DJ Reckless

DJ Reckless, born Marvin Matzerok in Berlin in 1980, has been building tracks on a Roland TR-808 and an E-mu SP 12 since 1994, routing his vocals through a vocoder until the machines themselves seem to be doing the rapping. His sound belongs to the Miami Bass tradition transplanted to Germany and run at higher voltage. The sub-frequencies go low enough that the 2026 vinyl edition of Reckless & der Bassklan ships with a printed disclaimer warning listeners about possible damage to their audio equipment. In 2006 he founded the independent label Reckless Records, signing Corus 86 first and later producing for Frauenarzt, Bass Sultan Hengzt, DJ Manny Marc, Fler, Blokkmonsta, MC Basstard, and Fresh Kid Ice. The Bassklan itself — a rotating cast of Frauenarzt, Chuky, Manny Marc, Mr. Long, Aci Krank, Smoky, Eismann Jörg, Machtwort, Jope, and Sady K — convenes across his party-rap records on one non-negotiable principle: the bass comes first, and the bass goes deep.