DJ Double Garage

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DJ Double Garage
Djdg.jpg
DJ Double Garage in 2021
Background information
Born 1979 (age 42)
Origin Budapest, Hungary
Genre Electronic
Years active 2003-05; 2009-11; 2021-present
Label Overload (2003-September 2004)
Inner'sense (September 2004-May 2005)
Tigerstar (May 2005-January 2006)
Saturdays (September 2009-September 2011)
Associated acts
Crystal Barker, Dresden & Bareilles, Kazimiera, Sandi Cohen

Grzyzstwr Sklymktr, better known as DJ Double Garage, is a Hungarian club DJ and remixer, who also has his own musical career. He emerged to prominence in late 2003 with the instrumental track "Haunted Mouse", which was commercially released in January 2004 and charted at #9, becoming one of the most successful instrumentals of all time on Urapopstar.

He is one of the most prolific remixers on Urapopstar with hundreds of remixes to his credit, including 31 appearances on #1 singles.

DJ DG was better known for his remixes of hit tracks than his own material, and subsequent releases failed to reach the same success level, so in 2006 he retired from releasing singles and returned to his native Hungary to release and DJ in the local underground scene. He returned in fall 2009 with the buzz single "Blood Shot" and his third remix album, The Hits: Remixed 2009. While both were intended to be low priority releases, "Blood Shot" became his third top 10 single and his first to sell over 100,000 copies, while The Hits: Remixed 2009 by far became his highest charting album and most successful Hits: Remixed release.

DJ Double Garage released his fourth studio album, Metronomy, on March 8, 2010. The album brought him back to the style of his debut album, with a diverse range of influences inspired by its many collaborations with other acts. Its lead single "Wall Street Pornography", featuring vocals by Sandi Cohen, became his first to reach the top 5 and achieve a certification. The follow-up, "Hermit", reached #2 on the singles charts, helping to bring Metronomy to platinum status and cement DJ as one of the major comeback stars of 2010.

Following fresh appearances on several late summer 2021 singles, DJ Double Garage announced his first single as a lead artist in more than 10 years, "Biohazard", will be released on September 24, 2021.

Early life and career[edit | edit source]

Born in Hungary, Grzyzstwr Sklymktr developed an interest in computer animation during his teenage years. Upon graduating, he accepted a scholarship at a technical school in Germany, where he met an aspiring singer named Kazimiera. Grzyzstwr then learned how to make beats for dance songs, and helped produce Kazimiera's early demos.

Around this time, he took on the identity of DJ Double Garage, and started playing his remixes and original beats in the clubs. The club scene took over his life, and he left the technical school to take his knowledge in a different direction. Unfortunately, during this time, he also developed a drug habit, and started missing club dates. DJ DG then had a few brush-ins with the law, including stealing exclusive unreleased tracks straight from Dr. C and the Predicates' tour ambulance!

Overload era: Late 2003-September 2004[edit | edit source]

In late 2003, he signed a contract with Overload Records for 2 albums. The debut single, the instrumental track Haunted Mouse was set for release in January 2004, but he ended up going bankrupt during the promotion for the single! However, due to a donation from a close friend who won the lottery and whose life DJ DG helped save, he was still able to finance some of the costs from the single. Accompanied by its computer animated video, which depicted a mouse through various scenery, Haunted Mouse became a top 10 hit, reaching #9 in the singles charts, and sold well enough to help get him out of bankruptcy. Following this, he released the debut album Legweak, which also entered at #9, and took some time off to help break his drug habits, going into rehab.

The following single, Refraction, had another special effects-filled video, and despite tough competition, still managed to come in at a respectable #12 position in the singles chart, and climbed to #11 in its second week. Around this time, DJ DG entered a short-lived relationship with R&B singer Angel-V, only to split due to conflicting schedules. He also released a compilation of remixes of hits from other artists, The Hits: Remixed, which came in at #15 in the album charts.

Following the underground sounds of his first two releases, DJ DG went along a more commercial route with a song intended for an advertising campaign, Have It Like That. While the advertising campaign faltered, DJ DG ended up releasing the single anyway, which was included on a re-release of the Legweak album. The single ended up charting at #14; however, around this time, DJ DG was injured in a bomb blast at a club date he was playing at in Afghanistan.

