Have you ever listened to a song that felt so perfect in every way – the rhythm, the timing, the layers, the emotion – that you start to wonder if it was somehow made just for you? That’s exactly what my next interviewee has managed to do, probably not just for me, but for countless others out there. I’m extremely excited to tell his story (or at least a part of it). From chef to internationally renowned electronic music DJ, he is one of my favourite artists of all time: the one, the only, Teho!
Having been to numerous of his gigs, I can never bring myself to stand anywhere but the front, as close to the music as possible. I also had the special pleasure of slowly getting to know him over the years, introducing him to various friends, and I can safely say that he is as humble as he is talented. I’ve also seen him blow up on the international scene, having done tours around the world, and it really got me thinking – how does one become a DJ, what truly makes one successful? We all have different ambitions and measurements for success, and hearing Teho’s perspective has been truly refreshing.
Into the wild
Originally from the South of France, close to Montpellier, Teho’s journey into electronic music began with a moment many music lovers can relate to: the kind of experience that transports you to a different reality. In 2007, he travelled with friends to see Daft Punk perform their legendary Alive tour in Nîmes, and the show left a lasting impression. The very next day, still riding the excitement of the concert, he and his friend Tran decided to start learning how to compose and produce music together. What began as curiosity quickly turned into something more serious, as the process of creating music opened up a completely new world.
A few years later, in 2010, came the first real test, when he entered a DJ contest in his hometown of Sète. Although he didn’t take first place with the judges, he finished second and won the audience prize, a separate vote decided by the crowd itself, a meaningful sign that people were connecting with what he was creating. There is also a fun twist to that story: the DJ who won the contest was Habstrakt, who has since gone on to become a global name, collaborating with artists such as Skrillex and DJ Snake. That contest, it turns out, was home to two artists who would both go on to leave their mark on the global electronic music scene. What a show that must have been!
When it comes to the sound he creates today, the biggest influence is not necessarily another artist or even a specific genre. Instead, it is everyday life. Emotions, experiences, and the small moments in between big life moments often find their way into his music, shaping tracks that feel both personal and atmospheric.
His approach to finishing music has also evolved over the years. Early on, there was a tendency to overthink and endlessly refine tracks. Now, the process is much more instinctive. When a piece feels ready, he brings it directly to the stage and plays it in front of a live audience. After testing it a few times and observing the crowd’s reaction, it quickly becomes clear whether the track is truly finished or if it still needs a few adjustments.
If his current sound could be imagined as a place, it would be somewhere warm, calm, and comfortable. Not overwhelmingly hot, but certainly sunny. A place where time slows down and people can simply enjoy the moment. In many ways, it resembles the part of the world where he lives. It wasn’t long before that locally-rooted sound began to travel further than he might have expected.
Pursuit
For many artists, there is a moment that feels like a turning point; a gig or experience that suddenly makes everything feel real. For Teho, the journey has been less about a single defining moment and more about a series of steps along the way. One of the earliest successes came in 2012, when he played abroad for the first time. The destination was Japan, and travelling across the world to perform there felt almost surreal. Just a few years after discovering electronic music and beginning to produce tracks with a friend, he suddenly found himself playing in a country on the other side of the world.
But Teho’s definition of success has also evolved over time. At the beginning, it was easy to measure it in obvious ways: more releases, more gigs, and a life constantly on tour. Now, the perspective is different. Real success lies in having enough stability in his career to enjoy life beyond music, and the freedom to spend time doing other things as well.
On my way
As with every career path, life isn’t always hunky dory. Behind the atmospheric sets and the sun-soaked sound lies a more personal story, one that Teho has channelled directly into his music.
When asked about the favourite track he’s ever created, the answer comes without hesitation: it is On My Way. Although the title has a poetic ring to it, it is also deeply literal. After going through a period of anxiety crises, Teho did a lot of inner work to understand where they were coming from. The track was produced in the aftermath of that process, almost like an exhale; a relief. He was, quite simply, on his way back to a normal life. And what a time for it. Around the same period, he also welcomed his daughter into the world. New life, in more ways than one.
On My Way is also the closing track on his third album Shifting, an album he has described as something close to therapy, one that brought him genuine inner peace. When the release party came around, held in his hometown of Montpellier, the weight of everything he had been through made the night akin to a cherry on top of a cake. He had poured everything into that show, everything into that album, and performing it live in front of the people who knew him best was an enormous emotional release. If you watch the recording of that set, you will notice that On My Way is the very last song he plays, and it’s hard to think of a more perfect ending.
Life on the road brings its own challenges too, with time away from family, irregular hours, and constant movement. But before music became his livelihood, he was a chef (another fun fact for you), and the hours that came with that life were, by his own account, even harder. If any of you have watched The Bear, you will most certainly agree with him there.
His advice to DJs just starting out is simple: don’t be too hard on yourself. Plenty of ordinary jobs demand just as much, if not more.
After a period of such profound personal change, it feels only natural that the next chapter would bring something entirely new. Without slowing down on his own music, Teho found himself drawn into a collaboration unlike anything we have seen before: PACT.
Belong
At its core, PACT was born from a simple idea: what if 3 artists, each with their own distinct voice, made music and performed together? The spark came from Joris Delacroix, a fellow French producer and DJ known for his deep sense of groove, who first floated the concept of building a collective. Teho was immediately on board, and together they decided to invite Joachim Pastor, another leading figure of the French melodic techno scene whose music is shaped by rich, baroque harmonies, to complete the trio.
What emerged is something that resists easy categorisation. PACT is more than 3 DJs sharing a stage. It is a live project built around the idea of dissolving the boundary between artist and audience, where people are invited onto stage and given specially designed equipment that allows them to play alongside the performers in real time. The audience effectively becomes the fourth member.
For Teho, watching people’s reactions as they realise they are not just spectators but active participants is what makes the project so exciting. It is music as a shared, living experience, something created together in the moment rather than delivered from a distance.
Hysteria
Away from the decks, switching off is easier said than done. Teho will be the first to admit that his mind has a habit of pulling him back to work even when he is trying to rest. He finds that one reliable release is the skatepark. Once a week, he gets on a board, and for a little while at least, there is no music, no laptop, and no next release. Beyond that, the most effective reset is to travel somewhere new without a computer and keep himself busy with other things entirely, though he acknowledges that is not exactly an everyday option.
As for what still drives him, there is no shortage of dreams. He keeps most of them close to his chest, preferring not to share them until they are real. But one thing he will say is that there are parts of the world he has yet to play, specifically in South America, namely Argentina and Brazil. Places he hopes to reach soon.
And what does he hope people take away after hearing him play? Some feeling. Not any specific feeling, just any feeling at all. Goal achieved, I’d say. At least with me!
At the last Teho set I went to, somewhere between one track fading out into the next, I pulled out my phone and typed into my Notes app to show my partner: I hope he plays my favourite song.
(I know no one asked, but I’ll give it to you for free: that song is called Hysteria)
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Talks in Tan-dem 
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