Born just prior to the early ’90s rise of drum’n’bass, Belgian producer Boris Daenen nonetheless rooted his sound in the form. As Netsky, he quickly became one of the most noted producers of modern drum’n’bass. In 2009 alone, he issued several 12″ singles on labels like Talkin Beatz and Liq-weed Ganja. During a more prolific 2010, he linked with London Elektricity’s London, England-based Hospital Records and released a self-titled album that showcased his ability to switch between rigorous dancefloor tracks and full-blown songs with guest vocalists. Daenen was comparatively less active across 2011 and 2012, though he did release more 12″ material for Hospital, as well as the full-length 2. He also surprised fans and earned plaudits by debuting a full live band, a rarity among electronic music producers. By then, he was an in-demand remix producer; he reworked Miike Snow’s “Black and Blue,” Audio Bullys’ “Only Man,” Pendulum’s “Witchcraft,” Swedish House Mafia’s “One,” Plan B’s “Recluse,” Jessie J’s “Nobody’s Perfect,” and Rusko’s “Everyday,” among several others. Daenen signed to Epic Records for the 2016 release of his third album, 3, which had a noticably poppier sound and featured guest appearances from the likes of Emeli Sandé, Saint Raymond, Lowell, and the peculiarly named Digital Farm Animals, who appeared on the infectious singles “Rio” and “Work It Out.” ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi
Netsky
Landis
Born and raised in Miami, Landis has always been surrounded by the house music scene. At age 23 Landis has worked with some of the industries top artists including Chuckie, TJR, and Henry Fong. His sound “Miami Bounce” combines a mix of electro, groove and old school house elements to create a vibe that gets the crowd moving. Landis has performed at some of the worlds top clubs and festivals including EDC Vegas, EDC Orlando, Pacha NYC and Ruby Skye. With support on multiple tracks from Hardwell, Tiesto, David Guetta, Showtek and more Landis is sure to be a unstoppable force in the coming years.
Dateless
Heavily influenced by Disco and Salsa, Dateless is nothing less than a rhythm junkie. With groovy latin percussion and funky basslines, his music is a direct reflection of his upbringing. Born and raised in Southern California, Dateless revels in inspiration from his latin roots. Having spent considerable time in both Chile and Argentina, the respective birthplaces of his mother and father, Dateless incorporates the unique flavors of these South American countries into his productions.
At 18 years of age, he was taken under his older brothers wing, a former emerging artist, and was taught the basics of music production. Faster than you can say groovy, it became apparent that Dateless had a natural knack in creating memorable drum grooves and leads. At 20 years old, he finally decided to pursue his passion for music and began the solo project, Dateless. Dateless has seen ample support from the likes of Claude Vonstroke, Paul Oakenfold, Planet Perfecto, Black Butter Records, Shiba San, Basement Leak, AC Slater, Marcus Nasty, Rinse Fm to name a few. Dateless aims to become a timeless musician ready to influence the world with his music just as that very music has influenced him.
ILoveMakonnen
Music can resemble a painting. Vibrant sounds color songs, and a full picture comes into focus across the landscape of an album.
iLoveMakonnen treats music as his canvas. Emerging from Atlanta’s fertile creative grounds, he draws from a surprisingly diverse and dreamy palette that boldly stands at the intersection of hip-hop, R&B, alternative, and psychedelica. In 2014, his debut smash “Tuesday” [feat. Drake] would eventually go RIAA Platinum, land on “Best Song” year-end lists by Spin and The Fader, see him perform on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and earn a GRAMMY® Award nomination in the category of “Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.” In addition to the ubiquitous “Tuesday,” the iLoveMakonnen EP yielded fan favorites such as “I Don’t Sell Molly No More” and “Swerve,” while 2015’s iLoveMakonnen 2 EP gave us “Forever” [feat. Santigold & 1st] and “Trust Me Danny.” Rising to cultural prominence in fashion as well, Alexander Wang recently invited him to be part of his Spring campaign “WANGSQUAD” alongside the likes of Travi$ Scott, Vic Mensa, and Baauer.
However, his 2016 project, Drink More Water 6 [Warner Bros. Records], continues a long tradition for the artist born Makonnen Sheran. It’s the sixth installment of a celebrated underground series that began in 2012, and it’s more than just sonically hydrating…
“While I have listeners’ attention, I’m trying to say something good,” he declares. “People aren’t really taking care of their health. Nobody’s getting enough water. I want to bring a healthy message. If you’re going to change the world, you need to change what you’re preaching. A lot of times, we get preached down the wrong fucking alley. Let’s go from the trap house to the art house. I want people to fuck with that.”