Inner'sense era: September 2004-May 2005[edit | edit source]

When his contract with Overload expired, DJ DG decided to seek a label that specialized more in dance music. He eventually signed to Chicago Records, a sub-label of Inner'sense, and began dating Heidi from the girlgroup XR8D on and off. The first single off his double album DJ Double Garage Presents: Then & Now was a double A-side of Under Construction/Retro Medley, which featured various artists doing their take on various classics all mixed into one megamix. The single became his lowest charting yet, only reaching #16.

In an attempt to save his career, DJ DG enlisted the help of Kazimiera, who was now also in search of a recording contract, to sing the hook on Shake It, a 90's-sounding dance track. She accepted, and the track was re-recorded from the original demo that appeared on the album. Shake It became a craze in the dance clubs, and gave DJ DG a second top 10 hit, reaching #10 in the singles chart, and giving Kazimiera more exposure before her solo career, which led to her hosting TRL.

Tigerstar era: May 2005-January 2006[edit | edit source]

The next album, entitled Fallout, which was his first on Tigerstar Records, presented a darker side to DJ DG's music, and the first single, Inside The Ashes Fall, just barely missed the top 10. The next single from the album was a collaboration with Ellen Fitzpatrick, who wanted to experiment with a more dance-styled song. The song, entitled What You Want From Me, reached #12 in the singles chart, which at the time was Ellen's highest peaking single. This was followed by a Christmas release of an underground club favourite, All This Time with Tara J, which debuted at #23 then peaked at #14. With no more ideas for his career, DJ DG decided to retire from releasing singles. He vanished from the industry shortly thereafter, reportedly making his return to the underground club scene in Hungary.

Saturdays era: August 2009-September 2011[edit | edit source]

In 2009, it was reported that DJ Double Garage would return with his first album of new material in four years. He tested the waters with the release of a third Hits: Remixed compilation, The Hits: Remixed 2009, as well as the release of a new single, "Blood Shot". The single and album were released September 28, 2009 in the leading up to the release of his fourth studio album in early 2010. Despite only being buzz releases, they managed to exceed expectations, with "Blood Shot" reaching #10 and becoming his highest seller since his debut single, while The Hits: Remixed 2009 entered the top 5 at #4, becoming DJ DG's first top 5 album and by far the most successful Hits: Remixed album, outselling the first two combined in its first week alone.

Following that, DJ recorded a track for the Saturdays Christmas compilation, Saturdays: The Christmas Collection, a duet with Christine Tyler on a retro-meets-techno rendition of "Baby, It's Cold Outside".

The first studio album from DJ Double Garage in nearly half a decade is Metronomy, featuring collaborations with the likes of Romo, Dresden & Bareilles, Missfit and Syd Wolfe. The album and its lead single "Wall Street Pornography" with Sandi Cohen were released March 8, 2010. Both releases charted at #4, not only marking his highest chart appearances, but his highest charting single since 2004. "Wall Street Pornography" earned DJ his first ever certified single, reaching sales of silver.

The album's second official single is "Hermit", marking DJ's second collaborative single with Kazimiera. "Hermit" was released June 28, 2010. The single received an endless amount of exposure due to frequent tabloid coverage of both acts in the weeks leading up to the single's release; however, the single only charted at #5 in its first week. Nevertheless, "Hermit" climbed to #2 the following week, and also led Metronomy to become DJ's first platinum album.

DJ DG also contributed to Boris's upcoming single, "First Last & Only/Secret Room", which reached #22 on the singles charts.

Following the success of "Hermit", DJ released the album's third official single "Maiden, Mother & Crone", a collaboration with Dresden & Bareilles, on September 13, 2010, following a controversially minimal promotional campaign caused by a curfew on DJ imposed by Sandi Cohen due to him flirting with other women. DJ caused headlines for announcing he had an affair with Crystal Barker just days before the single's release, and in the short-term it worked, as "Maiden, Mother & Crone" debuted at #4 with DJ's best first-week sales to date, but it took a fast tumble down the charts and became the lowest selling of the official Metronomy singles.

Coinciding with the release of "Maiden, Mother & Crone" and capitalizing on DJ's popularity increase, Saturdays Records released remastered versions of DJ's first three studio albums, as well as a new remix compilation, Number Ones Remixed. The new remix album, chronicling DJ's six-year remixing career, debuted and peaked at #7.

