Rico South (NL)

Patience seems to be a virtue. While starting out as a substitute dj in a small dutch pub in 2006, Rico now has a promising career as a DJ and producer with international stature. At a young age music influenced him. His mother performed as a lead singer in a jazz band and Rico used to play with the instruments during practices. This led to an early interest in music. At the age of sixteen he started playing in a local Dutch pub. During his early time there he learned how to respond and adapt to the crowd and interact with them. He gained technical skills, and perhaps more importantly: the capability to create a balance between contemporary music and new musical influences; always making sure people “just have a good time”. Several venue owners noticed his talent and as a result of this Rico was soon given opportunities to play for larger crowds, while maintaining a party and ‘feelgood’ atmosphere. Gifted with being able to read his crowds, Rico slowly grew more popular as a DJ. While most DJ’s focus on one genre in particular, Rico has always had a different mentality: “why focus on one thing if you can have it all”. Anything from Reggae to Hardstyle, or R’n’B to House music; he selects his tracks with careful precision, aiming to please the crowd, creating that ‘wow’ effect. Because of his wide musical taste and style, at an early point in his career he had already played with and got in touch with DJ’s like Real El Canario, Sidney Samson, The Partysquad, Jean, 100% Isis, The Flexican and Irwan. As the eclectic music genre became increasingly popular, more and more DJ’s became active in the genre. Rico has always managed to separate himself from others, by playing, what is in essence a medley, creating an energetic, ever evolving and organic set, taking the people on a musical trip through different styles and genres. Internationally, his talent has also been picked up. Since 2007 till date, Rico has been a resident disc jockey during summer at a club in Chersonissos, Greece. In 2012 this led to a new highlight in his career: he became resident dj at Starbeach, Chersonissos, Greece. To even further distinguish his style from other DJ’s he started producing his own tracks and remixes, which are supported by mainstream DJ’s like The Flexican, Real El Canario, The Partysquad and Irwan. This ultimately led to the international support of Grammy winner and DJ/Producer Diplo (US). Rico is patient and passionate about exploring and playing music in all it’s forms. He is eager to further develop his style, all the while keeping in mind where he once started. The question is: are we defined by what we do, or is what we do defined by who we are?