Julien Auger found house music having already been a musician and DJ for some years. Having played in jazz and funk bands and then taking over the turntables for various Parisian hip hop crews, he was exposed to rave culture in the early 90s. The music Auger has produced since then – first as Trankilou and later as Pepe Bradock – undoubtedly betrays a massive depth and breadth of musical knowledge. But more importantly perhaps, his approach seems to reflect a mastery of many disciplines as it often combines the musicality of a jazz player with the sample-heavy eclecticism of hip hop head – all brought together with an understanding of ‘the groove’ that many house producers can only dream of. Pepe Bradock (with his idiosyncratic sound aesthetic) is undoubtedly one of the true ‘characters’ of dance music.

Check out his Red Bull Music Academy Mix here.