Events

Throwing
Throwing Snow is making his NYC debut for this years Unsound Music Festival. Here is what xlr8r has to say... "The new year is a time when people are naturally inclined to look toward the future, so it's fitting that our first podcast of 2012 comes from an artist we're expecting to hear a lot from in the months ahead. In all honesty, Throwing Snow is a name that already popped up on XLR8R quite a bit in 2011, particularly following the release of his stellar "Shadower" b/w "Sanctum" single. The UK producer wrapped up last year with the adventurous Too Polite EP on Local Action, and now, he's assembled this exclusive mix for XLR8R. Throwing Snow's tunes have always had a sort of melodically moody air about them, a characteristic that's also evident on the various house, bass, and even hip-hop-flavored tracks he's weaved together here. But there's more to this mix than club tunes, as the up-and-coming artist also showcases an affinity for more ambient and experimental soundscapes by periodically shifting gears away from the dancefloor and delving into spacey pieces of drumless production. It's an interesting tactic, and one that Throwing Snow employs without messing up the overall vibe of the listening experience. There's a real sense of exploration at work, and we're happy to come along for the ride."

Mike Slott
Mike Slott is a musician routed in Jazz and Classical music but raised with Hip Hop and Electronic equipment. It’s becoming a familiar story these days but strip the story and gear away and you are left with one of the subtlest, most naturally gifted modern producers of the moment. His bravery to explore percussive, textural soundscapes with shifting plates of synthetic melody has earned him kudos from some of the worlds leading musicians and critics. Slott was one of the founders of LuckyMe and together we have grown up from the bare floorboards of a flat in Glasgow, recording hip hop long into the night, through to the backrooms of concerts in Manhattan. Mike’s tribute to his new home in NYC came in the form of Lucky 9Teen, his debut LP released on LuckyMe in October 2009. But with his foray into dance music with collaborations with Martyn 3024, touring his bespoke alternative soundtrack to the 2003 film The Return by Andrei Zvyagintsev, our Lucky 9Teen license across Japan as an expanded CD album and a new album almost ready to master, the next months hold much for this humble innovator.

Grenier (aka DJG)
orn and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Dean J. Grenier, (A.K.A DJG), landed in the Bay Area underground dance music scene 2006 with his first 12” ”Shadow Skanking” b/w “Joyful Sound” on Narco.Hz, two slices of lithe, slick dubstep. Immediate airplay for “Joyful Sound” on Rinse FM and drops in the clubs from prominent DJs like N-Type quickly propelled DJG to the forefront of American bass music producers early on in his career.

Grenier’s production style is rich and welcoming, sometimes visceral but never anything less than evocative. Now considered a veteran of the American scene, Grenier (as DJG) self-released the two-disc Voids collection in 2010, revealing not only a clever grasp of dubstep and dnb but ambient soundscapes, and since then he’s released on labels like Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood imprint, Headhunter’s Transistor, Frite Nite, Pushing Red and Wheel & Deal Records. Now operating under the name Grenier his recent productions see him moving in a more experimental direction, dropping the tempo to as low as 125BPM while playing around with rhythmic structures that hint at soulful house, garage, and other weird shapes, all imbued with the warm melodic embrace he’s always kept hidden beneath the beats. With forthcoming releases on Tectonic, Photek Productions, Get Darker and Frite Nite (with LA’s Salva), 2012 looks to be a banner year for Grenier, as he continues work on his debut album. DJs ranging from Mary Anne Hobbs, Mala, Pearson Sound, 2562, Pinch, Addison Groove, Salva, Photek, N-Type, Distal and many more have been supporting DJG’s recent and forthcoming releases.

Grenier’s performance behind the decks reveals a wide-ranging taste and smart grip on all sorts of music, elegantly-paced sets full of his own productions and like-minded efforts from others. His DJ talents have brought him all over the world, including a recent set at the legendary club Fabric in London and a tour around Europe in 2011, and back home in North America he’s headlined British Columbia’s Bass Coast Festival.