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Sound Wave Block Party talent Brazzabelle, known to her family as Brittney Bowles, has always been interested in a variety of musical genres. Listening to bands like 311 and The Offspring, she would eventually discover dance music in her teens, “When I was 14, I started getting into dance music but none of my peers were really into it except for the four ravers I had at my high school whom wore candy jewelry and huge parachute pants.” Though she enjoyed listening to music, her love of learning how to play/make it came softly, “My parents always forced me to be involved in music and sports activities. I went to piano lessons at this woman’s house that had 15 cats. I hated it. I felt piano was kind of a dorky instrument at the time and after two years of lessons my mom finally let me quit but said, ‘You’ll thank me someday for making you take these lessons.’ She was right. After that I had a bass guitar for four months, traded it in for classical guitar lessons, which I eventually quit as well. Even though I never really got dialed into it, these things all lead to the basic understanding of composition, which I find to be a real help today.”

Brazzabelle started DJing and producing in 2010 and by 2011, she already had debut release “Break Your Body” under her belt. Her success since has been somewhat of a ripple affect as she has earned residencies with several of the West Coast’s most prestigious nightclubs and has been named one of 944 Magazine‘s “Leading Woman in Nightlife. Playing alongside names like Calvin Harris and Laidback Luke, Brazzabelle has made quite an impression among some heavyweights in dance music. Martin Solveig said at a show, “Brazzabelle opened for me tonight, but in two years I’ll be opening for her.”

Following the success of “Break Your Body,” Brazzabelle has released a steady stream of mixtapes, two EP’s, including the single “Drop The Beat” featuring Zashanel and remixed Gentlemen Hall’s hit track “Take Me Under.” Recently grabbing some studio time with gLAdaitor, the two released a free download of their rework of TLC’s classic track, “No Scrubs.”

Still honing in on what her true sound is, we’re excited to see what the future holds for this rising new talent. To quote her, “It will always be unique to Brazzabelle.” Come break ya body with Brazzabelle when she performs at Sound Wave Block Party 2013. Tickets are available, so grab yours before it’s too late.

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The average 21 year old’s life is usually filled with exams, a crappy job and possibly, some uncertainty of what they want to do with their life. But then again, Sound Wave talent Porter Robinson isn’t the average 21 year old. Developing an interest in music since he was 12, Porter spent his formative years working on creating beats, song writing and combining a variety of genres into his own sound to simply appease his interest in the sound of electronic music. But his interest in dance music comes from an odd inspiration, “When I was 12 my brother brought home a copy of the video game Dance Dance Revolution. The score was composed of Japanese Electronic tracks, and at that age I thought it was super dope. So my parents bought me a mini keyboard and that didn’t really allow me to do much. So over the next six years I learned how to make music on the computer. I got my first record contract when I was 15 and since then the genre has been so rapidly developing and I’ve just molded myself into it.”

Somewhere between the chaos of figuring out what colleges he might want to attend and then start applying to them, the North Carolina native released “Say My Name” and suddenly had the freedom to explore his options, “When ‘Say my Name’ was #1 on Beatport’s electro house charts for several consecutive weeks, I started to dream a bit bigger.”

It would seem that those dreams would get bigger almost right after his very first EP, Spitfire which was quickly signed by Skrillex as the first release on his then new OWSLA imprint. When the EP was actually released, it crashed Beatport’s servers as it headed straight towards the #1 position in the charts where it remained for weeks. From that point, Porter’s career has since picked up speed and shows no signs of slowing down. The years following Spitfire, Porter scored supporting slots on tours with Skrillex and Tiësto‘s infamous College Invasion tour.

The year 2012 would see Porter’s transformation grow into a headline act capable of closing out the night at any event. His hit single “Language” premiered on BBC Radio 1 during Porter’s special live Essential Mix broadcast in January of that year. The song as you know went on to worldwide success, securing #1 on Beatport and a number of Top 10 chart positions around the world. In the wake of the aftermath, the track has sold over 250,000 copies, cementing Porter’s position as one of dance music’s heavyweights.

The year 2013 started off well for Porter with the release of his collaboration with Mat Zo on their hit song “Easy.” This song also quickly reached #1 on both Beatport and HypeMachine, while gaining plays on radio and charts globally.

Now, Porter is getting ready for his first full-length artist album, continuing to draw from elements and influences across a wide range. Although he’s spent his former years making and DJing music that’s “perfect for the dancefloor,” Porter’s debut long player will be a slight detour from that, creating an experience in sound that dabbles in the club and the headphones.

We’re excited to see how this 21 year old molds his sound for the anticipated debut. Porter Robinson has unmistakably become one of the most exciting talents to be plucked from an early age. The sky is the limit for this fresh talent both on and off the decks. Join us when he takes the stage for Sound Wave Block Party 2013 on September 21st. Tickets are still available, so grab yours today!

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