Since the turn of the 21st century, DFA club music maestro Juan MacLean has been laying groundwork. First, there were killer singles, from “By The Time I Get to Venus” in 2002, to international mega hit of 2008 “Happy House” as well as the “The Simple Life”. There was a debut full-length (Less Than Human, 2005); remixes for colleagues like Air, Yoko Ono, Daft Punk, David Gahan, Franz Ferdinand; international tours with Cut Copy and Shocking Pinks, and DJ gigs from Telluride to Tel Aviv.

In April 2009 came the second album, The Future Will Come – a more pop inspired collaboration with DFA mainstay Nancy Whang. “In my career as The Juan MacLean, my guiding principle was to start out more dance-y and instrumental, and someday bow out making flat-out, three-and-a-half minute pop songs.” As he puts it himself – The Future Will Come estimated this creative arc is at its midpoint.

The next stop on the journey was 2010’s Juan MacLean DJ KiCKS mix CD. True to the series’ standard, it was selected by DJ Magazine as the #1 essential mix of 2010. Juan’s expert take on pure house music (re) introduced house to a new generation of dance music fans such that the genre’s popularity has risen to new heights.

Last year DFA releaseda 12” under Juan’s “house-de-plum” Peach Melba and a digital-only album called Everybody Get Close. It pulled together songs which had previously never been released on an album and remixes of The Juan MacLean songs by the likes of Cut Copy, Holmes Price and DFA’s Jee Day.

2012 will see a new single by The Juan and an brand new album.