Who's Protoculture
“Everything he [Protoculture] touches turns to musical gold” - Armin van Buuren, A State of Trance
Only a few South African producers enjoy the success that DJ and Producer Nate Raubenheimer, better known to most as Protoculture, has had over the last 12 years of his career. Hailed by many of his piers as South Africa’s biggest dance music export, he has also left his mark on the international dance scene with his trademark blend of melodic and emotionally charged compositions and DJ sets.
Sucked into the art of music production at a young age, Nate made the leap to pursue a music career professionally after completing his studies in Audio Engineering at age 20, immediately taking the international psy-trance scene by storm. His international debut came at the United Kingdom’s famed Glastonbury Festival. With the release of his first artist album, “Refractions”, and the follow up “Circadians”, a slew of international performances ensued worldwide, seeing Nate travel to all four corners of the globe. From London to Tokyo, Sao Paulo to Moscow, Protoculture was a staple at psy-trance festivals around the globe, most notably at Glade in the UK, Universo Parallello in Bahia, Brazil, Earthcore Global Carnival in Melbourne, Australia and Ozora Festival near Budapest.
Protoculture’s 2010 album, “Love Technology” ushered in a great deal of changes for the South African producer, bridging the gap between his previous exclusively underground sound with influences from other genres. The album garnered attention from industry heavyweights Armin van Buuren, Markus Schulz, Max Graham and Paul Oakenfold with the single, ‘Naked’ receiving support on all the aforementioned artists radio shows as well as being named ‘Track of the week’ on Global DJ Broadcast. This heralded the beginning of a new era for Nate, quickly being snapped by Max Graham’s Rebrand Records and Dutch powerhouse label, Armada Music which became the home for hit singles such as “Sun Gone Down”, “Cobalt”, “Topaz”, “Laguna” and many others, all smashing the Beatport Top 10 Trance charts.
Nate has also built impressive remix credentials over the years at Armada, being credited with remixes for Armin van Buuren, Markus Schulz, Paul Oakenfold, Bryan Adams, Dash Berlin, Robert Miles, Jeanne Michelle Jarre and Nadia Ali. The Protoculture and Max Graham remix of Paul Oakenfold’s ‘Grace - Not Over Yet’ landed a number one on the Beatport Trance charts and the held the position for over a month, as well as scoring a number one position on the UK Buzz Charts and DMC UK Club Charts. He also received a SAMA nomination (South African Music Award) for his remix work on Goldfish’s smash hit, ‘Cruising through’ on Pacha Recordings.
Protoculture, as a DJ and live performer, ranked South Africas number one DJ according to the DJ Mag Top 100 polls from 2011 to present, has also played alongside a diverse range of international heavyweights such as Paul van Dyk, Sasha, Paul Oakenfold, Armin van Buuren, Orbital, Future Sound of London, Gareth Emery, Sander van Doorn to name but a few. A staple at Armin van Buuren’s legendary A State of Trance World Tours, Nate performed alongside the 5 times world number one DJ in Mexico, South Africa and The Netherlands to sell out crowds with live performances being broadcast around the world live to over 20 million people. He has also graced the DJ booths at legendary club venues such as Ministry of Sound, UK, Ushaia and Privelege, Ibiza, Ageha, Tokyo, Colosseum, Jakarta, as well as Foundation, Seattle, Exchange, Los Angeles and more in the United States. No stranger to the festival circuit either he has performed at Fuji Rock festival in Japan and the Zurich Street Parade as well as other festival brands such as Godskitchen, Creamfields, Urban Wave (Camel Experience), Amsterdam Dance Event, Electronic Family, H20 Events, the legendary Tomorrowland and most recently Ultra Music Festival.
Protoculture’s latest offering, his 2014 album ‘Music is More than Mathematics’ was released to critical acclaim, being cited by Beatsmedia UK as their ‘Album of the Year’ and ranking 4th in Trance Podiums Top 10 Artist albums for 2014 and saw Nate touring the album on all 4 continents throughout the year.
