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b'@xdb is Kosta Athanassiadis \\u2013 German by birth and in residence, with Greek parentage. His roots are in the central German town of Go\\u0308ttingen. It was here that he began DJing in the early nineties; where he worked in a record shop; where he ran a radio show for five years; and the base from which he established the Metrolux record label in 2006.\\nFor many people, it was at this point that XDB appeared on their radar. His debut \\u2018Jackintosh EP\\u2019 and the following \\u2018Descap EP\\u2019 made a splash with heads, but whilst the shimmering dub techno moments were perhaps the most obvious hook, subsequent tracks defied easy categorisation \\u2013 an early indication that the person behind the music took a broad view of electronic music, caring not for stylistic pigeonholes.\\nFurther releases mapped out more of a defined aesthetic for the label, with XDB\\u2019s own work sitting alongside contributions from Atheus and Arne Weinberg. By 2007, Kosta\\u2019s music had caught the ear of other outlets; including Francois Kevorkian\\u2019s Deep Space Media (a sublabel of Wave Music) licensed \\u2018Descap\\u2019 and \\u2018Descap live\\u2019 for re-release. @brendonmoeller was the A&R at that time and a 4 track EP on Wave Music followed in 2009.\\nThe same year, @p-scott put out the first XDB release on his own @sistrum-recordings, which saw Kosta tailoring his output to a cleaner, more Detroit-inflected sound. In tandem with his production work, XDB the DJ was coming into his own. An avid collector of vinyl since his childhood (Kosta\\u2019s collection presently numbers some 10,000 records); he had honed his craft in clubs and on the radio \\u2013 mixing monthly on his own \\u2018Case Check\\u2019 show. 2008 brought an early highlight \\u2013 spinning at Japan\\u2019s lauded Labyrinth festival alongside the cream of the international deep techno and house scene.\\nKosta\\u2019s DJ sets draw upon his expansive record collection, playing right across the board of electronic music. He has no shortage of technical skill but it\\u2019s his selection that truly shines \\u2013 putting the music itself at the forefront, letting songs breathe when need be, and delivering plenty of head-scratching \\u2018what the hell is this track?\\u2019 moments.\\nIt\\u2019s on this that Kosta has built his reputation. Tastemakers such as the now-defunct mnml ssgs crew were quick to snap him up for a guest mix in 2009, and several of his online recordings have been picked up for @resident-advisor \\u2018Mix of the Day\\u2019 spot. In 2010, XDB played at the UK\\u2019s highly-regarded Freerotation festival \\u2013 starting a love affair with the event that\\u2019s seen him come back every year since. The festival secured Kosta\\u2019s place within a fraternity of fellow musicians and DJs who also prefer to let their music do the talking \\u2013 likeminds who recognise the purity in what they do, and are all the more respected because of it.\\nThat same year, he remixed Detroit heroes Norm Talley - @ormalley and Aaron Carl - @aaroncarl and in 2011 produced releases for the Dolly, Harbour City Sorrow and Echocord imprints. 2012\\u2019s highlight was a split 12\\u201d with Kassem Mosse and in 2013 he was reunited with Sistrum Recordings for the \\u2018Frocks\\u2019 record. 2013 also saw the rebirth of Metrolux after a 3 year hiatus, with \\u2018Edition 2\\u2019, an excellent Various Artists release.\\nWhen it comes to producing, Kosta favours a slow and steady work rate, opting to focus on quality control rather than record shop ubiquity. His DJing keeps him in the public eye, but one gets the sense that XDB prefers to operate in the shadows. There\\u2019s a refreshing lack of gimmickry to his approach \\u2013 keeping it low-key allows him to be judged solely on the basis of talent. Arguably, it\\u2019s an innate quality \\u2013 the way he wants to play it; the way that brings him most satisfaction, but it\\u2019s helped establish his reputation as an artist of considerable merit, winning the approval his audience and peers, alike.\\nStay Rave with #R13!'