Ethyl

Ethyl (Quintessentials, Cecille)

Also booking as Ethyl & Huxley

In a world where all you have to do is extend an arm, and you're guaranteed to touch a DJ, it's difficult to be different and even harder to get noticed. To be able to do both takes single-mindedness, passion, enthusiasm and authenticity - all things that Ethyl has without even trying.

Ethyl, otherwise known as Hertfordshire DJ and producer Tim Hopgood. has been playing and making music much longer than you'd expect for a 26-year-old. Originally a teenage garage fan, then a sound-engineering graduate, over the years Ethyl's tastes and productions have matured and diversified. First came his early tech house releases with old school pal Huxley on the then revered Cécille imprint; now his current productions and DJ sets weave effortlessly between deep house and techno, and sit comfortably somewhere between the two.

A serious record collector - an obsession that predates the current hype for vinyl - Ethyl's DJ sets mix old and new music and, naturally, a variety of sounds, with a straightforward focus on the needs of the dance floor. It's this combination that has confirmed him as a regular visitor to respected parties and clubs such as Fabric, Freerotation, secretsundaze, Arma17 in Moscow, Vienna's Pratersauna, Space in Ibiza, Barcelona's La Terrazza, among others, and of course, his place on The Secret Agency DJ roster.

Productionwise his most recent releases have included a track on the latest Praterei EP as well as a double A-side with sometime studio and DJ partner Flori. In the past Ethyl's released tracks on Tsuba, Quintissentials and Secretsundaze. More recently there have been well-received remixes for The Rhythm Odyssey, Leif and Fold on ManMakeMusic.

Can Ethyl sum up his own sound? "I can go hard, or deep, but I always try to be a bit hypnotic and groovy," he says. "But i usually get bored and start mucking around." Something, in Ethyl's case, that's to be thoroughly encouraged.