Techno/house DJ Simic strives to build unique sound-locations that lead listeners to places they may not have visited in the past.
Simic plays techno and house music that's "hypnotic, playful, cerebral, jacking, dark, dubby, adventurous." Katherine Humphreys

SIMIC (aka BEN BLOCK; secondnature)

Current top 5 tracks:

Scott Edward, "Shopping in Zero Gravity" (Out of Orbit, 1994)
"A favorite mood piece for an opening set. Scott Edward’s production chops are impeccable, and the fusion of low-slung house with a '50s Space Age aesthetic provide a gentle introduction to a long night of music."

Troy Anderson, "Doughnut Troll" (1200 Music, 1997)
"Released on 1200 Music: a small Seattle label from the late '90s. What really good techno can be, in my opinion. Cosmic, textural, hypnotic."

Inky Blacknuss, "Blacknuss (Trego Crush Mix)" (Sabrettes, 1993)
"Nina Walsh’s record label Sabrettes remains thoroughly underrated. Not yet run over by scalpers, her label is full of strange and uniquely produced techno gems. This cut is by Andrea Parker, Alex Knight, and Ian Tregoning."

Fatal Attraction, "Music to Be Murdered By" (Music Man, 1989)
"Boccaccio. One of the endless sludged stompers to come out of Belgium in the late '80s. A corking floor-filler with a great sense of humor. What’s not to love?"

Susanne Brokesch, "'Heroes'" (Chicks on Speed, 2005)
"When you need a true freakout moment on the dance floor, look for this cover of the Bowie/Eno classic, 'Heroes.' Susanne Brokesch is a Viennese artist who has released on Sähkö, Disko B, Cheap, and more. She never fails to surprise me."

Crew/label affiliations: "Crew: secondnature, we are a collective and record label that produces events in Seattle. We recently released our fourth record by our resident Fugal (available here), with more releases planned for 2018, so keep an eye out for those! Labels: secondnature [Seattle], Acid Camp [Los Angeles], Major Problems [Dublin]."

Styles played: "House and techno that is hypnotic, playful, unacknowledged, cerebral, jacking, dark, surprising, dubby, adventurous, and curious. I lean into productions that have personality, strange sounds and melodies, and the sense of a human being sitting behind the controls having a bit of fun!"

Events organized: "All events with secondnature, roughly six per year. Join our mailing list for information on future releases and events."

DJing philosophy: "I’m interested in providing a sense of space for the audience over the course of a set, one that is improvised and created in response to the environment I am playing in. This is the most challenging and interesting aspect of DJing to me, and is the driving force behind my search for new music. It can feel architectural at times, ordering and layering songs to build a unique sound-location for listeners to reside in for a few hours, hopefully leading them somewhere they may not have visited in the past."

Format: "2 x Technics 1200, 2-3 x CDJ 2000s, Xone 92."

Worst request: "Generally not a big deal; I just decline."

Upcoming events: "I’ll be playing a live set of all new material at Action Potential presents: Kassem Mosse w/ Raica & Simic @ Kremwerk, Thursday, March 8. I’ll have a new mix recorded for the local series Lifecrushed coming out later this month. More secondnature events on the way!"