Oscar Cartagena, known professionally as OrtoKore, built a distinguished musical career as a DJ and producer in Venezuela and was a cornerstone of the electronic music scene in Caracas in the late 1990s. He laid the foundations of the hardcore/gabber movement in the country and, just as importantly, helped develop the drum and bass scene, both in Venezuela and later in Chile and Europe.
In the early 2000s, OrtoKore was among the first hardtek artists from the region to gain international exposure in a landscape dominated by European musicians, with the musical duo Spiralheadz (OG Records), selling more than 3,500 vinyl copies of the first edition and, with a 2017 re-press, more than 1,000 copies. In the early 2010s he made important contributions to drum and bass through labels such as Voodoo Music (sister label of Raiden’s Offkey Records), Automate Deep and Danger Chamber, bringing broken rhythms closer to his Latin and Afro-Caribbean peers through a range of musical explorations and a mix of genres in his productions and live sets.
Despite a pause of more than 10 years from active work, OrtoKore is returning to the stage, brimming with the intensity and energy that have always defined him. His aim is to return to his roots, presenting strong, intense, danceable sound that reflects his essence and the Latin American context that inspires him. His legacy continues to resonate in the scene, reaffirming his place as a reference in the region’s electronic music.