Derek Plaslaiko
also plays Berlin — 1 night
Many DJs have reputations defined by a certain place and time. Not so for Derek Plaslaiko, whose 20-year career behind the decks has seen him gather a loyal fan base wherever and whenever he may be.
Some will know Derek as a favorite of the mid-90s Detroit warehouse scene, which lead to a personal invite from Carl Craig to appear at the inaugural Detroit Electronic Music Festival in 2000. Others recognize him from his near decade-long residency at The Bunker New York parties, during which time he was named “Best Techno Party DJ” by the Village Voice in 2006. Then there was the summer of 2011 spent behind the decks at Berlin’s infamous Club der Visionaere, as an honorary resident at the weekly Visionquest nights—a worthy introduction to the city he now calls home.
Of late, there is a new generation of party people who will know Plaslaiko from his extended sets (up to 12 hours) in New York, Paris, Seattle, Los Angeles and Philadelphia, or his regular appearances at clubs like Tresor, Hot Mass, Beta, Output, Smart Bar and Berghain, and festivals like Decibel, Communikey and Movement. Or some who caught his name on the flier for the No Way Back series of parties put on by Interdimensional Transmissions, the Detroit imprint that has put out several of Plaslaiko’s rare original releases, along with Perc Trax and Minus.
The rest of it — three more paragraphs
There are tens of thousands of others who caught on to Plaslaiko following his record-breaking 12-hour Boiler Room set, where he gave viewers a look into his living room, while friends and friend’s toddlers enjoyed the day. This landmark session properly archived the full Plaslaiko musical experience, from flawless house and techno, to hip-hop, classic rock, and whatever other musical moment this life-long record obsessive chooses to share. And let’s not forget the thousands of folks who have befriended Plaslaiko while sharing the dance floor with this committed clubber who refuses to hang out in the booth and will always skip the DJ dinner in favor of catching one of his peers behind the decks.
Wherever one picks up Plaslaiko’s story, maybe during his days dealing discs in Detroit’s famed Record Time dance room or possibly the years spent moving serious weight at Watts and Syntax Distribution, the one constant is top-shelf musical taste, as defined by Plaslaiko’s personal heroes—names like Laurent Garnier, Daniel Bell and Zip, and colleagues including Carlos Souffront, Jason Kendig and Mike Servito—and a passion for music that over-rides the usual trappings of the modern DJ industry.
This may mean to some that Plaslaiko is still unsung. But for those who know better (and there are many all over the world), praise for Derek has been sung for decades.
Their Resident Advisor profile, in full and unedited.
Records out on M-nus, Spectral Sound, Perc Trax, Anozer, Blank Artists, Interdimensional Transmissions, From 0-1, dame-music, Acoustic Division and Make Mistakes. — their own list on Resident Advisor
The nights
- Sat 14 NovNowadaysfirst time · Interdimensional Transmissions, The Bunker New York303 going
2025
- Sat 18 Oct 2025room not announcedInterdimensional Transmissions, The Bunker New York
- Sat 3 May 2025TBA - TV FactoryKay Gabriel
2024 — 1 night
- Sun 10 Nov 2024The Chocolate Factorytheir 2nd night · Interdimensional Transmissions, The Bunker New York
2023 — 1 night
- Sat 18 Nov 2023The Chocolate Factoryfirst time · Interdimensional Transmissions, The Bunker New York
Their rooms
One tick a night, on the one axis this page has — Aug 2023, where the listings start, to Jan 2027, the last night anybody has announced. The shaded end has not happened yet.
- The Chocolate FactoryNov 2023 – Nov 20242 nights
Two of the 5 listings never named a room, and are not counted as one.
Who they play with
Counted from the bills themselves, over bills of twelve names or fewer. A pair's count includes a night that is announced and not yet played; where there is one, the row says when.
- BMGThe Chocolate Factory ×2, and 2 more rooms · Nov 2023 – Nov 2026 · together again Sat 14 Nov4 nights
- Bryan KasenicThe Chocolate Factory ×2, and 2 more rooms · Nov 2023 – Nov 2026 · together again Sat 14 Nov4 nights
- Carlos SouffrontThe Chocolate Factory ×2, and 2 more rooms · Nov 2023 – Nov 2026 · together again Sat 14 Nov4 nights
- ErikaThe Chocolate Factory ×2, and 2 more rooms · Nov 2023 – Nov 2026 · together again Sat 14 Nov4 nights
- Mike ServitoThe Chocolate Factory ×2, and 2 more rooms · Nov 2023 – Nov 2026 · together again Sat 14 Nov4 nights
- Patrick RussellThe Chocolate Factory ×2, and 2 more rooms · Nov 2023 – Nov 2026 · together again Sat 14 Nov4 nights
- Scott Zachariasan unnamed room ×1, Nowadays ×1, and 1 more room · Nov 2023 – Nov 2026 · together again Sat 14 Nov3 nights
- Jeffrey Sfirean unnamed room ×1, The Chocolate Factory ×1 · Nov 2024 – May 20252 nights
The nights, the rooms and the bills are the listings themselves. The biography, the labels and the photograph are Resident Advisor's. Nothing on this page was written for it.