Ctrl_Alt_Dlt (Chris Aldrich) is yet another metro Detroiter who migrated west to Seattle (in 2005) and added his techno-centric knowledge and skills to our robust DJ gene pool.

"Seattle always had this allure for me, and it seemed like a great place to live," Aldrich says. "I had no idea what the music scene was like out here, but I have been really impressed with the caliber of musicians and the enthusiasm for the kind of music that I play and techno in general."

A guitar and saxophone student from fifth grade on, Aldrich discovered techno in 1999 and began DJing the next year. "I... explored a lot of different sounds until I finally came to the conclusion that techno is what I wanted to explore," he explains. "Detroit was so technocentric and I was exposed to so much great music in those early years, it really set the foundation for where I am at with EDM today.

"I cut my teeth here in Seattle in terms of actually becoming a DJ and really refined my sound," he continues. "I feel like in the last year I have really come to understand where techno is going and the sound that I am looking for."

Some cuts that represent that sound include "a phenomenal, very groovy track called 'Now Is the Time' by Layo and Bushwacka. Another really good one is 'The Wasps from Tunisia and the Silver Piggy'by Mark August. I have also really been digging 'Underwater' by Rafael Gomez—a good party starter with a cool vocal."

A dedicated student of the genre that sprouted in the Motor City (with some seminal help from Kraftwerk, of course), Ctrl_Alt_Dlt possesses impeccable taste and smooth mixing skills that have led to him getting booked at Detroit's Movement and Seattle's Decibel festivals.

The mix that Ctrl_Alt_Dlt performed at Movement at an opening-night party was a slinky trawl through the supreme cream of subterranean left-field techno. The cuts he dropped by [a]pendics.shuffle, Jeff Samuel, Chelonis R. Jones, Varoslav, and others aren't exactly peak-time material; rather, they soundtrack that hazy, heady afterhours zone when the various illicit substances really kick in. Understatement and strangeness prevail over obvious hands-skyward fodder, but heads will lock onto the sly grooves Ctrl_Alt_Dlt spins with surgical precision. It's fun, but not typical fare you can hear anywhere.

Aldrich is a member of the Sweatbox clique, who just launched a new weekly with DJ partner Pantycontrol (Jonathan Herrera) called Snapshot at Jai Thai restaurant on Capitol Hill (Thurs 10 pm–2 am, free, 21+). The night will focus on "forward-thinking techno, minimal, and house."

Recommended shows—Broken Disco: Mochipet, Andrew Luck vs. Dosadi, PrEssHa, WD4D, Jerry Abstract, 31avas, M.Quiet on Fri June 19, Chop Suey; Oscillate: Frivolous, Incite on Wed June 24, Chop Suey.