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Q-Burns Abstract Message is an Orlando, FL, USA DJ / producer. In the realm of dance music, there are few producers that thrive on blurring the boundary between eclectic experimenter and populist ass-shaker as much as Q-Burns Abstract Message. Equally comfortable covering Krautrock legends Faust or dropping his favorite chunky house grooves into the mix, Q-BAM—known to his parents as Michael Donaldson—is indeed the rare auteur. Whether globetrotting as a DJ, co-running the Eighth Dimension Records label, remixing artists like Rabbit in the Moon, Fila Brazillia and Mazi & Collete, or recording his own original productions, Donaldson is all about the coaxing the maximum soul out of the machine.

Based in Orlando since the early-’90s, the former record shop owner and college radio DJ has spent the past two decades developing a sound that is obsessively devoted to the funk. His animated, vodka-soaked DJ sets have won audiences for the well-traveled Donaldson from San Francisco to (literally) Siberia, and landed him primo opening slots for GusGus, Chemical Brothers and Meat Beat Manifesto.

However, it’s his playful rhythms, surprising melodic themes and not-so-surprising Eno-esque textures that demand attention. An accomplished indie musician prior to releasing his first single as Q-BAM—the breakbeat noir of “141 Revenge Street” in 1995—Donaldson is first and foremost a songwriter, albeit one that is just as enamored with the sheer power of the groove.

Support by DJ M3 and JP Soul