Daniel Wang

An outspoken veteran dance-music producer and a theremin enthusiast, Daniel Wang has trotted around the globe since his early youth; has soaked up numerous club scenes; and has started his own label as an outlet for his imaginative, bold productions. Wang was born in Tibet and spent bits of his childhood in Taiwan and California. In the late '80s, he moved to New York to attend college and fell in with the club scene, eventually becoming involved as a house and disco DJ. Upon relocating to San Francisco after graduation, Wang grew restless with the prevailing dance trends, which favored aggression and repetition over fun and diversity. Wang headed east to Chicago, where he became acquaintances of several locals who were house heads since the music's inception. Anxious to get club gigs, he decided to make the wildest sample-based 12" he possibly could in order to gain attention. As a result, he started Balihu, which became his primary outlet. Wang also struck up a close relationship with Morgan Geist, who has issued a handful of productions for him on his Environ label, including Idealism, a full-length album released in 2000. Additionally, Oxygen Music Works released I Was a Disco Malcontent, a CD compilation of the Balihu discography in 1996. Since 1996, Wang has abandoned the use of samples altogether in an effort to emulate the producers who have inspired him.