Function is the techno project of US producer David Sumner. He comes from New York and has been DJing and making music for more than 25 years, with production activity beginning in the mid-1990s.

Career

Sumner becomes drawn to techno after hearing Jeff Mills at his residency at Limelight in the early 1990s. His first 12-inch releases appear on Damon Wild’s Synewave and on his own Infrastructure label, which he also owns. He later becomes an Ostgut recording artist.

In 1996 he meets Regis, also known as Karl O’Connor, and they work together as Portion Reform, releasing music on Downwards. Sumner is the only producer from outside Birmingham to appear on that label. In 2007 he moves to Berlin and continues working with Regis, later joined by Silent Servant, with a focus on Sandwell District.

Sandwell District and related work

Function is a founding member of Sandwell District, a collective that aims to reduce the emphasis on individual artist identity and blur the lines between artist, label and DJ. The project becomes closely associated with cult status in techno. The wider Function name is also used by other, unrelated artists, but this project refers to Sumner’s techno work.

Style and labels

Function is associated with techno, and the wider tagging around the project includes minimal techno, IDM, electronic and experimental music. Across his career he releases through Synewave, Infrastructure, Downwards and Ostgut.