Frantz

The first record he bought was Alan Braxe’s “Vertigo” on Roulé, showing early signs of his sophisticated tastes. Circa 2000, one of Frantz’s Astralwerks bosses taught him how to spin vinyl, and after just a couple of lessons he was off and running. Following a heavy UKG and dubstep phase he eventually came around to disco, eschewing more commercial modern fare in favour of esoteric ‘70s releases.

Working at the The Thing vintage and record store in Greenpoint deepened Frantz’s appreciation of New York classics, Chicago house, Detroit techno, Italo, and synth pop, and is also where he met a gang of fellow music nerds with whom he played his earliest gigs at East River Bar in Williamsburg. A few radio mixes came next, including a hot live mix for “A Downtown Affair” on WNYU showcasing Frantz’s sweetest spot —obscure but alluring disco cuts that spark dancefloor abandon. His own production work, including a disco-sleaze edit released on Death on Wax, seeks to do the same.

During five years spent in Mexico City, Frantz played all the coveted parties and clubs including Sunday Sunday, Yu Yu, Departamento, Pervert, and Por Detroit. He also nabbed a slot at the inaugural edition of Fascinoma Festival, headlined by Larry Heard, DāM-FunK, Kode9 and Galcher Lustwerk, regularly appeared on Aire Libre FM radio station and was tapped to play private events for clients including Apple Music x Soho House, Vans, and a variety of Mexican-based brands.

While briefly living in Europe, he played a beach bar in Napoli (with Paris-based Pitaya Soundsystem) and Berlin house parties when the pandemic permitted it, then headed back to New York with renewed focus on scaling up his DJing around the city (Paragon & FERAL, a leatherqueer fetish night where he indulged his love of industrial, EBM and post-punk) while daytiming as a buyer at Academy Records in the East Village.

In 2023, Frantz forged a four-strong collective called Dancers Trust, throwing intimate club nights for discerning ears. In 2024, Frantz enjoyed his biggest year to date, DJing at Nowadays (Outdoors), Elsewhere, Milagrosa, a Tiki Disco afterparty at Gabriela, and getting booked to play at boutique private parties interstate. His popular mid-year mix for There Is No Planet Earth was a spicy, genre-jumping exhibit of Frantz at his eclectic best, and he capped off the year with an appearance on Joshua Cordova's Memory Screen on Tbilisi-based Mutant Radio.

Whether he’s playing heavy disco, percussion-laden techno, house, or ravey breaks, Frantz is guided by one key principle — never be lukewarm about anything. If he doesn’t love it, you won’t hear it. If he does, chances are you’ll love it too.