Delano Smith

Delano Smith

Delano Smith is a DJ and producer from Detroit, with roots in Chicago and Detroit. He is one of the first mobile DJs in Detroit, where DJ culture develops early and where he becomes known in the 1980s as one of the city’s leading progressive DJs. He plays underground and club parties alongside Ken Collier, helping to establish a scene that later feeds into the wider party circuit.

DJ work and early career

Smith starts out as a mobile DJ, working in a period when music stores sell more turntables than guitars. During the 1980s he builds a reputation in Detroit’s club and underground scene. He later stops DJing for a time in the 1990s to focus on personal interests, then returns after repeated requests from promoters.

Production, releases and label work

Smith begins producing in 2002. His first track, “Tribunal of Souls”, appears on Psychostasia Recordings. Later that year, his contribution to Detroit Beatdown Vol. 1 on Third Ear Recordings helps inspire him to launch his own label, which he uses to present his own music and that of other artists to the global house community.

Aliases and groups

He also records under the alias DJ Mode. He is associated with the groups Beatdown Brothers and The.