As a teen equally transfixed by Mojo and Wizard cassettes and Minor Threat 7”s, Derek Plaslaiko followed the beats from his hometown 20 miles south of Detroit to the epicenter of Detroit techno, then enjoying its third wave of success. He quietly paid his dues on Detroit’s rave circuit, and was a crucial piece of the puzzle for the legendary Poorboy and Analog parties of the mid-nineties. He quickly earned a reputation for forward thinking DJ sets that were clinical, sophisticated and extremely sensual. This combination resulted in a residency for Family, the weekly party at Detroit’s Motor.

With a reputation for high energy sets that were versatile and tasteful, Plaslaiko slowly became in demand on the Midwestern club circuit; sharing the stage with such techno luminares as John Acquaviva, Kevin Saunderson, Richardo Villalobos, Baby Ford, and Matthew Herbert. It was also during that time Plaslaiko was asked by Carl Craig to perform at the inaugural edition of the Detroit Electronic Music Festival. In 2003, Plaslaiko became part of the original team of DJs at Detroit’s Untitled parties, sharing a residency with Tadd Mullinix (aka James T. Cotton), Matthew Dear and Mike Servito. In 2004 he made the decision to head east and set up camp in New York City, determined to bring a slice of the Motor City to the Big Apple.

Considered by may to be one of the best DJs in New York City (including the Village Voice, who named him “New York’s Best Techno DJ” in 2006), Derek Plaslaiko toured the US in the first half of 2009 to promote the mix he recently made that was released as part of the “Spectral 50″ compilation recently released by Spectral Sound. 2008 was a big year for Derek, with a successful 20 city Spectral Residency tour of the US, extremely well received podcasts for Resident Advisor and XLR8R, many amazing sets at the infamous Bunker party in Brooklyn, and the launch of his own GO! residency at APT.