Hailing from Germanys largest urban agglomeration, the Ruhrgebiet district, Damiano von Erckert represents a growing breed of artists not bound by genre specific constraints. Raised near by and now residing in Cologne, his broad interest in a variety of musical spheres started young, growing up under the wing of his father, also a DJ, allowing him to accumulate a varied taste in Soul, Hip Hop, Funk, Afro and Disco, emulating the likes of Willie Hutch, Donny Hathaway, Fela Kuti and Ron Hardy. A love for the golden era of 70's, 80's and 90's funk, house and soul clearly resonates through his production output and he is quick to credit the likes of Stax, Blue Note, Strictly Rhythm and KDJ as key influences. His ability to reach back, relish and recreate classic elements, diverting away perhaps from traditional house orientated means, really enhances the authenticity, originality and positivity of his sound that is now starting to gain notoriety amongst his peers. Surprisingly enough, his early endeavours didn't catch the eye of many prospective labels, ultimately prompting a young Damiano to start his own back in 2011, AVA. Records. Now in full swing and already working alongside the likes of Lowtec, Tito Wun aka Twit One, MCDE, Georgia Anne Muldrow Andy Vaz, Christopher Rau and Funkycan, AVA. have a strong desire to build a platform from which they can pay tribute to contemporary club music and having initially compiled what is surely the first real prominent house and techno collective in Cologne, they now look with a wider scope to further develop the multifarious label, for which Damiano is leading the A&R. Maintaing a retro feel throughout their ethos and core value, every release's cover is hand made with meticulous detail, with the artwork usually sourced from vintage photographs or pictures. "ava." brings a lot of House & Techno artists like Christopher Rau, Lowtec, Murat Tepeli, Andy Vaz, Funkycan, Ugly Drums etc. together and provides a platform for joint projects and new ideas.
