To stand out in a sea of whats seem to be waves of static and replication, Troy Beetles, professionally known as Datsik, knows what it takes to dominate dance loors with his no holds barred musical persona. With his powerful take on dubstep, this Kelowna, British Columbia born producer and DJ is an unstoppable force of shear heaviness.
Datsik has time and time again released chart toppers laced with enough bass and aggression to turn the club into an all out circle pit. He makes it a point to channel his influences through hip hop elements and blends it into his future tech bass style, which results in a sound that he refers to
as “dark and robotic”. Although his first release was just a few years ago, he has come quite a long way.
Since his first release in 2009, Datsik has become internationally known and has consistently seen multiple releases hit the number 1 spot on websites such as Beatport and Chemical-Records. His style has not only captivated fans of dubstep, but it has also caught the attention of a few artists outside of the rising genre. When artists take notice of another
producer that they feel would compliment their own style, one could only wish to someday work with them on a collaborative effort. That being said, collaborations are a great way for producers to reach from what they know, and expand their audience by working with other artists. While not all collaborations are widely received by diehard fans of any given producer, Datsik seems to have chosen his collaborations wisely.
He has collaborated with big name artists such as Flux Pavilion, Excision, Downlink, Infected.
Mushroom, Jonathan Davis of Korn, and Kill the Noise. A few of his collaborative tracks include “King Kong” by Bare & Datsik – Subhuman, “Fully Blown” featuring Snak the Ripper – Dim Mak Records, and “Evilution” featuring Jonathan Davis and Infected Mushroom – Dim Mak Records.
In 2012, DATSIK unleashed unto the world, his “haven” for artists alike, Firepower Records. With his record label, he is able to promote and guide
producers that he believes resonate with his style. Although Datsik is just shy of 27 years old, he has proven to be a fun loving artist with the spunk of a stern businessman. The first release on Firepower Records was an extremely heavy ten-song EP produced AFK & Hizzleguy, titled Full Clip.
Soon after that, Firepower Records released EPs by other dance floor smashing artists such as Getter, Rekoil, and Terravita. While most record labels seem to intimidate up and coming producers, Datsik has embraced the idea of accepting submissions to Firepower Records, via AIM and email. But rest assured, with every release on Firepower Records,
Datsik wants the fans to know that “when we’re putting out a track or EP it’s going to be a smasher.”
As for his live shows, Datsik never seems to disappoint the audience with his monstrous sound and carefully crafted mixes which include tracks from various genres ranging from dubstep to hip hop, moombahton to drumstep and beyond. Fans of Datsik’s playing style might be interested to know that he performs with a DJM 900 midi mapped through Ableton, with a custom mapping, and a Launchpad. This allows for him to use the effects through Ableton that aren’t accessible through a typical DJ mixer or turntables.
His sets stand the test of the current state of dubstep aficionados, further solidified by his constant appearances at festivals around the world which include Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas, Coachella, Ultra Music Festival, Shambhala Music Festival, and Stereosonic. Be sure to catch him playing at an event near you.
