Club Night: DJ Hell | Playlove
CLUB NIGHT: DJ HELL | PLAYLOVE FRIDAY, 27.11.2026 | FROM 22:00 A true pioneer of electronic music returns to Zurich. This Friday, Palais Mascotte welcomes the legendary DJ HELL, one of the most influential figures in the history of house, techno and electroclash. With almost five decades behind the decks and 30 years of his iconic International Deejay Gigolo Records, DJ HELL represents an extraordinary chapter of club culture. Joining him is Zurich's own PLAYLOVE, a respected selector and driving force in the Swiss electronic music scene. DJ HELL Helmut Josef Geier, better known as DJ HELL, is a true pioneer of electronic dance music. Since beginning his DJ career in 1978, the German producer, label founder and visionary has helped shape the evolution of house, techno and electroclash, influencing generations of DJs, producers and clubbers around the world. Growing up in Bavaria and emerging from Munich's underground music scene, Hell was among the first German DJs to introduce house music to European dancefloors during the 1980s. His early sets combined New Wave, punk, EBM, disco, electro and hip-hop, long before these musical worlds became closely connected. In 1987, he organised one of Munich's first acid house parties, helping establish the foundations of a movement that would transform European nightlife. During the 1990s, Hell became a central figure in Germany's emerging techno culture, holding influential residencies at legendary clubs including Tresor and E-Werk in Berlin, Ultraschall in Munich and New York's Limelight, where he shared the decks with Detroit techno pioneer Jeff Mills. His breakthrough production My Definition of House Music, released on R&S Records in 1992, became an underground classic and established him as one of the defining artists of early European house and techno. In 1996, DJ HELL founded International Deejay Gigolo Records, one of the most influential electronic music labels of its generation. More than a record label, Gigolo became an entire cultural movement, bringing together electronic music, fashion, visual art and provocative aesthetics. Through releases by artists such as Miss Kittin & The Hacker, Fischerspooner, Jeff Mills, Vitalic, Tiga and Dopplereffekt, the label helped define the unmistakable sound and attitude of the electroclash era. His groundbreaking albums Munich Machine (1998), NY Muscle (2003), Teufelswerk (2009) and Zukunftsmusik (2017) demonstrate his ability to move between musical styles while continuously reinventing his artistic identity. Throughout his career, he has also collaborated with remarkable figures from music and art, including Bryan Ferry, Alan Vega, James Murphy and Jonathan Meese. In 2026, International Deejay Gigolo Records celebrates its 30th anniversary, marking three decades of uncompromising musical innovation, underground culture and artistic freedom. Known for his fearless approach to DJing, DJ HELL's sets are unpredictable journeys through electronic music history…