Born in Bogotá, Colombia, Rodrigo Vega has always been attracted to music and dreamt of becoming a musician. During his school years at Colegio San Carlos in Bogotá, he became part of a close group of friends that shared a passion for music. Many of those friends are now well-known in Latin America’s music industry, such as popstar Cabas. While he liked eletronic music very much – he was a big Jean Michel Jarre fan – he discovered dance music in the early 90’s, when he heard Technotronic’s “Pump the Jam”, MARRS’s “Pump Up the Volume”, and Inner City’s “Good Life” on local radio stations. Hooked by the beats, he collected every cassette from Technotronic, 2 Unlimited, Depeche Mode, Erasure, Pet Shop Boys, Ace of Base, and other musician that explored the electronic sound. Rodrigo also experimented with drumming and self-taught the bass guitar, and in 1995 he played bass and was lead singer of the band “Salida de Emergencia.” In college From 1996 to 2000, while studying for his major in Industrial Engineering, Rodrigo met César Salgado – now both his best friend and manager in Colombia - and formed the band Awkward Blues. He continued to make party compilations for his friends while playing with Akward Blues in various gigs, strengthening his reputation of “au courant” with good quality dance music. Rodrigo always thought that mainstream electronic music at the end of the ‘90s lacked “melodic value” and was “stuck”. He was still looking for tracks that had more vocal and musical richness for his compilations, and eventually found what he was searching for in e British duo Everything But The Girl (EBTG), which became a significant influence in his sets and remixes. Abroad While he was in Coro, Venezuela in 2003, Rodrigo finally found the core essence of his musical influence when he received the CD “Café del Mar: Chill House Vol. 2 – Compiled by Bruno”. The album had a major influence on Rodrigo’s work, as it introduced him to the sounds of Mark Grant, Solar House, Julius Papp and Miguel Migs. In the summer 2003, Rodrigo was transferred to Switzerland, where he joined a local DJing club and learned how to DJ – which he learned very quickly. He mastered the basics within two weeks; when his mates heard his first set, one of them said: “He Mann! Sie sind ein sehr schneller Anfänger. Sie Sind DJ Schnell!” (Hey man! You're a very quick learner. You're DJ Quick!). And thus, DJ Schnell was born. DJ Schnell began to hold weekly residencies in small pubs and lounges in Zürich, Luzern and Basel. From time to time he visited London, where he found a Sunday evening party called The Lazy Dog in the Notting Hill Arts Club. It was there when he met Jay Hannan and Ben Watt (Tracey Thorne’s partner in EBTG), both of whom were resident DJ’s. He was impressed with the unique, stylish, yet powerful sound, and had some conversations with Hannan and Watt, who were kind enough to give him a good load of tracklistings and a few DJ tips. Due to his “day job” responsibilities, DJ Schnell only played occasionally, mainly in Zürich and London – but this same day job granted the opportunity to play in lounges and pubs around the world - Córdoba, São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Makati City and Caracas all had a spin. Back Home Back in Bogotá in 2005, Rodrigo established a 3-night-per-week residency at a lounge called Anita Lava La Tina – read it backwards, it’s fun! Anita’s was a tiny, vivacious and posh lounge which allowed him to play right next to the people on the dance floor, getting directly in touch with the vibe of the crowd. Sabas Pretelt, former owner of Anita Lava La Tina, raves: “His sets are wonderful! I was a DJ myself, and Schnell always had new material with the utmost quality. Besides the great, “très sophistiqué”, f-TV style, lounge grooving atmosphere he creates, he can also be a very hardcore DJ. We’d organized several events here at the lounge and I’ve seen this guy actually playing for 13 hours non-stop, handling all that energy. He’s smashing.” While playing in Anita Lava La Tina, a costumer gave him the idea to record his sessions, and he produced the “Palindrome Series:” a total of 6 double CD mixed albums, recorded live from the Anita gigs. By September 2006, Schnell established a Thursday-through-Saturday residency at Barbarosa, a top-notch lounge in Bogotá, where he shared turntables with DJ Charly Illera. By 2007, DJ Schnell was playing at a local jazz café called Story Ville, where he put together two more live session CD albums. Costa Rica: Schnell's New Home In April 2007, again prompted by an industrial engineering day job, Schnell moved to Costa Rica, further expanding his journey as a DJ. There he met Lawrence Casal, a well-known Costa Rican DJ. DJ Schnell had the opportunity to play along with him and share a couple of sets in Club Oh!, Frankie Go, and Club Capone, three significant clubs in Costa Rica's nightlife. He has also warmed up the dancefloor for prestigious Central American DJs Mario Miranda, Melissa O, Diego López, and Tom Sawyer. Matteo Piccirilli (Frankie Go’s owner) agrees that “DJ Schnell plays very refined house tracks, very musical and with excellent quality”. In July 2007, DJ Schnell made part of the official DJ Roster of "Promosónica Productions" in Costa Rica, where he'd be a crew member until late October 2007. By Tourist Season 2008, DJ Schnell had established a weekly residency in Tamarindo Beach’s newest hot spot, the open-air BAR 1, where every night’s vibe dictates the musical style that ensues. Reknown amongst the community for his playful approach and all-night energy, DJ Schnell continues to grow in the Costa Rican music scene. In april 2008, DJ Schnell began hosting GROOVE FUNKY; a weekly show in the UK-based web radio station Definitive Beats, where every Tuesday spins live a refined selection of his favourite tunes and club/lounge hits, sharing his music and mixing style all around the world.