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downtempo

Electric Wire Hustle

Developing their own sound and twist on modern hip-hop, psychedelic and soul, the music of EWH reaches forward while referencing key points of music's past. Thick drums and percussion layered with synth lines, hints of the Fender Rhodes and nylon stringed guitars have your neck snapping while your ears crane to its soulful vocals. While the EWH moniker is a relatively fresh name (formed in 2006) on the scene, this production trio is no stranger to the music game. Members Myele Manzanza, Taay Ninh, Mara TK are all familiar faces in the music scene in Wellington, New Zealand.

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Flying Lotus

Los Angeles resident Steven Ellison. a.k.a. Juno Leed a.k.a. Flying Lotus is an electronic artist/hip-hop beat-maker, occasionally linked to artists such as Madlib , J Dilla and fellow LA resident The Gaslamp Killer for his more abstract and sometimes jazz-tinted style. Flying Lotus, often abbreviated to FlyLo, is currently signed to Warp Records, although he released his first album, 1983 on Plug Research Records, the label to which he belonged from 2006-2007. His June 2008 release, Los Angeles, with cover art designed by Build & Timothy Saccenti, was released to positive critical reviews.

Wax Tailor

Wax Tailor is the trip hop/hip hop producer Jean-Christophe Le Saoût from Paris, France.
After two EP's, he released his first album Tales of the Forgotten Melodies in March 2005, mixing hip-hop, downtempo and trip-hop, and a second, Hope & Sorrow in April 2007. After being a host on a French radio in the Paris suburb of Mantes-La-Jolie, JC Le Saoût started the French Rap band La Formule in the 1990's. He created his label Lab'Oratoire in 1998 and produced records from La Formule as well as Break Beat compilations and a collaboration with the Swedish band Looptroop.

Qua

Qua is Melbourne based Cornel Wilczek who started the project in 2001. It started with an invite to play with Pretty Boy Crossover in Melbourne, Australia. From the pressure of sorting out a live set .. and finishing songs, something became apparent - the songs actually worked. Over the next year of live performances the album "Forgetabout" was formed and eventually released in August 2002. The next 2 years saw Qua becoming a regular in the Australian live scene.

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Bonobo

There are at least two artists with the name Bonobo: 1) Simon Green was born and grew up in rural Hampshire, escaping to Brighton aged eighteen. There he fell into the jazz/hip hop/funk/soul scene centred around Rob Luis and nights like phonic:hoop. An accomplished musician as a teenager, he began producing his own tracks, pushing at the template established in the sweaty little venues studding the Lanes.

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Ramadanman

http://www.myspace.com/ramadanman David ‘Ramadanman’ hails from north London, but now lives near Bournemouth and goes to university in Leeds. He has been DJing from the age of 14, beginning with deep house and hip hop, becoming attracted to hip-hop and jungle as he grew older. Ramadanman has been interested in music all his life, and began producing by recording keyboard songs onto cassettes. After learning how to make music on computer, Ramadanman started to use his brother’s copy of Fruity Loops at around the age of 15. He has stuck with this program ever since.

SBTRKT

SBTRKT is an anonymous producer based in London. Graciously allowing the music to speak for itself - even going to the length of performing behind a mask every time he plays out. Having just wrapped up remixes for Basement Jaxx (‘Scars’) and Franz Ferdinand (‘Send Him Away’), he’s got the airwaves in a stir with Benji B, Mary Anne Hobbs and Gilles Peterson singing his praises. With releases forthcoming on the equally anonymous Brainmath label, Ramp Recordings and the ever fun Young Turks. 5 things about SBTRKT:

Mad Professor

The imaginative recordings produced by Mad Professor (born Neil Fraser 1955, Georgetown in Guyana) demonstrate a mastery of electronic gadgetry. Working from his own studios, Mad Professor has overseen more than two hundred albums including ground-breaking remixes for Massive Attack, Sade, and Pato Banton. Born in Guyana, Fraser earned the Mad Professor tag from his childhood fascination with electronics. At the age of nine or ten he built a radio from scratch. Moving to London at the age of thirteen, Mad Professor continued to experiment with electronics.

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UNKLE

UNKLE, a musical outfit founded in 1994 in London, England, United Kingdom. Originally categorized as trip-hop, the group once included producer DJ Shadow and has employed a variety of guest artists and producers. From the sleeve notes for the latest release End Titles...Stories For Film released in July 2008, the current line-up is stated as James Lavelle and Pablo Clements, also a member of the Psychonauts.

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