Botnek

Botnek is a Canadian EDM duo consisting of Gordon Huntley and Erick Muise. For much of the 2010s, the duo were known for making brash, rowdy electro-house tracks, with occasional forays into dubstep and drum’n’bass. Beginning with 2012′s Sriracha & Beer EP, Botnek released numerous tracks on Steve Aoki’s Dim Mak label, and gained attention for their remixes of hits by Martin Garrix and the Chainsmokers, as well as collaborations with artists like Snails, 3LAU, and Zedd. In 2017, however, they decided to refocus their energy and started making tracks in a more stripped-back house style, beginning with the single “Don’t Need U.”
Huntley and Muise met in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 2008. They bonded over house music and radio programs such as Pete Tong’s Essential Mix on BBC Radio 1, and they began making music together. Early releases such as 2010′s “If You Wanna” and 2011′s Plonk EP caught the attention of fidget house DJs such as Crookers and AC Slater, as well as Steve Aoki, who signed Botnek to Dim Mak Records. Sriracha & Beer appeared in 2012, and the duo’s international touring schedule continued to accelerate. Numerous additional singles appeared on Dim Mak, including 2013′s “I Know” and 2014′s “Vikings” (with 3LAU). However, the duo’s popularity exploded following their edit of Martin Garrix’s “Animals” and remix of the Chainsmokers’ “#SELFIE” (both in 2014). Botnek then worked with Zedd on the song “Bumble Bee” (released on the 2015 album True Colors) and collaborated with I See Monstas on the 2015 drum’n’bass track “Deeper Love” (issued by Monstercat). Two EPs, Connecting? and Buffering..., both appeared on Dim Mak in 2016. The duo also produced several tracks with Snails, including “Waffle House,” a 2017 release on Skrillex’s OWSLA imprint.
By the summer of 2017, however, Botnek had burned out on the more aggressive style of EDM they had been making. At the time, Muise was living in Seattle and Huntley had just relocated to Los Angeles, and the duo took some time to reconfigure the project. They formed their own World Famous Headquarters label and released tracks such as “Don’t Need U” and “Inside the Groove” which were more refined and DJ-friendly than their earlier tracks. The duo launched their World Famous Radio program in 2018, and began releasing material by other artists on their label. ~ Paul Simpson