Jakub
Rene Kosik.

Jakub Rene Kosik — JRK — has spent almost three decades connecting the energy of the club underground with productions that reach far beyond the dance floor. A producer, composer, DJ and live performer active since 1997, he has released 17 albums and hundreds of singles and other releases. From acid roots through deep house and techno to electronics meeting voice and orchestra, his work reveals the expressive range of club music.

His story began before his stage debut: at eight, he was composing on an Amiga with Noise Tracker. He also made his own samples using a home-built sampler. His first published material appeared while he was still a child: in 1994, the year he turned eleven, JRK’s work was included on CDPL, an Amiga CD-ROM published by Almathera. His samples later appeared in music modules distributed on ExE’s “Dźwięki i Moduły” and through the international Aminet archive. These earliest publications preceded both his stage debut and his first artist album.

In 1997, aged fourteen, he played his first live set at Liverpool club in Wrocław. “Meadow 303” followed in 1998, with eight tracks rooted in acid sounds. “Live Acid Sessions”, released in 2000, documented the next phase: music made both in the studio and in performance. Instruments, experimentation and direct contact with an audience shaped his approach from the outset.

His productions caught the attention of Mousse T., Terry Lee Brown Jr. and The Timewriter. Mousse T. released “Feel So Good”, made with Grooveliker, on a limited Peppermint Jam / ProgCity vinyl. His Lincoln Six Echo project found a home at Plastic City, a defining label in deep house and tech-house. JRK’s music has also appeared on Baroque Records and compilations from Sony Music and Universal Music. His own Traquency Records provides a platform for his independent vision. “2009–2012 Retrospective Album” reached number two on the Polish iTunes dance albums chart. Released by Traquency Records in 2013, “Secret Life” repeated that success, reaching number 2 on the Polish iTunes Dance albums chart and number 31 on Poland’s overall iTunes albums chart.

Across almost three decades, he has shared festival and club stages with artists who have shaped electronic music worldwide. Artists appearing alongside JRK in the programmes of these events include: Sven Väth, Richie Hawtin / Plastikman, Deep Dish (Dubfire & Sharam), Laurent Garnier, Paul van Dyk, Bob Sinclar, Chris Liebing, Dave Clarke, Westbam, Umek, Anthony Rother, Johannes Heil, Alter Ego, Members of Mayday, Blank & Jones, Moguai, Dominik Eulberg, Ian Pooley, Valentino Kanzyani, Felix Kröcher, Lady Waks, Hardy Hard, Kosheen, Audio Bullys, Gabriel & Dresden, Mauro Picotto, Marco V, Shapeshifters, Olav Basoski, Fergie, Frank Kvitta, Oxia, Cristian Varela, DJ Preach, Southsoniks, DJ Emerson, Holgi Star, Leandro Gámez, Oliver Ho, Jack de Marseille, Marco Remus, Alex Bau, Takaaki Itoh, Paula Temple, Chris Liberator, D.A.V.E. The Drummer, Simian Mobile Disco, Way Out West, Hybrid, The Black Dog, Ellen Allien, Christian Smith, Dusty Kid, Karotte, Magda, Four Tet, Metro Area, Noisia, Sub Focus, Roni Size, Andy C, High Contrast, London Elektricity, Freestylers, Spor, dBridge, Instra:mental, The Qemists, Plastician, Starkey.

He performed a live set on the Creamfields Festival main stage in 2006, at Mayday in Katowice’s Spodek and at Audioriver in Płock in 2010. He played three editions of Water Festival at Lake Piaseczno — in 2004, 2005 and 2006 — and his international history also includes Romania’s Delahoya. Major festivals form part of a journey spanning hundreds of club performances, teknivals and free-techno events. That connection to rave culture and experience across different scenes remain foundations of his own musical voice.

Alongside making music, he built platforms for producers and audiences. He joined the already established City Beats agency and, as a member, worked alongside Grooveliker to develop Poland’s rave scene through music and event promotion. In 2006 he co-founded the Citybeats Records label with Grooveliker, including four sublabels: URBANtek, URBANhouse, URBANelectro and URBANtech; in 2007 he founded Traquency Records. Citybeats releases reached number one on British retailer Juno Records’ bestseller lists, while his own label gave JRK room to develop an independent catalogue across genres.

He also passed his production experience on to a new generation. Working with LFX, he opened Audio School, his own music-production school. Artists who developed under his guidance went on to build successful careers, including in pop. From 2009 he also worked in club management in Poland, extending his contribution to the scene into running spaces where music, artists and audiences meet.

In Wrocław, he served as CEO and artistic director of ACID Club. Taking over the former Studio P1 space, he created a 1,200 m² electronic music club. He shaped its programme and brought in international DJs, combining his stage experience with responsibility for the artistic direction of a large venue. The club’s programme featured Sheldon (Ministry of Sound), Death on the Balcony, Barber, Seb Fontaine, Juliet Fox and Seamus Haji. JRK also performed there under his own name and as Lincoln Six Echo, combining his work running the club with appearances behind the decks.

Earlier, between 2006 and 2008, he was involved with Wrocław’s Lemoniada as a resident DJ and in its management activities. He helped shape regular deep-house nights and later led “Future Sounds of Wrocław”, a series exploring deep house and electro-minimal.

His work with Polish pop also includes a remix of Natalia Kukulska’s “Sexi Flexi”. For JRK, remixing opens another interpretation of a song through club rhythms, space and electronic textures. With Henry Cullen — D.A.V.E. The Drummer — he made “Clap & Count”, released by Apex Recordings, bringing British techno together with his own approach to synthesis, vocals and arrangement.

His longstanding collaboration with Justyna Steczkowska opened another chapter. For “Maria Magdalena. All Is One”, he produced twelve compositions they wrote together, weaving electronics, IDM and trip-hop into vocals and orchestral sound. During their 2019–2020 tour with the Polish Film Music Orchestra, he performed the electronic parts live, taking his club experience into concert halls. The collaboration continued at Steczkowska’s anniversary concerts in 2026. He also produced “Wybaczcie mnie złej” for Justyna Steczkowska’s 2014 album “Anima”, co-composing the music with her.

His live performances are built around synthesisers, samplers, sequencers and drum machines, without a computer on stage. Sound takes shape in real time, giving each performance its own unfolding musical story. During his charity series “I Have My Own Space”, he played continuously for 510 minutes — eight and a half hours — with ticket proceeds supporting Children’s Home No. 1 in Wrocław.

Between 2010 and 2013, he worked with DJ Promotion as an editor of DJ Raport and helped create Poland’s first digital promo pool for DJs. Alongside making music, performing and teaching, he also contributed to tools supporting music promotion and the work of DJs.

JRK has also contributed to the conversation around Polish electronic music as a DJ Magazine Polska writer, Polish DJ Championships juror and contributor to “30 lat polskiej sceny techno”, published by Krytyka Polityczna. His work extends to music for films and fashion shows and animal welfare with Klub Gaja; in 2014 he was honoured in the Polish parliament as an Ambassador of Polish Storks. Now based in London and performing on international stages, he continues to develop his musical world under his own name and through projects including Magic Between Us, Lincoln Six Echo and Terror Smith.