Jon O’Bir is a UK trance DJ and producer from Nottingham, later based in Manchester. Born in 1984, he emerges in the early 2000s as a young club DJ playing progressive and uplifting trance, with a style built around tightly blended sets and support for unsigned producers.

Early career

He begins mixing at home before entering a DJ competition for Passion and M8 magazine in September 2002, competing against more than 300 other hopefuls and winning. That leads to bookings for Motion in Derby and for the BPM internet radio station. Godskitchen notices him and offers him a residency, placing him on the circuit of major UK clubs.

By the end of 2002 and into 2003 he is playing warm-up sets at Godskitchen, and his profile grows quickly through radio appearances and club dates. He appears on Fergie’s Radio 1 show, records an exclusive mix for Judge Jules’s international radio programme, contributes a mix to Pete Tong’s Essential Selection, and features on Armin van Buuren’s 100th A State of Trance show. He also appears on Fergie’s “Fergies Fledglings” feature on the Radio 1 website.

DJ work and touring

O’Bir builds a reputation in the UK club scene and plays at major venues across the country. In 2004 he performs internationally in Cyprus, Hong Kong, Canada and Greece. A notable date for him is New Year’s Eve 2004, when he plays in New York to a crowd of 5,000 alongside Paul van Dyk; the following day he also plays in Chicago.

In 2005 and 2006 he appears on The Essential Mix and then joins Radio 1’s The Residency alongside Eddie Halliwell and Nic Fanciulli. He also plays at Space in Ibiza.

Production and collaborations

His production work includes collaborations with Gareth Emery, who records as GTR. Their tracks include “Escapade”, “Bouncebackability” and “No Way Back”. “Escapade” attracts support from Paul van Dyk and Tiësto, while “No Way Back” is voted both “Future Favourite” and “Tune of the Week” on A State of Trance. In 2006 he also releases his first two solo productions, “Effectual” and “Ascendancy”.

Label work

O’Bir co-founds the label Conspiracy Recordings with producer Rob Stevenson. The label’s releases receive support from major trance DJs, and its tracks appear on Tiësto and Armin van Buuren compilation mixes.

Style

His work is associated with trance, especially progressive, uplifting, epic and melodic forms. He is known for mixing newer trance productions by unsigned artists into his sets.