Kosta Athanassiadis, Germany's XDB who has been DJing since the early 90s, after years of working in a record shop he started his own label Metrolux in 2006. His music heading in a direction that ranges from deep and soulful to raw, analogue sounding dub techno remixing some Detroit heroes as Norm Talley and Aaron Carl. Kosta's DJ sets draw upon his expansive record collection, playing right across the board of electronic music. I have not shortage of technical skill but it's his selection that truly shines.

His DJing keeps him in the public eye, but one gets the sense that XDB prefers to operate in the shadows. There's a refreshing lack of gimmickry to his approach - keeping it low-key Arguably, it's an innate quality - the way he wants to play it; the way that brings him most satisfaction, but it's helped to establish his reputation as an artist of considerable merit, winning the approval of his audience and peers, alike.