The Bunker presents Daniel Mnookin at Public Assembly
$10
Since purchasing his first pair of turntables nearly seven years ago, 30 year-old Daniel Mnookin (pronounced ?Muh-new-kin?) has gone from being just another kid learning to match beats, to one of America's hottest rising DJs. Daniel's musical experience began well over a decade ago, teaching himself guitar and going on to play in a variety of bands throughout high school and part of college. It wasn't until 1999 that he would develop an appreciation and love for all forms of electronic music. "While I bought various electronic oriented albums throughout high school," Daniel notes, "it wasn't until my junior year of college when I studied abroad and then lived in London - that I really began to listen to DJs, to really appreciate what they were doing."
Upon returning back to the states, Daniel immediately began fidgeting with various pieces of electronic equipment ranging from drum machines and sequencers to samplers and synthesizers. He then went on to perform as a live act. "Playing live was always fun, but I found it hard to get booked in big cities as no one had the room or the willingness to accommodate an up and coming live act," says Daniel, "so I eventually decided it was time to go out and purchase a pair of decks and a mixer." Since catching the DJ bug, Daniel has gone on to play at every major club in Chicago. He has also played outside of his hometown in cities as isolated as Columbia, Missouri, Los Angeles, New York, Guadalajara, Mexico City, Frankfurt, Paris, and Aruba.
Never one to rest on his laurels, Daniel has joined with Brian Ffar and world renowned techno producer Billy Dalessandro to form Siteholder Records - a Chicago based techno label. Since its inception, Siteholder has done extremely well, finding its releases in the record boxes of Adam Beyer, Laurent Garnier, Sven Vath, and thousands of others. The label has currently branched off into a variety of sister labels - Siteholder UnCut, UnCut Ltd., and the soon to be announced Facet. In terms of production, Daniel's first record came out in 2004 and featured a track he did with longtime collaborator Brian Ffar entitled "Plinko". He released his first solo EP, entitled "Spotted Cow", in 2007 on Siteholder UnCut. He also continues to release highly praised originals and remixes under the Slutbox alias (alongside Billy Dalessandro). Outside of DJing, Daniel keeps busy freelancing for Time Out Chicago magazine as well as various other renowned publications.