Cleveland native Dan Curtin has been almost single-handedly putting his hometown on the international techno map since 1992, when he first began releasing hard yet intelligent tracks on labels such as 33 RPM and Buzz. Early Curtin releases, including the EPs "3rd From the Sun" and "Tales From the 2nd Moon," reflect his love of stargazing, but the one constant that drives his work is a steadfast refusal to travel any musical road twice. Judging by the international acclaim that he has received over the last decade, that approach has not failed him yet. He's built a substantial catalog of releases on techno labels like Peacefrog, Sublime, Paper, and Elypsia, and his funk sensibilities have even convinced New York's legendary house label Strictly Rhythm to release a few of his singles as well, proving that he is nothing if not versatile. As if that weren't enough, he has a flurry of releases planned for the next few months, including a single for Catalyst and a full-length for Nepenta, both under his Purveyors of Fine Funk alias. Curtin has also been nurturing his own label, Metamorphic Recordings, since he started in '92, helping artists like Morgan Geist and Columbus resident Titonton Duvante get into the game. His productions have earned him high-profile DJ gigs all over the globe, including dates at Berlin's Love Parade, the Liquid Room in Tokyo, and a night in Dublin headlining a bill that featured British techno-electro heavyweights Andrew Weatherall and Keith Tenniswood. So after all these years, you'd think Curtin would be better known here. Yet Curtin, who plays to thousands wherever he travels, will likely draw only the most dedicated techno and house enthusiasts when he gets into the mix at Touch Supper Club this Saturday. Nevertheless, his set should offer a profound pastiche of current deep house and techno flavors, with plenty of surprises along the way.
