Jan Mikulin: the story so far…

These days, reputation is everything… well, reputation and consistency. So it’s good to know that for the last four years, Jan has been consistently developing his reputation for being able to deliver. But deliver what exactly? Superb service; frenetic fun; devilishly deep, smoulderingly soulful and energetically emotive vibes in a patient and professional manner.

Jan counts himself as a privileged performer, having played back-to-back with 2ManyDJs and shared the billing with the likes of Erick Morrillo; Pete Tong; Claude Von Stroke; Paul Harris (Dirty Vegas); Stonebridge; Kosheen; Herd & Fitz and The Soul Avengers. He had a quarterly residency at Ministry of Sound (London), held a monthly residency at The Cross and played at Turnmills (The Gallery) before their untimely demise.

While these shared billings have been a sign of Jan’s growing success with club owners and promoters, Jan is most proud of something else. For Jan, the connection between DJ and crowd is pivotal… it’s the key to creating the kind of experience that people enjoy, remember and want to talk about for a long time. Described by some as a ‘professional party-starter’, Jan enjoys nothing more than getting down with the crowd, before, during and after his set.

It was after one such gig that Jan got talking with a manager of a band who wanted this same energy and connectivity to be put to use on a remix. After a few conversations and enough time to immerse himself in the workings of the studio, Jan began his production career. Now Jan is set to connect with his audiences in a different way through his own unique take on the music he so loves.

The performing bug arrived early - at secondary school – when, as a member of the school choir, Jan regularly performed to sizeable audiences of up to two thousand. Despite this, he never saw himself as a full-time performer and certainly not in a musical field. It was only at Sheffield University that he thought there may be a way for him to express his musical yearnings.

The first contextual experience of dance music for Jan came when he saw Danny Rampling DJing at the infamous Club Bed. It was here, with Daft Punk’s ‘One More Time’ pulsating through the very fabric of his being and those around him, that Jan fell head-over-heels in love with ‘something’… the uninhibited passion and energy created by the incessant beats and melodies of house.

To fully drink in the vibes, beats, smiles and moves that gave him so much pleasure and energy, Jan travelled the country and beyond. In the summer of 2002 he realised he wanted to be a more integral part of the scene… and bought his first set of decks.

After months hitting his head against a wall, trying to master beat-matching, Jan almost gave up on DJing. It was only after a DJ friend gave him an afternoon’s tuition in exchange for a 6-pack of Stella that things started to make sense. (Jan still regards this as the best investment of his life)! He still saw it as a hobby until the death of his dad in 2006, when he realised that music was his life and his dream and that he should do whatever it took to make it a reality.

Pinpointing where his musical heart lies has been Jan’s focus ever since. With such a diverse musical heritage as his, it is no wonder that it has taken a trip into the ubiquitous wilderness (for a little more than the prescribed 40 nights) to connect the dots and build a sound that plucks all his various heart-strings.

Born in Salford, Manchester in 1979, Jan has always been surrounded by music (even before leaving the womb) and was exposed to a wide variety of styles throughout his childhood and adolescence. His mum (half Venezuelan) was a massive Motown, soul and 60s pop fan; his dad (Polish by blood and a frustrated musician) was crazy about classical music, jazz, blues and rock.

How then to combine these eclectic musical influences? How to pull in the musicality and complex composition of his classical experiences… the dance floor oriented soul, disco and pop of the 60s and 70s… the swing and groove of jazz… and the high energy clamour of rock.

The result is a distinctive musical mêlée… a place that is home to each of these musical expressions, tying them all up into a bundle of bad-ass, deep, eroto-funk grooves… that is fast becoming Jan’s signature sound.