Only a few South African producers enjoy the success that DJ and Producer Nate Raubenheimer, better known to most as Protoculture, has had over the last 12 years of his career. Hailed by many of his piers as South Africa’s biggest dance music export, he has also left his mark on the international dance scene with his trademark blend of melodic and emotionally charged compositions and DJ sets.
Sucked into the art of music production at a young age, Nate made the leap to pursue a music career professionally after completing his studies in Audio Engineering at age 20, immediately taking the international psy-trance scene by storm. His international debut came at the United Kingdom’s famed Glastonbury Festival. With the release of his first artist album, “Refractions”, and the follow up “Circadians”, a slew of international performances ensued worldwide, seeing Nate travel to all four corners of the globe. From London to Tokyo, Sao Paulo to Moscow, Protoculture was a staple at psy-trance festivals around the globe, most notably at Glade in the UK, Universo Parallello in Bahia, Brazil, Earthcore Global Carnival in Melbourne, Australia and Ozora Festival near Budapest.
Protoculture’s 2010 album, “Love Technology” ushered in a great deal of changes for the South African producer, bridging the gap between his previous exclusively underground sound with influences from other genres. The album garnered attention from industry heavyweights Armin van Buuren, Markus Schulz, Max Graham and Paul Oakenfold with the single, ‘Naked’ receiving support on all the aforementioned artists radio shows as well as being named ‘Track of the week’ on Global DJ Broadcast. This heralded the beginning of a new era for Nate, quickly being snapped by Max Graham’s Rebrand Records and Dutch powerhouse label, Armada Music which became the home for hit singles such as “Sun Gone Down”, “Cobalt”, “Topaz”, “Laguna” and many others, all smashing the Beatport Top 10 Trance charts.
Nate has also built impressive remix credentials over the years at Armada, being credited with remixes for Armin van Buuren, Markus Schulz, Paul Oakenfold, Bryan Adams, Dash Berlin, Robert Miles, Jeanne Michelle Jarre and Nadia Ali. The Protoculture and Max Graham remix of Paul Oakenfold’s ‘Grace - Not Over Yet’ landed a number one on the Beatport Trance charts and the held the position for over a month, as well as scoring a number one position on the UK Buzz Charts and DMC UK Club Charts. He also received a SAMA nomination (South African Music Award) for his remix work on Goldfish’s smash hit, ‘Cruising through’ on Pacha Recordings.
Protoculture, as a DJ and live performer, ranked South Africas number one DJ according to the DJ Mag Top 100 polls from 2011 to present, has also played alongside a diverse range of international heavyweights such as Paul van Dyk, Sasha, Paul Oakenfold, Armin van Buuren, Orbital, Future Sound of London, Gareth Emery, Sander van Doorn to name but a few. A staple at Armin van Buuren’s legendary A State of Trance World Tours, Nate performed alongside the 5 times world number one DJ in Mexico, South Africa and The Netherlands to sell out crowds with live performances being broadcast around the world live to over 20 million people. He has also graced the DJ booths at legendary club venues such as Ministry of Sound, UK, Ushaia and Privelege, Ibiza, Ageha, Tokyo, Colosseum, Jakarta, as well as Foundation, Seattle, Exchange, Los Angeles and more in the United States. No stranger to the festival circuit either he has performed at Fuji Rock festival in Japan and the Zurich Street Parade as well as other festival brands such as Godskitchen, Creamfields, Urban Wave (Camel Experience), Amsterdam Dance Event, Electronic Family, H20 Events, the legendary Tomorrowland and most recently Ultra Music Festival.
Protoculture’s latest offering, his 2014 album ‘Music is More than Mathematics’ was released to critical acclaim, being cited by Beatsmedia UK as their ‘Album of the Year’ and ranking 4th in Trance Podiums Top 10 Artist albums for 2014 and saw Nate touring the album on all 4 continents throughout the year.
