Joey Beltram

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Joey Beltram (born November 6, 1971) is an American DJ and record producer, known best for the pioneering techno music recordings "Energy Flash" and "Mentasm".

"Mentasm" (co-produced with Mundo Muzique) became iconic within rave culture, as it was the track that gave birth to the "mentasm riff" (also known as the 'Hoover' sound) — a churning, dirge-like synth pattern that wormed into techno's communal genome and has since been mutated and re-used in literally thousands of records. It was pre-empted to an extent by Richie Hawtin and John Acquaviva in their Cybersonik project, though Hawtin, in response, made sure to answer Beltram's seminal Energy Flash (1990) in return with Substance Abuse (1991). Beltram and the "mentasm riff" are strongly associated with Drum & Bass, the techno Belgian techno scene and the R&S record label, as well as hardcore / hard house in their various permutations since 1991.