UMEK Reclaims the Techno Throne

Since 2018, UMEK has produced eight #1 tracks and 46 tracks that charted among Beatport’s Top 100. His label, 1605, launched 13 years ago, is also among the Top 10 labels on Beatport, signing rising talent such as Cosmic Boys, Space 92, and Teenage Mutants.

It’s one of the biggest comebacks any techno artist and label have made in recent years. How did they do it? By combining their 30-year industry experience and talent with data science – something that most of the music industry still sleeps on.

“Let’s get one thing straight: you can’t get to no. 1 without talent and hard work. Data will never replace that,” explains UMEK, then laughs: “But it’s such a great secret weapon to have. My guys at Viberate made me a real stats geek, so while some people are browsing Facebook each day, I’m out there looking at charts and comparing trends. It’s awesome!”

Below is a video that shows how UMEK’s performance started rising once a data-driven approach was introduced.