Embracing the mantra “Stay Young. Love Techno.,” Agent Orange DJ has solidified his standing as an internationally acclaimed producer and dynamic live DJ. Honing his craft amidst the iconic rave and club scene of 90s New York City, Agent Orange DJ has dedicated himself to disseminating his unique blend of cutting-edge Techno and House music across global dance floors. Throughout the years, he has tirelessly worked to establish his reputation as a thrilling live performer and a trailblazer in shaping the landscape of both the music and culture.

Characterized by a RAW and JACKING style, Agent Orange DJ has entranced the most discerning ears in the industry, earning him recognition on elite labels within his genre, including Tronic, Suara, Elevate, Transmit, and Nervous. His impressive remix portfolio features collaborations with legends such as Carl Cox, DJ Rush, Josh Wink, Armand Van Helden, Todd Terry, Chus & Ceballos, Ken Ishii, and many more. In his own words, Agent Orange articulates, “Stay Young. Love Techno. encapsulates who I am. It’s not merely about a specific genre; it’s an ethos, a guiding principle that embodies a lifestyle where our passion for the things we love keeps us tethered to our own youthful energy.” Check out our interview with Agent Orange DJ Below:

---

Classic Entourage Magazine: Your journey began during the legendary 90s era of New York City’s rave and club scene. How did that environment influence your development as a techno artist, and how does it continue to inspire your work today?

Agent Orange: Growing up in the 70s, 80s and 90s in New York City, it was an incredibly vibrant time in culture and music and especially electronic music. There were new sounds coming from every direction, Disco, Rap, Electro, New Wave, House music, and new musical instruments like synthesizers and samplers. Pair that with lots of cultural influences from across the planet and some of the best clubs and nightlife in the world. It was quite the melting pot and these were my first exposures to sounds I picked up on as a kid. The electro-based rap music which would lead me to House music, eventually Techno and everything else.

CE Mag: “Stay Young. Love Techno.” is your motto. Can you elaborate on how this mantra shapes not only your musical approach but also your lifestyle and connection to your own youthful energy?

Agent Orange: Stay Young love techno came about around the year 2000 when I started the Gotham Grooves label with my brother Deekron. I was working at Satellite records the biggest record shop in New York City for electronic music. My friend Dijon and I had to come up with the term to describe the feeling when we got from living life clubbing, raving, traveling for these things and meeting people from around the world that shared similar passions in music and all that came with being in a social scene. It felt timeless in a way, a pure feeling that could live for ever if you respected it.

CE Mag: As a committed advocate for spreading your fusion of cutting-edge Techno and House music globally, can you share some memorable experiences or challenges you’ve faced while taking your music to different dance floors around the world?

Agent Orange: In the 90s, in the US, when the rave scene was taking off, there were a lot of clubs that didn’t want Electronic and even Techno music. It was a challenge to be taken seriously, to get gigs, and even put on events. We invested all of our time, money, and efforts into spreading the scene and making this music more popular as it was in Europe. It was really underground here and it was quite a struggle. We never thought if would become the most mainstream genre as it is now!

CE Mag: Your RAW and JACKING style has captivated industry professionals. How would you describe the evolution of your sound over the years, and what elements do you believe contribute to its distinctive character?

Agent Orange: I started DJing in the early 90s at house parties, birthday parties, weddings, around the neighborhood at community centers, wherever I could and it was all genres and mostly commercial music for those crowds. Then in the mid 90s I discovered the underground clubs and rave scene in NYC and it was pretty much all electronic music after that. My hardcore love of Techno began on NYE 1999 in Montreal at a party called Celebration 99 where I saw Richie Hawtin, who was quickly becoming my favorite artist because of his Decks, FX, 909 mix cd release, John Acquaviva who was fulfilling my House passions and Jeff Mills for the first time who just completely blew me away. His technical skills were jaw dropping and the music he was playing sucked me right in!

A lot of my current Techno sound is based on my early influences from New York and Chicago House music, which dew from Disco, Soul, Funk, Rap and New Wave. I pull vibes from there and blend them with hard groovy beats on 3 decks, which keeps the energy high and driving. When I can I try to add a sampler or synths to keep things unique and fun.

CE Mag: Having released on top labels like Tronic, Suara, Elevate, Transmit, and Nervous, how do you approach collaboration with these influential platforms, and what impact has it had on your artistic growth?

Agent Orange: Working with bigger labels is great because it definitely helps your music to be heard by more people, DJs, and even can get a lot of play from bigger DJs, which, of course helps with exposure. I stop doing my label Gotham Grooves around 2010 due to lack of time, so it’s nice to have big labels I can work with still.