They’ll fuck with it because Drink More Water 6 exponentially expands Makonnen’s vision with some of his catchiest and most colorful anthems yet. Following his first trip to Australia for a performance at Listen Out Festival, he spent some time exploring the country and experiencing the culture. Those moments left an indelible mark on him, influencing the direction of his latest body of work.
“It opened things up,” he explains. “I love traveling, exploring, gathering, and taking something from each place to be more creative with my art. This way, my music can speak to more than just one group of people. It was eye-opening because Australians are really in touch with themselves and their feelings. They’re not all caught up in social media like we are over here. Friendships are really valued more than riches and shit. They’re more in touch with each other than they are with the internet.”
Inspired by the journey down under, he returned to Atlanta in October 2015 and wrote and recorded the bulk of Drink More Water 6 in just three days. He teamed up with producers such as Sonny Digital, Danny Wolf, Richie Souf, and Jae Mrly.
Now, these eleven tracks show every face of Makonnen from the booming and bouncy chant of “Big Gucci” to the blissfully stoned introspection of “I Only Trip With You.” Then, there’s “Sellin.” Flaunting one of his biggest hooks yet–“I’m sellin dope, I’m sellin dope”–and a cinematic shuffle, Makonnen slings something else to intoxicate listeners.
“Everybody refers to music, movies, or art as ‘Dope,'” he says. “I’m selling that. I refer to ‘Dope’ as dreams other people envy. I’m not out on the block. It’s a hustling song to get people up to start doing something. The club already went up on a Tuesday. You’ve got to get back out here and figuratively push what you got to push to be successful.”
At the same time, he also reflects on the past two years over an airy soundscape on the pensive, potent, and poetic “Back Again.”
“It could be about a relationship or a friendship,” he admits. “People leave when you’re not rich and famous, but I’m like, ‘I never fronted on you. I’m working on music. This is what I’m doing.’ Now, that things are going good, they start coming back again. It’s not right.”
Drink More Water 6 actually becomes a journey in and of itself for him. “I like to call it ‘Traveling Music,'” Makonnen smiles. “You can put on this series of music, and it’ll take you from the train to the plane to the car.”
If music were Alice in Wonderland, Makonnen would be The Mad Hatter, because he rules this wild, wonderful, and water-y realm with a wide-eyed grin. “When you hear Drink More Water 6, hopefully you want to go out and enjoy life,” he concludes. “I try to make a soundtrack for people living life. There’s at least one song for every moment of the day or night. That’s the world I hope they can live in.”
Sk8
Skate (Nate Maloley) has always had a passion for sports and hip hop music. He grew up loving all sports and kept himself busy participating in any sporting activity he could, while still exploring hip hop music. Legit on the court, Skate went on to play basketball in college for a year, but as the year went on his focus and passion began to turn towards his music.
Born in Omaha Nebraska, family has always been a big part of his Lebanese heritage. Skate’s siblings (Kaylan & Stewart), along with his mother and father (Kami & Monte) have all been big supporters of his goals and efforts.
During the summer of 2014 Skate had the opportunity to create some great music for a rapidly growing fan base. He then began working and creating songs with Sammy Wilk, a close high school friend. In August of 2014 Skate was asked to travel with the “Jack & Jack Digitour” to perform several of his and Sammy’s new songs. From there, his fans began to write the rest of his beginning. As Skate’s movement continues forward the more music he writes and publishes the stronger his passion for making music becomes.
Music is now Skate’s life and he is pouring his heart and soul into it. Skate has released 4 songs on iTunes; “Nothin to a King,” “Signs” featuring a close friend Ty Alaxandar, “Party People” and the Jack & Jack track “Like That,” featuring Skate. More music here on the featured “Music” page.
Wale
The self-proclaimed “Ambassador of Rap for the Capital,” Wale (pronounced “wah-lay”) was able to transcend his local sensation status and become a national rap contender using go-go-inspired hip-hop as the vehicle for his clever wordplay and music. Olubowale Victor Akintimehin was born in Washington, D.C. in 1984 to Nigerian immigrants who first arrived in America five years prior. Although the family moved to Maryland when the future rapper was ten years old, Wale was mostly raised in suburban D.C. He attended both Robert Morris College and Virginia State University on football scholarships, eventually transferring a third time to Bowie State. The music bug had already bitten him hard, though, and soon he quit college altogether to turn to a recording career.
Wale got his first airplay circa 2003-2004 with “Rhyme of the Century,” thanks to the help of a local radio DJ who believed in his potential. This landed him in the Unsigned Hype column in Source magazine the following year. In 2006, Wale signed with the local start-up imprint Studio 43, owned by a former VP of Roc-A-Fella Records, and enjoyed a string of hits in the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia area that year. Many of those records sampled from ’80s go-go — a more raw, percussion-driven offshoot of disco originating in D.C. — like the popular “Dig Dug,” a tribute to Ronald “Dig Dug” Dixon of go-go band the Northeast Groovers. Smart use of the Internet and MySpace was also a big factor in his success, as it helped British über-producer and DJ Mark Ronson (known for his work with Amy Winehouse, Christina Aguilera, and Rhymefest) catch wind of the go-go MC in 2007.
