Hailing from schools of progressive, house, breaks, and also incorporating some elements of trance, RJ Pickens is no stranger to the politics of dancing. As one of Chicago's hardest-working and most consistent DJs, he's worked his way to the top of Chicago's EDM scene and can regularly be found playing high-profile big-room events, and intimate settings alike.
RJ has been a musician for almost all his life, beginning with classical music training in both piano and guitar. He heard his first Chemical Brothers record in 1994, and the rest, as they say, is history. Music is a language that he is fluent in, and his appreciation for it, along with influences from a vast variety of sounds and genres, feed into his need to provoke thought in the clubber's mind, all the while making him or her simply unable to leave the dancefloor.
He has made himself a great home in the Chicago electronic music circuit as a principal resident DJ with VISION Nightclub. In past years, he’s also called notable places such as SPYBAR and SOUND-BAR home. As a result, he's gotten to rock many a dancefloor, and share the decks with the finest of global talent.
The energy-building and crowd-reading abilities that RJ has honed over the years have lead him to share billings with: Paul Van Dyk, Above & Beyond, Sander Van Doorn, Armin Van Buuren, John Digweed, Ferry Corsten, Luke Fair, Dave Seaman, Second Sun, Markus Schulz, Gabriel & Dresden, Paul Oakenfold, Sandra Collins, Kenneth Thomas, Jerry Bonham, Infected Mushroom, Hernan Cattaneo, Steve Porter, Matt Darey, Taylor, Montana, Matthew Dekay, Benny Benassi, Seb Fontaine, Filo & Peri, 16bit Lolitas, Blank & Jones, Ricky Ryan (Can Costa), Michael Burian, Angelo Mike, Rank 1, Phynn, Boom Jinx, and the list continues to grow...
...and he continues to deepen his roots within the flourishing scene in Chicago and beyond. RJ has successfully taken the reigns in running the “HOME” residency in the Vision Penthouse, where clubbers happily come to enjoy moving melodies spun by both special guests and the best local talent up-and-coming talent Chicago has to offer.
RJ's guestmixes are regularly-featured on radio shows and podcasts. Highlights include a highly-acclaimed guest mix on ULTRA Satellite Radio (XM80 TheMove) as well as a personal invitation from Paul Van Dyk to be featured on his VONYC Sessions show, which resulted in a stellar 2-hour featured guest mix! He's also teamed up with studio partner SKS in producing FLOORCONTROL - a monthly 2-hour radio program, featuring a new mix every month and guest mix from a different global headliner every month, as well!
2010 is shaping up to be a big year for RJ, with big things on the horizon in both the studio and the DJ booth.
Keep an eye on this one. He's up to no good, in a great way.
Hey homie...not sure if you got my text over the weekend... we were jamming to "Box of Rocks" while cleanin house. Hope you and Nat are well... semester's kickin my ass but I'm trying to free up some time. I'll call ya.
RJ amigo como andas? espero todo bien con tu viaje lastima que no nos pudimos ver, pasa a mi myspace, esta recien remodelado a ver si te late, saludos desde el caribe mexicano!!!
