Dezza

Under the name Dezza, Canadian DJ and producer Derek Silvester crafts shimmering, sophisticated progressive house. Since becoming active in the late 2000s he has earned endorsements from Tiësto, Above & Beyond, Pete Tong and other leading figures in the field. After issuing a steady stream of singles on imprints that include Black Hole, Anjunabeats and Perfecto throughout a decade-long period, he delivered his first full-length album, Cosmos, in 2019; the more vocal-oriented follow-up, 44° North, 63° West, arrived two years later.

Silvester entered the world in Halifax in 1984 and began producing music at fourteen. Early experiments in hip-hop gradually gave way to dance music that fused house and trance elements. His sustained output of tracks commenced in 2009 once “Celebrate” claimed victory in Pete Tong’s Bedroom Bedlam contest, prompting Silk Royal and Solarscape to begin releasing his material. In 2010 Dezza appeared as a guest on Tiësto’s Club Life Radio, launched his own digital label Dezire Records and placed further cuts on Cool Vibes and Mango Alley.

The producer joined Colorize, Enhanced Music’s progressive house division, in 2011 while continuing to appear on Spinnin’ Records’ Oxygen Recordings sublabel. Steady airplay from DJs such as Paul van Dyk and Sander van Doorn accompanied further singles, among them “Meekix” in 2014 and “Need U” in 2016. During 2018 alone he put out more than fifteen tracks, several of which gained traction among progressive house selectors, including the Rolo Green collaboration “Sunburn” and “In Tents.” The nineteen-track debut album Cosmos surfaced the following year and featured the singles “Sweet Dream” and “Cold Outside.” Drawing inspiration from the natural splendor of the Nova Scotia wilderness, Dezza released his second album, 44° North, 63° West, in 2021 with appearances from Lauren L'aimant, EMME and Dan Soleil.