Bio
John Tejada’s route into techno began with a family rehearsal room rather than a nightclub. Born into a household of classical musicians, he started piano at four, moved from Vienna to Los Angeles at eight and shifted his attention to drums. Radio mixes, hip-hop and electronic music soon led him to decks; at seventeen he acquired a sampling workstation and synths, then began working with his long-term collaborator Arian Leviste in 1991. Tejada started releasing records in the mid-1990s and founded Palette Recordings in Los Angeles in 1996, building a home for precise, melodic electronic music that can move between listening space and dancefloor. He has described unexpected studio accidents as a major creative force, an idea that fits his detailed sound design and wide tempo range.
United States
