Born in Beijing and based in Berlin, Dj Zhao brings a poly-cultural understanding of polyrhythm to dance floors all over the world, and applies historical materialist analysis to the study of social music. Not restricted by style and convention, Dj Zhao's deeply percussive sets span across genres and draws from wildly different times and places, connecting Africa, Asia, and South America, acoustic and electronic, traditional and hyper-modern.

Select Past Performances:———————————FESTIVALS

Nyege Nyege (Uganda) Fusion Festival (Germany) Incubate (Holland) Odunde (USA)EXIT Festival (Serbia) Sondeka (Kenya) Club Trans Mediale (Germany) Sziget Festival (Hungary)Tribal Gathering (Panama) Ethnoport (Poland) Worldtronics (Germany) Fest de Bestuiving (Holland) Sineztezija (Montenegro) Sonar Festival (Germany) MišMaš (Czech Republic) Solar Weekend (Holland) Mikser (Serbia) Treffpunkt Afrika (Austria) Decoloniale (Germany)At.Tension (Germany) Hakuna Matata (Germany) Art Lake (Germany)

———————————CLUBS

Berghain (Berlin, DE)Ponyaza (Johannesburg, SA)Ritter Butzke (Berlin, DE)La Riviera (Madrid, SP)About://Blank (Berlin, DE)Nuba (Paris, FR)Palác Akropolis (Prague, CZ)Watergate (Berlin, DE)Radialsystem (Berlin, DE)Danse Danse! (Amsterdam, NL)Andel music Club (Prague, CZ)Rich Mix (London, UK)HKW (Berlin, DE)UT Connewitz (Leipzig, DE)Opium (Vilnius, LT)The Shrine (NYC, US)Gretchen (Berlin, DE)Klub Fabryka (Krakow, PL)Leopold Museum (Vienna, AT)Floripa (London, UK)Treehouse (Nairobi, KE)YAAM (Berlin, DE)Red Cat (Mainz, DE)Coup D'Etat, Chicago (US)Capital Pub (Kampala, UG)Vacca Matta (Johannesburg, SA)Occii (Amsterdam, NL)Club 414 (London, UK)WonderBar (Boston, US)Noize Fabrik (Berlin, DE)Lipsiusbau (Dresden, DE)La Dame De Canton (Paris, FR)Karlstorbahnhof (Heidelberg, DE)Zeba Washington (Washington DC, US)Guanabara (London, UK)Shikisha (Johannesburg, SA)Passing Clouds (London, UK)Urban Spree (Berlin, DE)ACUD Macht Neu (Berlin, DE)Panke (Berlin, DE)Take Five (Bristol, UK)Badehaus (Berlin, DE)Bi Nuu (Berlin, DE)Cookies (Berlin, DE)Confessions (Prague, CZ)Bohannon (Berlin, DE)Tausend (Berlin, DE)

———————————TALKS

“Forbidden Drums: The Secret History of Modern Social Music”Untitled Gallery, Berlin, DE

“Altered Beats: Transatlantic Rhythmic Cross-Pollination” Festival de Bestuiving / Utrecht, NL

“Forged in Pain: The Colonial Process of Musical Development”Sound System Culture, Berlin, DE

“Legacy of Rhythm: From Biology to Culture” Mutant Rhythms Conference, Berlin, DE

“Reconstructed Cultures and Music from Memory” Voneinander Lernen- interkulturelle, Gaziantep, Turkiye

“Ancient Futurism: Racing The Rhythm Lineage of Modernity” Centrum Sonic Lecture Series / Berlin, DE

“Deep Roots: African Sonic Heritage Today” THE SPACE BETWEEN US Music Convention / Berlin, DE