Kettama Artistfacts

Kettama song list

Kettama Artistfacts

May 30, 1997
Kettama is the project of Galway-born DJ and producer Evan Campbell, whose high-energy mix of house, garage, trance, and rave music has made him one of Ireland's standout electronic artists. Built around heavy drums, piano hooks, and old-school rave stabs, his tracks reflect the local nightlife culture he grew up in.
He got his start at 17, DJing alongside close friend and fellow Irish DJ Shampain in the back room of Galway's now-defunct Carbon club. By 20, he was regularly uploading tracks online and testing them out live on local dance floors.
Before making a name for himself in Dublin, Kettama got an unexpected international break in China. A promoter who discovered his SoundCloud tracks booked him for four shows across Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Hangzhou, a request Kettama assumed was an internet scam. He didn't play his first official Dublin show after returning home from Asia.
Kettama's breakout came in 2018 with the track "B.O.D.Y.," which spread by word-of-mouth after Australian producer Mall Grab began spinning the unreleased track in his sets.
Kettama keeps his studio process straightforward. "I wish I could go on and on for hours about my modular this and that, but it's just not like that," he told Beatportal. "I sit down and whatever comes out, comes out."
In 2021, Kettama and Shampain co-founded G-Town Records, launching with Kettama's three-track EP G-Town 001. The label's name comes from local Galway slang. "We used to say, 'Are you going out G-Town?' when you're 15, getting a can or whatever," Kettama explained to The Irish Times. "It was ironic."
Kettama relocated to London in 2021 to accommodate a booming UK tour schedule and escape Ireland's limited late-night club infrastructure. Contrasting the two scenes, he noted: "There are 89 clubs that have dance floors in the whole of Ireland. There's probably 89 in East London."
After years of EPs and single releases, Kettama dropped his debut studio album, Archangel, in 2025. Rather than stepping away from club culture for a full-length project, he quickly followed it with Archangel (DJ Mix), describing it as "an amalgamation of the clubbier bits from the album" and the tracks shaping his Ibiza sets.
Outside of music, Kettama briefly made the tabloids in 2024 when he was linked to English model Lottie Moss (half-sister of Kate Moss). The pair made a public appearance together at a London clothing launch in June before Moss confirmed on social media that they had split that September.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

More Songfacts:

Ring Of FireJohnny Cash

Johnny Cash's wife, June Carter, wrote "Ring Of Fire" about their relationship.

Robin Thicke had a #1 hit with "Blurred Lines" in 2013, but he wasn't the first in his family with a hit song. His mom, Gloria Loring, was a singer who had a hit in 1986 with "Friends And Lovers," a duet with Carl Anderson.

(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The BayOtis Redding

Otis Redding often ad-libbed vocals at the end of songs, but for "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay" he just whistled instead - it became some of the most famous whistling in song history.

Dance Hall DaysWang Chung

Wang Chung's '80s classic "Dance Hall Days" is about how things can start simple but end up complex. First you "take your baby by the hand," but by the end she has an amethyst in her mouth.

Flying Without WingsWestlife

A live, stripped-down version of "Flying Without Wings" by the Irish boy band Westlife was the first #1 on the Official UK Download Chart. It was recorded in May 1994 at The Globe, Stockholm.