Orlando Voorn

Orlando Voorn is a Dutch DJ and producer with strong ties to Detroit. He was one of dance music’s first figures to establish a connection between Amsterdam and the Motor City during the early ’90s, releasing landmark records on Kevin Saunderson’s KMS and Derrick May’s Fragile Records, as well as collaborations with Juan Atkins and Blake Baxter. Though he is often known for making Detroit-style techno and deep house, his vast, multi-monikered discography contains diversions into numerous styles including acid, hardcore, tribal house, and electro-funk. Voorn ventured into drum’n’bass with 1999′s Redeye, his first album under his own name. During the 2000s, he relocated to Detroit and became part of Underground Resistance’s Submerge family, issuing material on his Ignitor imprint. He returned to his hip-hop roots with 2013′s La Cliqa, and continued releasing exploratory techno and house records such as 2016′s In My World and the more abstract, space-themed Star Travel (2021). In 2023, Voorn collaborated with fellow Dutch artist Emil on two soulful house EPs, Heist Mastercuts, Pt. 2 (also featuring Chicago legend Boo Williams) and Handshake.
Born in Amsterdam in 1968, Orlando Voorn began to DJ with hip-hop and electro records when he was around 12, and started entering mix competitions a few years later. He won the Dutch DMC DJ Championship in 1986 and placed third in the worldwide competition. He soon began producing hip-hop as Fixomatic, releasing the single “Hurt ‘Em Bad” in 1988, followed by an acid house single as X-It (1989’s “Keep the Party Goin’“) and the hip-house song “Let’s Rock This Party” as Trigger in 1990. He then began releasing more rave-friendly records as Frequency, the Nighttripper, and Format. His work soon caught the attention of Detroit techno pioneers Juan Atkins, who flew to Holland and worked with Voorn on a remix of the Frequency track “Industrial Metal,” and Blake Baxter, who collaborated with Voorn as Ghetto Brothers. Voorn visited Detroit for the first time in 1992, and was immediately treated like family by the city’s techno community. Kevin Saunderson’s KMS released Voorn’s classic 1992 single “Flash” (under the name Fix), and “Midi Merge” (as Complex) was issued by Derrick May’s Fragile Records in 1993. Further releases appeared under names like Limited Edition, Basic Bastard, and Hammerhead (a one-off hardcore EP for Amsterdam’s Mokum Records). Voorn founded the Night Vision label in 1994 and released the home listening album Roomservice as the Living Room, in addition to club singles under yet more pseudonyms like Baruka and Defence.
Voorn released Hot Wax, Vol 1: Floorwax, a mix compilation with Chicago house pioneer DJ Pierre, in 1995; it was later issued in North America as Global House Culture, Vol. 3. “In da Jungle,” a tribal house single first released under the name Playboy in 1996, became one of Voorn’s biggest club tracks and was remixed numerous times over the years. A full-length by Voorn’s alias the Nighttripper, simply titled The Album, appeared in 1997. As Maniax Traxxx, he released singles on Satori Records and its parent label, R&S. Another moniker, the Stalker, released the full-length The Riderman on Voorn’s short-lived Slamdunk imprint in 1999. The first full-length under Voorn’s own name, Redeye, was a surprising excursion into drum’n’bass and breakbeat. The double-CD Best of Nightvision rounded up key tracks from Voorn’s myriad projects.
Following a highly productive decade-plus release schedule, Voorn was forced into hiatus for contractual reasons. He relocated to Detroit and re-emerged in 2003, founding the Submerge-distributed Ignitor imprint and releasing Fix and Basic Bastard singles, as well as reissues of some of his best-known tracks. The Submerge-issued CD Ignitor compiled tracks issued through the label. Voorn also participated in Blak Presidents, a UR-related funk-rock supergroup who released the album Fight the Future in 2007. Though still active with numerous aliases, Voorn became even more productive under his own name than before, releasing singles on labels like R&S, Underground Liberation, and Finest Blend Recordings. He relaunched Night Vision near the end of the decade, issuing singles including the Barack Obama-sampling “Yes We Can!”
Remaining as prolific as ever, Voorn began releasing full-lengths more frequently during the 2010s. Divine Intervention was issued by Subwax Excursions in 2013, while La Cliqa, a long-in-the-works hip-hop album, appeared on Vital Force. Voorn continued releasing exploratory techno albums like 2014’s Black Diamond (Out-Er) and 2016′s Divine Intervention V.2 (Subwax Excursions) and In My World (Rush Hour). Labels like Musique pour la Danse and Eat More House issued collections of Voorn’s older material, with the latter releasing Basic Bastard’s The Album. Mind Merge, a full collaboration between Voorn’s Frequency alias and Juan Atkins, was issued by Out-Er in 2017. Revisiting another early Detroit connection, Voorn released the Onis EP (with Pushmann) on KMS. Collabs 001, a house LP including co-productions by artists including Santonio Echols and Denizo, was issued by Housewax in 2018. The Luca Lozano collaboration Obey the Night (Multiplex) and the Rejected City EP on E-Beamz were among several Voorn releases in 2019.
Settled back in Holland, Voorn kept up his productive pace into the 2020s, with releases like Moments in Magic (Goldmin Music) and the funk-heavy house album The Master (Contrafact). Jeff Mills’ Axis released Voorn’s experimental album Star Travel in 2021. Voorn also surfaced on Kompakt with 2021’s Internal Destination, followed by 2022′s So Deep. His Nighttripper Records released Planet Odnalro in 2022. A pair of Heist Mastercuts EPs appeared on Dam Swindle’s Heist label, with the second including collaborations with Chicago’s Boo Williams and Holland’s Emil. Also in 2023, Voorn released “I’m So Detroit” (“you better ask Michael Banks”), an EP titled Outerworld which flirted with trap, and a full EP with Emil titled Handshake. ~ Paul Simpson