Ray Okpara

Ray Okpara is an artist, half from Nigeria, representing the contemporary sound of house music: percussion, drifting hypnotic rhythms with elements of soul and - if the atmosphere allows - deep house.

Initially, Ray was more into hip-hop, funk, and soul, but his acquaintance with his close friend Johnny D and their joint outings in nightlife awakened a strong interest in electronic music. Fascinated by various musical styles, he began practicing on turntables with vinyl records borrowed from Johnny.

Admiration and love for music manifested in their first joint project - the Rajo party, which resonated with the audience in Heidelberg, Mannheim, and Ludwigshafen. In 2001, Nick Curly joined them, and soon the team got a residency at the "Loft" club. The period when the DJ lived in Mannheim-Jungbusch also had a significant influence on Ray. He began introducing techno elements into his sets, without disconnecting from his roots. Together with his friends Federico, Johnny, and Nekes, he conceived new projects, for example, the Zoo-Club, which operated from 2004 to 2005.

In search of new experiences, as well as hoping to succeed in music and life, Ray moved to Berlin in March 2005. Here he gained his first production experience. Remixes of Johnny D, his own tracks for the labels Oslo and 8bit, and a remix of Italoboyz for Get Physical slowly prepared him for the release of his first solo EP - "Fumnaya," which was released on Lomidhigh Ltd. Following this were publications on the labels Arearemote and Drumpoet. The current release "Brother" has just appeared on Oslo, and soon new works will be released on the labels Cecill and Soweso.

During performances in front of audiences, Ray is able to bring the crowd to ecstasy with his dynamic and positive demeanor, and they gladly get swept up in the vortex of music, loops, and effects he creates!

He has never lost connection with his homeland and eventually returned to Mannheim after 4 years living in Berlin. Here, he started preparing his first live program, scheduled for 2010, while continuing to work on various remixes and concocting new ideas.