout his DJ career, he's hosted various radio shows featuring UK garage anthems, classics, and bass, with his current show being the weekly NUVOLVE Radio. He recently revived the Zedo moniker as a way to return to his roots but plans to continue DJing under the name EX as well. He reintroduced this alias in the most DJ EZ way possible—by playing a 10-hour Boiler Room set.





Richie Hawtin

Richie Hawtin debuted in the '90s as part of the second wave of DJs bringing that Detroit techno sound. But did you know that in 1993, Hawtin hit the music scene hard with acid techno under his alias Plastikman? Plastikman's most famous release is "Spastik," a dance music classic. This track pushed the musical envelope in skill and production, experimenting with minimal techno. Hawtin uses both the Plastikman moniker and the Hawtin name interchangeably, so it's hard to say which is the former name and which is the current one, so keep your eyes (and ears) out for both. 










Boys Noize

Alexander Ridha, aka Boys Noize, is a Berlin-based producer, songwriter, and DJ known for his genre-defying techno punk beats. He's gained popularity by collaborating with Skrillex, Jean-Michel Jarre, Tiga, and Benga, remixing artists like Snoop Dogg, Daft Punk, Justice, and Depeche Mode and creating his label, Boysnoize Records, in 2005. 

Before becoming Boys Noize, though, he was part of the duo Kid Alex, alongside Andreas Meid. Together, they supported DJs like Felix da Housecat and DJ Hell and had their first significant success in 2003 with the track Young Love (Topless), later remixed and used in a Coca-Cola commercial. The duo continued performing together until 2007 when they broke up due to Ridha wanting to go solo, and thus Boys Noize was born. 






More DJs With Surprising Pasts

Noizu is a rapidly rising Los Angeles-based DJ and producer who is known for his hard-hitting house hits that ignite any dancefloor he graces. His debut track, “Lasers,” landed on the Chris Lake and Skrillex curated 

 back in 2017, getting him off to a powerful start. With support from multiple electronic music legends at the earliest stages of his career, Noizu positioned himself on a path to the top. In just five years, he sits at the forefront of the American house music scene.

His debut caught the attention of French label boss Tchami, who signed his follow-up release, 

 EP, to his Confession imprint in 2017. The next year brought even more notable attention to Noizu’s music, with his 2018 singles “LFO” and “Wavey” gaining massive support from Sirius XM’s Diplo Revolution station, with hundreds of radio plays.

With credibility from many industry-leading names, Noizu landed his first official remix with DJ Snake on his smash hit “A Different Way.” This track now boasts over 8 million Spotify streams. His most popular tracks have hit upwards of 57 million Spotify streams, with over 2 million monthly listeners. He’s also remixed the likes of Tchami and Valentino Khan, as well as being remixed by 220 KID, ATTLAS, Vowed, and many rising artists.

Noizu has always been a champion for other rising talent. He always releases stems post-release to allow other young producers to remix his work. Many of these tracks have been released as official remixes. In 2018, he took this support to the next level by opening his own record label, Techné Records, giving a platform to new talent globally.

The debut release on Techné Records got the label off to a powerful start. In collaboration with Dombresky, “Rave Alarm” became an instant festival anthem and worldwide hit. It was named the “Hottest Record of the World” by Annie Mac for BBC Radio 1 as well as being a top 10 Aria club track in Australia.

With a strong foundation from the start, Noizu has gained support from many renowned names in dance music like FISHER, Green Velvet, and Claude VonStroke as well as collaborating with the likes of Martin Ikin, Disciples, and Eli Brown.

Noizu has performed at many of the largest festivals in the world, including EDC Las Vegas, Beyond Wonderland, Lollapalooza, Hard Summer, and Electric Zoo. Keeping a busy touring schedule, Noizu is set to play shows in Canada, Miami, Belgium, Los Angeles, New Mexico, and more this year.

Noizu

Articles

Carolina Quijano