In an attempt to get Metronomy to diamond sales, DJ released one more single from the album, "Last Time I Cry", a collaboration with Emily Henning, on January 31, 2011. The single debuted and peaked at #6.

Following the closure of Saturdays Records in September 2011 and fallout from numerous sex scandals, DJ Double Garage decided to serve as a background player in the music industry. He co-produced Dresden & Bareilles' diamond selling album 150 dB including the #1 hits "Edward Carnby" and "Intravenous", his first production credits on a #1 single. He also continued his longtime collaboration with Kazimiera by co-producing her 2011-14 albums.

Third career run and upcoming fifth studio album: August 2021-present[edit | edit source]

DJ Double Garage quietly resumed his remixing career in the summer of 2021, prompted when Romo sought his services to remix her experimental single "Psi (Before The End)", thinking he would be the most suitable person to make it danceable while also maintaining its noisy, chaotic composition. He subsequently contributed remixes of Alex Washington's "On Empty", Raphael's "Footnote", Paul's "Vampire" and Darren Clarke's "Dirt".

On August 28, 2021, it was announced that DJ Double Garage would return to performing for a third run and a new single was in post-production. The following day, his management confirmed the release of his fifth Hits: Remixed compilation, The Hits: Remixed 2020-21. On September 7, 2021, DJ Double Garage announced a new single, "Biohazard".

Personal life[edit | edit source]

Before his 2009 comeback, DJ Double Garage was known for his shy demeanor and reclusive nature. But that changed after he made headlines in the tabloids during the promotion for "Wall Street Pornography" for his rumored relationship with Sandi Cohen, which broke her up with her husband of one year, Tomas. Since coming public with their relationship he made outrageous statements in the media about wild marathon sex sessions with Sandi, and went as far as putting in his will that when he dies he wants his ashes to be inserted in Sandi's vagina.

His industry peers have praised him for becoming more open and letting loose; moreover, he has attracted attention for looking half his age due to plastic surgery and his more buff build because after leaving the UK in 2006 he had more spare time on his hands and spent much of it working out.

During the months of August and September 2010, as a result of DJ's increasingly flirtatious behavior, Sandi became more controlling of him and at points refused to let him leave the house, something that caused the promotional campaign for his "Maiden, Mother & Crone" single to suffer dramatically. DJ and Sandi broke up after DJ announced he had an affair with Crystal Barker. Crystal later said in an interview that she and DJ did not go further into a relationship following the affair, so to this day DJ remains single.

Controversy[edit | edit source]

In 2005, it was reported that DJ Double Garage got high off paint fumes when his garage studio was redecorated.

During promotion for Tara J's greatest hits album in 2008, it was reported that DJ Double Garage had mocked her former collab partner in club events and used racial slurs against her.

Discography[edit | edit source]

Studio albums[edit | edit source]

2004: Legweak (#9)
2004: DJ Double Garage Presents: Then & Now (#15)
2005: Fallout (#12)
2010: Metronomy (#3)

Remix albums[edit | edit source]

2004: The Hits: Remixed (#15)
2006: The Hits: Remixed 2006 (#26)
2009: The Hits Remixed 2009 (#4)
2010: Number Ones Remixed (#7)
2021: The Hits: Remixed 2020-21 (TBA)

Singles[edit | edit source]

2004: "Haunted Mouse" (#9)
2004: "Reflections" (#11)
2004: "Have It Like That" (#14)
2004: "Under Construction/Retro Medley" (#16)
2005: "Shake It" (featuring Kazimiera) (#10)
2005: "Inside The Ashes Fall" (#11)
2005: "What You Want From Me" (with Ellen Fitzpatrick) (#12)
2005: "All This Time" (with Tara J) (#14)
2009: "Blood Shot" (#10)
2010: "Wall Street Pornography" (with Sandi Cohen) (#4)
2010: "Hermit" (with Kazimiera) (#2)
2010: "Maiden, Mother & Crone" (with Dresden & Bareilles) (#4)
2011: "Last Time I Cry" (featuring Emily Henning) (#6)
2021: "Biohazard" (TBA)