Locked Groove

Electronic/techno producer Tim Van de Meutter, better known as Locked Groove, navigates the space between house and techno by prioritizing conceptual exploration over rigid stylistic boundaries. His productions gained increasing refinement across the years, shifting from the dense textures of the Rooted EP issued by Hotflush in 2012 toward the more focused intensity captured on the 2015 single “End/Scherzo.” Several 2018 outings on his self-titled imprint stand among his most adventurous work, notably the tracks “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea” and “Journey to the Center of the Third Eye.”

His path opened in Belgium during 2012 once Hotflush licensed the Rooted EP, prompting a steady stream of further material that soon encompassed the Different Paths EP for Turbo Recordings. In 2013 he launched the Locked Groove label, debuting it with the single “Waves.” Career momentum carried him to Berlin in 2014, where he issued the Brown EP via We Play House alongside Theseus on Permanent Vacation. Output later eased, limited in 2015 to the two 12"s “End/Scherzo” and “Elysium/Pulsar,” then halted entirely throughout 2016. A 2017 collaboration with Christian Nielsen produced Speicher 96 for Kompakt, after which Locked Groove resumed a prolific pace in 2018 with the albums Zillion, The Gate, From Beyond, and Oscillate, all appearing on his own label.