Wale struck a production deal with Ronson’s own imprint, Allido, and released the 100 Miles and Running mixtape that summer. Despite not being signed to a major label, he was met with a good deal of positive press, ranging from XXL magazine to The New York Times. After a bidding war that included offers from Epic, Atlantic, and Def Jam, Interscope finally grabbed Wale for its roster in early 2008. The full-length Attention Deficit followed the next year. In 2011, the Ambition album landed, along with its single, “Chain Music.” The Gifted, released in 2013, was introduced by the single “Bad,” which featured special guest Rihanna on its remix. Its ambition was rewarded with a number one debut on the Billboard 200. Influenced by the TV sitcom Seinfeld, The Album About Nothing landed in 2015 and featured guests Usher and Jeremih, along with Jerry Seinfeld as the album’s narrator; it, too, topped the charts.
Jillionaire
Trinidad & Tobago native THE JILLIONAIRE fuses the Caribbean sounds of Soca and Reggae with influences of various music genres from around the world.
JILLIONAIRE’s brand grows in demand both in collaboration and in his own right. Alongside Diplo and Walshy Fire he is an integral member of Major Lazer, As a solo act he’s had multiple tour runs throughout Europe, North America, Asia and Australia.
In the studio JIllionaire frequently teams up with other talented producers including Brooklyn-based producer Richie Beretta with their remix of the Dolls’ Summer of ’93, a breakout remix with rising-producer Phat Deuce for MNDR hit single FEED ME DIAMONDS and his first original release came out earlier this year on Island/Universal with Swedish producer Salvatore Gancacci featuring Sound Boy Sanjin in the summer festival anthem FRESH. The track already has the DJ support from Nervo, Chuckie, Steve Aoki and playlisted on both BBC Radio 1Xtra and Australia’s Triple J.
This year saw the launch of his imprint Feel Up records, providing an outlet for talented artists who simply put “make music that touches you”.
With tours on almost every continent this year, and more releases to come, you may think you know JILLIONAIRE but he’s just getting started.
Pusher
Pusher is a musician/producer/DJ based in Toronto. His self-titled ‘Neon’ style mixes influences of Trap, Pop, 90s R&B, Jazz (and loads more), and brings everything together under one cohesive energetic, colourful, and bass-driven style not quite like anything else on the current musical landscape.
Since the launch of Pusher in early 2014, he has seen a rapid rise in popularity with a string of originals, collaborations with the likes of KRNE and Rusko, and bootlegs/remixes of Ryn Weaver, Jack Ü, Major Lazer, Borgeous, Shaun Frank, and Taylor Swift all adding up to millions of plays online. This has also gotten the attention of media organizations such as Majestic Casual, Nest HQ, Run the Trap, Trap City, and BBC 1Xtra to name a few. His most recent release — Clear (ft. Mothica) — surpassed 1 million streams on Spotify in under five weeks.
Pusher has rocked audiences live across North America and Asia and, since the outset of 2015, has shared the stage with top-rung acts like Diplo, Flume, The Chainsmokers, Zeds Dead, Flosstradamus, RL Grime, Keys N Krates, Alison Wonderland, Shawn Wasabi, and Cashmere Cat. The Spring of 2016 has seen no end to this trend, with Pusher on the lineups of major festivals such as Bestival and Dead Rocks. Pusher also is well known as a music educator. Along with online tutorials he released a sample pack through Prime Loops in early 2015 that instantly soared to #1 most popular on their site and has consistently charted in the top 3 since.
With support from acts like artists like Diplo, The Chainsmokers, Zeds Dead, and Jai Wolf (to name a few), you can expect big things on the horizon for this young Canadian producer as he plans for his debut EP in the Summer of 2016 on the UK’s Black Butter Records and for more extensive touring in North America and internationally.
Oshi
This 17 year old London based producer has taken the game by storm, seamlessly breaking out into the scene and rising from 300 to 45k SoundCloud followers in a matter of months.
As co-founder of the rising Film Noir collective and with support from Soulection, HW&W and more, Oshi continues to keep everyone on their toes with unique and forward thinking productions that are unlike anything else in music right now.
Krane
Krane is a producer and DJ from Oakland, CA. Drawing upon his eclectic musical background and foundations in jazz, he melds his love of electronic and hip hop beats blurring the lines between the two. His works are at home, in the club, festivals and naturally in a pair of headphones.
