DJ Hell is more than just a musician – he is a cultural force that connects club culture with fashion and art. Since the 1980s, Hell has not only been a style-defining figure with groundbreaking influence within the electronic music scene, but has also become a key figure and icon in the field of tension between subculture, pop and high culture over the last few decades. DJ Hell represents a queer, decadent, intellectual, and avant-garde scene that consciously distances itself from the mainstream. In his work, he often deals with themes such as gender, sexuality, subculture, and provocation.
Back in the 1990s, he laid the foundation for what would later become known as electroclash with his label International Deejay Gigolo Records—a hybrid of 1980s new wave, punk attitude, techno, electro, and post-ironic camp aesthetics. Hell was not only part of this movement, but also its actual conceptualizer and namesake. In this respect, his role can be compared to that of an artistic curator who brings together and transforms stylistic, visual, and ideological trends. DJ Hell is thus not only a producer, but also an artistic and aesthetic thinker whose work possesses a semiotic depth that places him in the canon of contemporary cultural production. His productions are not just tracks, but discourses in the medium of sound.
DJ Hell attaches great importance to visual presentation, with artistically designed album covers and music videos. He has collaborated with renowned artists and photographers such as Wolfgang Tillmans, Ellen von Unwerth, and Tom of Finland, as well as fashion designers such as Hugo Boss, Vivienne Westwood, and Rick Owens. Hell has been involved in fashion shows, often providing the soundtracks and performing. His personal style—a mixture of dandy, punk, and futurism—has made him a style icon in the fashion world.
‘NEOCLASH’ is DJ Hell’s new work. The electroclash of the early 2000s is reconstructed here, its characteristic codes extracted and transformed into a modern, reflective form. ‘NEOCLASH’ is a cultural experiment—music as a medium for reflection, for structuring space and time, and as a vehicle for exploring the tensions between technology, the body, and perception. The new album is a manifesto for the aesthetic relevance of electronic club music, with strong old-school references in a new understanding. DJ Hell, aka Helmut Josef Geier, presents a contemporary reinterpretation of the electroclash genre.
His label, International Deejay Gigolo Records, set the pace 25 years ago – and Hell gave his name to a movement. Godfather of Electroclash reloaded. After many milestones, DJ Hell returns to his roots with ‘NEOCLASH’ – and shows that Electroclash in 2025 can sound innovative and visionary rather than nostalgic. ‘NEOCLASH’ is a bridge between the past and present in electronic dance culture and club music. Italo disco, new wave, indie dance, disco, pop, Chicago house, acid, Detroit techno, and avant-garde music are fused here into a new interpretation. The limited edition 2xLP comes in transparent red and crystal clear.
The ‘NEOCLASH’ album is available here.