Kobe Dupree is a producer, DJ and live artist based in Chicago. He started out playing live hardware sets in 2011 with a borrowed sound system in Humboldt County. Eventually he learned how to DJ in 2014 with Traktor and would play parties all over Humboldt. Before leaving Humboldt, he started an ambient collective called Synesthetic Spectrum Collective with his bandmate Jack (from their project Chrysanthemum) and has been putting out compilations since 2015.

In 2015, he moved to Chicago to focus on learning from the source, and understanding the impact of the midwest on music. The Midwest is indeed a special place and he has been given the opportunity to play live hardware sets in different places like Madison, Milwaukee, Chicago and the woods in the middle of Wisconsin. After playing a sunrise set in the Mojave Desert for a NYE festival in 2017/2018, during the summer of 2018 he played his first international set in Baku, Azerbaijan at an abandoned Soviet theme park opening for Hiroko Yamamura. They played in an underground bar Le Chateau Music Bar two nights later to a group of enthusiastic young ravers. In 2019 he released an EP called “Subjective Truth” on Double Vision Records (Chicago) and was granted an opportunity to headline at Dirty Sanchez Bar in Quito, Ecuador and play an afternoon set in the Amazon Rainforest at Jungle Groove Festival.

After playing this live set in Ecuador, Kobe focused on DJing as his primary creative expression. Before the pandemic, Kobe was booked for an Albanian festival called The Element Festival, but unfortunately it was postponed. He also started a night at Berlin Nightclub called Testament and a party series called Still Waters. With Still Waters, Kobe and several friends collaborated to host a special warehouse event with Sandrien from Amsterdam, Michael Serafini, Kobe (closing), and Hunter Vita (opening).

In April 2021, Kobe started his own label Dingning Records, releasing a tape of his own material called “Kashgar.” Then in May, Kobe DJd a festival which was hosted in a remote region of the Andes Mountains in Ecuador.

Later in August 2021, Kobe put out “Passing Through” on Dingning, another tape of his own tracks. He was also invited to play an extended set at Servis Fantasia in Pristina, Kosovo. While in Kosovo, Kobe was fortunate to play another DJ set in the garden of Klubi《M》Club before its closure; he also gave a talk in the garden about the influence of the midwest in electronic music. After playing in Kosovo, Kobe was invited back to The Element Festival in south Albania, where he DJd on a beautiful mountainside beach called Lukova Beach.

In April 2022, Kobe released his first record “You Can Do It” on Chicago-based Trax Research, a well-received limited press of multi-colored vinyl. In June, he returned to his Dinging Records label to release another cassette “Ravers of Bremenhain”, which he dubbed on recycled tapes.  Throughout 2022, Kobe has played various clubs and underground events in Chicago, Milwaukee, and Detroit. Notably, during the Movement festival weekend in Detroit, Kobe opened for Lucy and Rrose during the Stroboscopic Artefacts label showcase at Bleu. Back home in Chicago, he’s also begun hosting a new night at Berlin Nightclub called Sub(verse). Stay tuned for upcoming dates and releases from this hard-working, up-and-coming talent.