The Berlin-based Detroit born Eric Cloutier is an influential underground selector who has been committed to his craft as a DJ for the last two decades, transcending between the lines of warm, dubby and hypnotic techno and house. A self-described “record digging psychopath,” one only has to refer to his mix of highly sought after cuts from Driftwood Records to see the lengths Cloutier will go to in order to procure the perfect selection. “I like to keep it really body-oriented,” says the man of his inimitable DJ style. “I like to focus on hypnotising people into a deep groove and just locking them in.”
Cloutier hails from Detroit, but did not stay there long as he set out east to New York in his 20’s where he performed regularly at the notorious club The Bunker, cementing his name into the movement of house and techno. Now, he currently resides in Berlin where he appears behind the decks of some of the world’s best clubs. The mastermind is now a moving force in the scene with the establishment of his own imprint Palinoia, which means “the obsessive repetition of an act until it is perfected or mastered” in the Greek language. Through his label, Cloutier manages to further synthesize slick, dubby club music to slide into his DJ sets as well as feature lesser known talent he’s discovered.
For our DJ Picks feature, Eric Cloutier pulls out of his bag 10 records that show his diverse taste in music, moving from groovy house and techno to dub and chill out classics.
Eric Cloutier: The only way to describe, this is “the best track ever in the history of time.” The most perfect groove and funk—it’s flawless.
EC: Another one that really resonated with me when I was younger—hypnotic in all the right ways but has a bounce to it that’s really easy to lose yourself in.
EC: This mix literally changed my life. It has and continues to be the cornerstone for how I DJ and the sound and energy I want to have when I’m playing in a club.
EC: This was given to me by a couple of good friends for my birthday last year and I’ve listened to it an absurd amount of times since then. Exceptionally good artefact from 1992 that was repressed to vinyl—killer chill out vibes here!
EC: Mike Ink at his very best. Rave classic with such an amazing intensity.
EC: Luke Slater is a god amongst men, but there’s something about this one from The Drone Sector that I don’t think people appreciate as much as they should—it’s that swingy bassline. Could go on for days and I’d not complain once.
EC: Kahn & Walker at their absolute best. This is the ultimate representation of after-hours weirdness. Such a warped yet endlessly relaxing track. The whole album is phenomenal, to be honest, but this is the winner.
EC: I knew nothing of this record until two weeks ago when Adam X told me about it and I immediately bought it on Discogs. Talk about a party starter!
EC: I love my dub sounds, and while sometimes it gets a bit done to death and predictable, JS came along and put out four of the best records of the genre, with this being my top choice when it comes to most memorable of the era, maybe above Basic Channel or Rhythm & Sound, which will probably anger some people.
EC: This is such a sleeper jam—neverending drums, unpredictability, and that rolling groove that lights a dancefloor up.