CE Mag: Your remix portfolio includes collaborations with legends such as Carl Cox, DJ Rush, Josh Wink, Armand Van Helden, Todd Terry, Chus & Ceballos, and Ken Ishii. How do these collaborations come to life, and what challenges and rewards do you find in reinterpreting the work of fellow industry icons?

Agent Orange: “The Remix” is one of the main reasons I got into DJing. In the late 80s I would go to neighborhood parties and hear these mysterious alternate versions of stuff that I knew from the radio. That really excited me. The concept of taking some thing, putting your own twist on it while keeping the essence of the original. That’s why I started my rework projects in 2018 which got tons of traction in 2018 & 2019. Every week I was seeing videos of my reworks for getting played at festivals around the world by the biggest DJs. From my Armand Van Helden “Witch Doktor rework” to my Josh Wink “Don’t Laugh rework” and my Todd Terry “Sume Sigh Say rework” that I did with Alexander Technique.

They’re lots of fun to make and play. Dropping a new version of something people already know and seeing them gaining back at me from the dancefloor, that gets me going still! I have slowed down with releasing them since I feel like at this point there are a lot of cheaply made rip offs coming out, for now they will be my own secret weapons.

CE Mag: What inspired you to become a live performer, and how do you ensure that your live sets are not just musically exciting but also visually engaging for your audience?

Agent Orange: At the moment I’ve gotten some great attention for some of the crazy videos that I started doing on my social media, Instagram, and Facebook and TikTok pages. It’s a series called Flipped Out, where I take interviews of people saying some some club or DJ culture related bits that they say. usually, it’s something silly or something taken out of context for comedic effect. I chop up the audio and drop it in my sampler and make a beat while some memes play over them. Silly but fun stuff and I feel it’s more creative and better than just posting selfies or things like that haha.

I’ve started to put together a show whereas I’m creating the tracks, each sampler pad triggers a video clip, like a voice or sound, which will play on a screen live. It’s a lot of work and it’s kind of intensive but I think it’s gonna be something cool and creative. The future is audio with video.

“I try to keep my ear to the ground. I’d like to stay true to my roots because those sounds make me happy but I also don’t like repeating myself. I see some producers have a sound and they make 20 tracks that sound exactly the same.“

Agent Orange

CE Mag: Can you share some insights into your creative process as a producer? How do you balance staying true to your signature sound while pushing the boundaries of innovation in the techno and house music genres?

Agent Orange: I love the producing process, it’s a release for me. It’s an outlet for all kinds of energy. It helps me deal with the crazy things that exist in this world, so I just get inspiration from what is currently going in my life. Also I get inspiration from other music. I love listening to all kinds of music I’m a huge 60s rock, 70s hard rock, Dub, Balkan music, Armenian music, Funk new and old like James Brown. That’s where a lot of my influence and inspiration comes from.

CE Mag: Techno and house music are constantly evolving genres. In what ways do you see yourself as a pioneer and architect of music and culture, and how do you stay ahead of the curve in this dynamic industry?

Agent Orange: I try to keep my ear to the ground. I’d like to stay true to my roots because those sounds make me happy but I also don’t like repeating myself. I see some producers have a sound and they make 20 tracks that sound exactly the same. I don’t really like to do that. I know from a marketing standpoint it’s good but I get kind of bored.

DJing wise I’d like to add new creative elements to my sets. Right now I’m working on a Techno Dub siren, using a MOOG Mother 32 and a Space Echo pedal, with some guitar pedals like distortion and fx. As a DJ I play for the party (in the moment), I generally don’t play like an artist (specific vision). I also feel it’s important to educate the crowd with the history of this music, so I always try to balance it out.

CE Mag: Looking towards the future, what goals or projects are on the horizon for Agent Orange, and how do you envision the role of techno in the global music landscape in the years to come?

Agent Orange: I’m currently closing an ep for Ramon Tapia’s Say What? and I have some potentially tracks for another ep on Christian Smith’s Tronic later this year if all goes well. Then some top-secret release and some gigs coming up in Europe and the US, check my socials for info.

I plan to keep making interesting and different Techno/DJ/music related social media content, to show people that there is a better way than just copying what gets clicks for others. Be a Musician, DJ, Artist that influences other because they inspired them through their art, not and “influencer” who does music just for fame or content. Passion over fashion… and last but not least, as always, Stay Young. Love Techno.

Make sure to follow Agent Orange on Soundcloud and Instagram

---

As always like, share and follow our articles.