Bio short: dFonk was born and raised on the Belgian Coast near the city of Ostend, which incidentally is the birthplace of Marvin Gayes’ mega hit “Sexual Healing”. Dfonk saw the light of day on the 18th of July 1979. He was a well known DJ in the late 90’s in the local clubs at the Belgian Beach and started producing his own original music at the age 15. He then worked with several Belgian artists enjoying some success in the Flemish hip hop scene, producing, writing and performing at live gigs and has one Belgian top ten plaque on his wall.
In his productions you can hear various influences ranging from East Coast nineties golden era Hip Hop to contemporary music. From westside/southside hip-hop beats to alternative rock. The influences are there. It is clear that dFonK is a man who can generate and work comfortably within many styles. In 2018 dFonK started working with artists outside his country. He teamed up with Tek and Steele from the legendary duo Smif-N-Wessun; Student meets teacher! While dFonk could have been absolutely star struck, the three teamed up in November to cook up their first song dropping in July 2019… Seasons. dFonK loves to make remixes too and one of his latest tracks caught the attention of one member of the band Mayday: rapper Wrekonize. dF’s remix of the song Moonlight Freestyle is one of Wrek’s favorite. The ongoing saga of dFonk continues.

Bio long

THE MAN

dFonk was born and raised on the Belgian Coast near Ostend, which incidentally is the birthplace of Marvin Gayes’ mega hit “Sexual Healing”. Dfonk saw the light of day on the 18th of July 1979, met his older brother and welcomed his two baby sisters a few years later. The four of them grew up in a musical environment, his father was a drummer and a true Beatles fan. If the Beatles weren’t playing, it was either John, Paul, Ringo or George blasting through the soundsystem… So dFonk grew up on the rhythm of the beat and at the age of 11 bought his first synth, a low budget Roland, with his first savings. START TO SYNTH… And so it began… in 1993 he had his first DJ-set, it was supposed to be an all-nighter… it had to be stopped though, for security reasons… people were jumping so hard, and the organization was worried that the floor might cave.. His DJ career took off and he became a resident in club 65 for a couple of years. Getting tired of the heavy nightlife as a DJ dFonk took his first steps into the exciting world of producing. With his brother and some of his friends they started a band in high school and did live performances under the band name Perfect Crhyme Posse’… meanwhile going to school and getting an education, dFonk continued working on his music. In 2001 all ‘grown-up’ now… living on his own… and after a few years of coaching sports he took over a small business, an independent sports school, because dreams don’t fill stomachs, A true passion doesn’t just fade away. Making his own money, he starts to invest in himself and gradually buys the hardware he needs to improve the quality of the sound and learns to work with new software to build on better sound. The work with the kids in the school combined with the social commitment, also keeps him down to earth and appreciative of what he has. He started small and now the business gives him the chance to create jobs for others and also for family… With the sports school he helps kids overcome obstacles and achieve greatness, which is very fulfilling. The school is also cooperating with an integration project ‘Sport Chance’ for kids trying to find a new life away from the warzone they came from. ‘Experiences like this keep a man grounded and humble’.

THE MUSIC

As he went to school in Ostend as a young teenager, dFonk was inspired by Marvin Gaye, who lived there for a few years. Needless to say, Motown and Stax records were a big influence on his musical upbringing. It drove him to dig deeper into HipHop, R’nB and Soul. As he grew up, digging in the crates, studying the origins of music, he was hungry for any new and old sounds from Rock, Alternative to Dance, ‘If it touches the soul, it’s good music’. In his productions you can hear the influences ranging from East Coast nineties golden era Hip Hop to contemporary music. DFonk is a big fan of Mobb Deep, Smif-N-Wessun, Wu-Tang, Notorious B.I.G., D.I.T.C, Gangstarr, Nas… and many more… But when spring comes along… so does that Westside and Southside music. From Outkast to The Dogg Pound, The Alkoholiks, GFunk, …is pumpin’ through the stereo… Inspired by all these greats, he started a Rap Group ‘Sliek De Zeesterre’, together with his brother and they threw themselves in the scene (read create a scene, as Belgium is a tiny country - also know as Brussels ;-) ). They booked their first little victory by winning a contest and then later on that year they dropped their first videoclip/CD single in the Napster-era! They did everything independently, without a label, without support, and even mainstream media couldn’t stop them from getting a small hit! They entered the Belgium charts on number 9 and stayed there for three weeks. After over 100 live-shows that year, life got in the way of the group, but dFonk kept going! Learning from experience, working with new artists and building his technical knowledge and personal character led to a boost in continuing to delve deeper into his chosen craft… A few years of building on his skills and broadening his horizons, brought him in touch with Tek from the legendary duo Smif-N-Wessun; Student meets teacher! While dFonk could have been absolutely star struck, the three teamed up in November 2018 and got straight down to business to cook up their first song… Seasons. The inspiration of working with these two amazing individuals, gave him the pleasant kick in the ass he needed to get! In May 2019 he entered an international remix contest by Wrekonize from the band MAYDAY!…dFonK made it to the finals where he unfortunately lost, although Wrekonize found it to be one of his favorite finalists. The saga continues…. “Trends or no trends. Gimmicks or not. I always try to create music that in my mind fits best with the artist”