Loco Dice

Loco Dice is the alias of electronic music producer and DJ Yassine Ben Achour. He is born in Düsseldorf, Germany, and his origin is given as Tunis, Germany. Born in 1974, he works in minimal techno, techno, electronic and tech house.

Background

He grows up in Düsseldorf as the son of Tunisian immigrants. Early influences include soul and funk heard at home, holidays with his mother in Tunisia, and the North African and Middle Eastern folk music he hears there. He also takes an interest in his grandfather’s backgammon pieces, which contribute to the nickname “Dice”; the “Loco” part comes from time spent in Ibiza in the 1990s.

The streets of Flingern in Düsseldorf and local youth clubs play an important part in his development. Hip hop culture shapes his early years, including dancing to Beat Street and Michael Jackson, graffiti tagging, rapping in the 1990s, and touring with Ice Cube. He also gains recognition from Death Row Records, which asks him to tour with Snoop Dogg.

Move into electronic music

He begins DJing later, after long periods spent finding new music and practising. In 1998, after several singles and residencies in major European hip hop clubs, he turns towards electronic music and starts again from the beginning in that field. Timo Maas is one of the key figures in this period and gives him his first experience of touring internationally, while Martin Buttrich helps open up electronic music production for him.

His first electronic release is “Phat Dope shit” in 2002. He then releases music on several major labels, and makes remixes for artists including Mousse T, Kevin Saunderson, Basement Jaxx, Black Coffee, Terre Thaemlitz, Nightmares On Wax, Moby, Disclosure, Skrillex, Boys Noize and Ty Dolla $ign.

Labels and albums

In 2006 he releases tracks on M_nus, Cadenza, Ovum and Cocoon. That year he also moves briefly to Brooklyn and creates his own label, Desolat. His debut album, 7 Dunham Place, appears in 2007 as the first release on Desolat and reflects his time in Brooklyn.

His second album, Underground Sound Suicide, is released in 2016 on Ultra Music. It includes collaborations with Just Blaze, Giggs and Neneh Cherry. He is also associated with En Couleur.