TOOLOON
Long Bio · Presskit · English

Inspired by his father, bandleader Juanito Heldmann, Holger Heldmann discovered his passion for percussion, guitar and bass grooves as well as electronic music early on – influences that still shape his unmistakable sound today: a driving blend of Afro House, Progressive House, Tech House and Techno.

Since 1996, he has gone by the name TOOLOON for exactly this percussion-driven Tech House, extended arcs of tension and high-energy DJ sets. Shaped by clubs, underground events and open airs across Germany, he became known especially in Munich for long, dramaturgically built sets and his distinctive groove.

In 1997, he was the first DJ for electronic music in Moosburg near Munich and, together with his colleague Aro-B, founded the “ROSE Club”. At the same time, he completed his training at the SAE School of Audio Engineering. He then went on to work as an audio engineering consultant for the record label Unicade Music, where he contributed, among other things, to the release of Lou Bega’s international No. 1 hit “Mambo No. 5”.

From 1998, he was resident DJ, booker and co-organiser of the “Underground Project” (UP-Team) in Munich – known for events in gravel pits, under motorway bridges, in underground car parks and at other off-locations. He played these events with Tech House, Hardtrance and Progressive Techno. He also remained active in the house scene: his residencies at “New World Cafe Munich” and “Kay’s Bistro” showcased his range, while his solo house nights regularly drew attention. His job at a record shop also allowed him to build up an extensive vinyl collection.

In 1999, he began his career as a sound engineer and sound designer at Giesing-Team and went self-employed in this profession in 2008. To this day, he is responsible for the mixing and sound design of numerous feature films and trailers, commercials, streaming series and audiobooks.

In 2000, he accompanied his father to Cuba, to work as a studio sound engineer on his father’s new album – alongside major names from the circle of the “Buena Vista Social Club”. At the same time, he witnessed the emergence of the techno movement in Havana first-hand.

Back in Germany, from 2001 to 2002, together with Munich showbartender Jetto he ran one of the first after-work events in Munich under the name “coozy lounge”. Cocktails and finely selected house sound were the order of the day. At this event, too, he regularly played house sets of up to six hours.

At the same time, together with his father and the percussionists from his father’s band, he founded the act “TOOLOON & Drum Experience” – a combination of DJ sets and live percussion – and performed with this line-up at numerous events.

In 2002, he returned for a while to La Gomera, one of the most formative places of his childhood, and took over the residency at “Ajul” for one season. There, too, he was among the first DJs to bring electronic music to the island.

Back in Munich, he produced in 2003, together with his father and Happy Hour Records the compilation “The Sound of Sausalitos” for the restaurant chain of the same name – featuring a DJ mix as well as a Latin house track by TOOLOON and his father. At the same time, he met Joshua McGhee and Martin Groovic, aka Martin Martinez, and joined their Soundexpression DJ team.

That same year, he was the first DJ to play at the Palais in Munich and was subsequently booked there regularly. Over the following five years, he could be heard at various events and clubs from Munich to Nuremberg to Berlin. He also played regularly at “Konzept Schall” events and the “Obsession” events.

From 2008, he played only occasionally at small, selected events such as “Elektrokeller”, “Kollektive Scheuern”, “Kult Beat” and the “After Dark” after-hour in the Bavarian region. In the early 2020s, he also spent winters more frequently on La Gomera, where he ran a small sound suite and enjoyed the underground parties with their excellent DJs.

Now that his children have grown up, he is returning more intensively to the decks in 2026 – with a further evolved sound between Afro House, Progressive House and Tech House.

www.tooloon.com · booking@tooloon.com