Star of the Year: Rødhåd

The initial rise of Mike Bierbach, aka Rødhåd, was propelled almost exclusively by his abilities as a DJ. Debuting as a teen at outdoor parties on the outskirts of Berlin, his growing reputation attracted the attention of bigger clubs at a time when the stock of the city- and techno itself - could not have been higher. Global recognition started to occur in the last half decade with the co-founding of a record label in 2012 that bore the same title as the nomadic Dystopian parties he'd been running since 2009.

Though he launched the label with an EP of his own productions, Rødhåd's music-making undoubtedly played second fiddle to his expertly curated club sets. Until this year. In February, the barometer broke with the release of Rødhåd's remix of 'Signs' by Howling. With it he reached a new level of musicality, its cleverly manipulated vocals forming part of both the track's beguiling melody and hypnotic rhythm.

"I liked working with the original material," he tells Mixmag. "It was a milestone in my remix career, that's for sure."

A new confidence in managing ambient textures was evident in this remix, a skill expounded later in the year within 'Im Glanz Des Mondes' and 'Planet Der Verlorenen' from Rødhåd's 'Kinder Der Ringwelt' EP on Dystopian. 'I'm now working on stuff where I like the sounds, no matter if you can play it in the club," he says, his decision to leave his career in architecture and commit to music full time in 2015 clearly paying off.

The progression of his productions was echoed in the releases of his label, Dystopian issuing its most boldly varied annual catalogue in 2015. Music by Daribow, Stone Edge, Armitage and Distant Echoes exhibited a wider spectrum of techno and house. This year is also the year that Rødhåd hit top billing at events such as Paris's Weather Festival in June and August's Thursday night closing set at Dimensions in Croatia, where he somehow managed to transpose the intimacy of his club sets into a festival setting. And next year we're promised an album.

Top Røhåd moments of 2015

Howling 'Signs' (Røhåd remix) (Monkeytown)

A leap in Røhåd's production skills and one of the remixes of the year.

Røhåd 'I'm Glanz Des Mondes' (Dystopian 014)

More ambient excursions on his 'Kinder Der Ringwelt' EP, particularly on the lead track

Dimensions, Croatia

Røhåd closed Thursday night with a deeper intimate set