DJ Pepo

DJ Pepo, the stage name of José María Álvarez del Real, belongs to the generation of DJs who helped build Spanish electronic culture before techno had the circuit, festivals or visibility it has today. Closely linked to Madrid from his earliest steps, he began making a name for himself in DJ booths in the late 1980s, as new electronic, industrial and EBM sounds were arriving in the capital's clubs.

His first residency came at Attica in 1987, a period in which he began developing a highly physical and recognisable mixing style. During the 1990s he played across different Madrid clubs and held a residency at Van Vas from 1994 to 1997. At the same time, his musical language absorbed very different influences: from funk and house to jazz, acid, EBM and eventually the harder forms of techno.

That breadth explains much of his longevity. Pepo has never been tied exclusively to one era or a single version of the genre. His technique, particularly associated with three- and four-deck sets, made mixing a central part of his identity. High pace, quick changes, layered tracks and a very direct relationship with the dancefloor have remained constants throughout a career active across several decades.

His trajectory is connected to some of the most important clubs and festivals in Spanish electronic music. He has played venues including Attica, New World, Van Vas, Florida 135, Space, Amnesia and Privilege, as well as festivals such as Monegros Desert Festival and Aquasella. His relationship with Aquasella is particularly close: the festival's official archive places Pepo at its very first edition in 1997, and his name appears repeatedly throughout its history.

He has also maintained a role as producer and label operator. At different points he has been linked to record projects including Inspired Records, CPU, Rama Records and Synthesis Records, alongside releases on national and international labels. That studio work has functioned as an extension of his approach to techno, avoiding overly rigid formulas and remaining closely tied to the energy of his DJ sets.

His musical references include names such as Front 242 and Orbital, artists associated with industrial electronics and the development of European electronic live performance. Pepo also shared line-ups and performed alongside Front 242, reinforcing an EBM connection that has resurfaced at different stages of his career.

He remains active in the Spanish and international techno circuit, represented by Dual Booking and linked to Synthesis Records. His activity combines solo appearances with shared formats alongside other long-standing figures from the scene, including Cristian Varela, Raúl Parra and Gonçalo M.

More than three decades after those first Madrid residencies, DJ Pepo still holds a distinctive place within Spanish techno: a DJ whose history is tied both to the technical evolution of the booth and to the collective memory of clubs and festivals that helped electronic music develop into a culture with its own identity in Spain.