Techno is The Answe w. Hector Oaks [KAOS] (Vinyl Set)

HECTOR OAKS AT ABY’S S SHANGHAI On 24 September 2026, Héctor Oaks arrives at Aby’ss Shanghai for an extended three-hour vinyl set, bringing one of contemporary techno’s most distinctive approaches to DJing into the heart of China’s underground electronic music scene. A DJ, producer and label founder, Héctor Oaks has built his reputation around something increasingly rare in international club culture: uncompromising vinyl DJing combined with the speed, unpredictability and physical energy of rave. Raised within Spanish rave culture and later shaped by Berlin’s clubs, record stores and underground parties, Oaks developed an approach that refuses to reduce techno to a single sound. His sets can move through hypnotic techno, acid, ghetto-tech, EBM, wave, proto-techno, post-industrial electronics and the raw energy of 1990s rave culture. Vinyl remains central to that identity. At a moment when digital DJing dominates international touring, Oaks has remained one of the most prominent vinyl-focused DJs of his generation. His technical ability, extensive record collection and instinctive approach to selection have taken him from underground spaces to some of the world’s most influential dance floors. His history includes repeated appearances at Berghain, a residency at Herrensauna and a longstanding residency at Bassiani in Tbilisi, one of the most internationally respected institutions to emerge from the post-Soviet underground electronic music scene. Resident Advisor has documented that trajectory extensively, from his RA Podcast to an RA Exchange exploring vinyl DJing, underground culture and the punk philosophy behind his career. For Oaks, punk is not simply a musical genre. It is an attitude toward independence, individuality and resistance to conformity. That philosophy extends into OAKS and KAOS, the two labels he founded to develop his own musical and cultural universe. Across releases, events, visual identity and collaborations, the projects connect techno with rave history, street culture and a wider idea of personal freedom. His albums and productions reflect the same refusal to remain inside one category. Fuego Universal moves between high-BPM techno, ghetto-tech, rap, trap, dark wave, Detroit influences and Latin rhythmic elements, while his wider catalogue continues to connect different generations of underground dance music. HECTOR OAKS IN SHANGHAI His appearance at Aby’ss comes at a significant moment for underground electronic music in China. Since opening in Shanghai in 2021, Aby’ss has developed around an independent program connecting international underground artists with Chinese DJs, producers, promoters and resident culture. Techno, hard techno, hardcore, industrial electronics and high-BPM rave form part of that identity, but the club’s programming has never been limited to one genre. Instead, Aby’ss has developed as a meeting point between different branches of international underground culture and the communities building their own scene inside China. Héctor Oaks fits naturally into that history. Rather than representing techno as a fixed genre, his career represents the culture surrounding it: record digging, independent labels, vinyl, rave, punk attitude and the constant exchange of music between cities and scenes. The Shanghai performance also forms part of a wider connection between China’s underground and the international circuit. Two days after Aby’ss, Oaks continues to Shenzhen for another vinyl appearance at OIL Club, linking two important independent electronic music communities within China through the same tour. For Aby’ss, the night continues a wider history of bringing internationally significant underground artists into direct contact with Shanghai’s local scene while developing its own residents and club-created projects including C.U.M, BLOODBATH and ABIBAS. But this edition is built around something increasingly difficult to experience at this scale. Three hours. Vinyl only. No shortcuts. Héctor Oaks at Aby’ss Shanghai. 24 September 2026. An extended journey through techno, rave and underground vinyl culture.