Daniel W. Best

At a time when DJing is less about connecting with music lovers and more about branding, play counts and frequent flyer miles, Daniel W. Best’s approach is so basic that it’s almost groundbreaking: an egoless passion, a fine-tuned ear and most important, an open mind with good taste.

Although he prefers to call himself a “music activist” rather than a DJ, Best has over two decades of experience behind the decks, getting crowds onto their feet whether he plays jazz, soul, reggae, rare groove, disco or house – sometimes all within the same set, always on vinyl. Rooted in Berlin for over 15 years, he has established residencies at Cookies and Tausend (where he hosts his most recent project, the G.I. Disco night) and organizes a variety of special parties and one-off events.

But his djing is only one aspect of his musical credibility: he runs his own company Best Works, which serves as a powerhouse for artist management, booking and event promotion, representing an array of talent including Jazzanova live feat. Paul Randolph, Andre Lodemann, Vakula, Prommer & Barck, Micatone, Fetsum, etc.

In 1990 armed with enough insight and confidence to man the decks, and by the middle of the decade was playing underground clubs and parties. Daniel applied his real-world experience to academia, writing his diploma thesis on hip-hop in the GDR and illegal clubs in Berlin, and after graduating from the Europa-Universität Viadrina, stayed for one year as a professor to teach about youth culture and music.

Bringing professionalism to partying, Best is responsible for some of Berlin’s most successful events, including the long-running mobile party Kaleideskop, which pairs Jazzanova’s DJ team with top names from around the world such as Masters at Work, Carl Craig and Metro Area, as well as Dixon’s now-defunct club night Inner City held at Week-End.

Aside from all this, Daniel has proven his A&R prowess, most notable with his two labels Best Seven Records (a Sonar Kollektiv imprint focusing on reggae and soul sounds) and Best Works Records (together with André Lodemann focusing on house music). His three Best Seven Selections compilations have earned praise for their classic yet contemporary angle on reggae, and his Polish Jazz compilation for Jazzanova Compost Records showed his ear for the obscure.