Daniel Wang

Daniel Wang is a disco scholar who happens to play records. The Berlin-based DJ and producer has spent more than three decades connecting the sound of 1970s and 1980s dance floors to the house and nu-disco that came after, first through his own Balihu label in 1990s New York, then through long, vinyl-driven sets in Berlin. Documentation of his career is thinner than for most artists of his reach, with no English Wikipedia page, so this profile sticks to what interviews, reviews and label pages confirm.

Origins

Resident Advisor and Wang's Bandcamp bio both say he was born in Oakland, California, and spent eight years of his childhood in Taipei. A Fact magazine interview from 2009 agrees on the California birth, while Qobuz lists Tibet as his birthplace, so that detail is disputed. He went to college in New York in the late 1980s, where he became involved in the club scene as a house and disco DJ, and later spent time in Chicago, where he met musicians who had been part of house music since its early days.

Balihu and the Environ Years

In 1993, while based in New York, Wang started the Balihu label, which became his main outlet. His debut 12-inch, the Look Ma No Drum Machine EP, was described by Resident Advisor as a mishmash of old monophonic disco samples. Balihu ran as a series of 12-inch singles, with B-side messages that tracked his changing views on music and the industry, and closed with a farewell release in 1999 before returning in 2002 with new tracks by Brennan Green. Wang has described the label as a fanzine on vinyl. His 1997 album Mood Mylar dropped samples for analog synths and live instruments.

He also built a close working relationship with Morgan Geist, who released four of his 12-inch singles on the Environ label, later collected on the album Idealism, reissued in an expanded edition in 2005. Elsewhere in the 2000s he took part in the Light Fantastic project with DJ Cosmo and Nigel Hayes, whose CD Famous When Dead came out on Playhouse in 2001, and he released the disco mix Come On Let's Fly on Japan's Music Mine in 2005.

Berlin and the Balihu Compilation

Wang moved to Berlin in 2003, according to Resident Advisor and Fact, and has been based there since. Rush Hour, the Amsterdam label, released a two-CD compilation, The Best of Balihu 1993-2008, in September 2009. Resident Advisor reviewed it that December, noting that it included material by Brennan Green, Ilya Santana, Carlos Hernandez and Massimiliano Pagliara beyond Wang's own tracks. A later Rush Hour release, The Balihu Bootleg EP, followed in 2010.

Sound and Sets

Wang's DJ sets are known for an energetic blend of disco, soul, and old and new house tracks, according to his Resident Advisor biography, which lists Schwuz and Wilde Renate among the Berlin rooms where he has played regularly. A 2014 listing for a San Francisco date described him as a disco scholar who plays vinyl-only sets. He has cited Giorgio Moroder, Rod Temperton and Wendy Carlos among his influences, and Fact has named him an influence on Morgan Geist, Lindstrom and the DFA label.

Live at RTS.FM

RTS.FM recorded Wang's set on June 3, 2011. It runs 1 hour 15 minutes and has drawn more than 60,000 views on the channel.

FAQ

Who is Daniel Wang?

Daniel Wang is an American DJ and producer based in Berlin, known for disco, house and nu-disco sets and for founding the Balihu label in New York in 1993.

Where is Daniel Wang from?

He was born in Oakland, California, according to Resident Advisor and his Bandcamp page, and spent eight years of his childhood in Taipei. He has lived in Berlin since 2003.

What is Balihu?

Balihu is the record label Daniel Wang founded in 1993 in New York. It released 12-inch singles, was compiled on Rush Hour as The Best of Balihu 1993-2008 in 2009, and he has described it as dormant rather than dead.

What kind of music does Daniel Wang play?

His sets blend disco, soul, and old and new house tracks, and he is known for playing vinyl. His productions on Environ were described as instrumental space disco.

Has Daniel Wang performed at RTS.FM?

Yes. RTS.FM recorded his set on June 3, 2011. It lasts 1 hour 15 minutes and has over 60,000 views on YouTube.