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303’s Master Mix: DJ Mu$a

George Peele
Mu$a is a master of aural kung fu. Two full decades behind the decks tend to facilitate that kind of skill level. Fittingly, Bruce Lee is one of his biggest influences. Lee once advised “Be like water making its way through cracks”; Mu$a follows Lee's counsel to a tee, perpetually filling the specific needs of each dance-floor he encounters. Versatility enables him to play everything from hip hop to dubstep, but also makes him difficult to pigeonhole....
Denver MusicNightlife11 min read
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Aural Pleasure: Tipper

George Peele
Dave Tipper is a mad scientist of the aural persuasion. Certain tracks of his actually sound like the audio equivalent of chemistry experiments, with bass that bubbles up and gurgles inside the container that is your ear canal. Tipper is a laptop chap for sure and not necessarily the most animated performer in the world to witness live, but standing idly by while watching a DJ mix really isn’t the point. Tripping out to his digital trickery is. If your eyes are jonesing for a spectacle, check out a DMC event or even DJ Swamp's pyromaniac @$$. If your body desires instead to get lost on the dance floor for an hour or four, then find yourself at Evolution of Sound 3 featuring Tipper and a small grip of supporting acts....
Nightlife1 min read
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Aural Pleasure: VibeSquad

George Peele
Whoever said white men can't crunk? Eerie-based Aaron Holstein is a walking argument to the contrary. Better known as VibeSquad, Holstein has been not-so-quietly churning out crunkadelic, bass-heavy beats in his hole-in-the-wall home studio for over a decade now. The VibeSquad sound is catching on too. Ever since laptop artists like Bassnectar and The Glitch Mob invaded Jamlandia after-hours events, more and more opportunities have been popping up for similarly inspired producers to follow suit. 303 Magazine recently rendezvoused with Holstein for a cup of virtual Yerba Mate....
Nightlife4 min read
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Aural Pleasure: MGMT

George Peele
Sure, the psychedelic poptronica of their Oracular Spectacular debut set a new benchmark for 21st century pop music. Its slow-burner success was never calculated, though. In fact, Spectacular's gradual omnipresence could best be described as a happy accident....
National Music2 min read
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Aural Pleasure: MC Flipside

George Peele
MC Flipside has never been more "In the Zone". Still coming down off his winningest Winter Music Conference ever, Flipside headlines Beta this week for Triad Dragons' NRG Thursdays. Frequencies are sure to be freaked....
Nightlife2 min read
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CD Report Card: DJ Dragon – HomeGrown

George Peele
Dragon, one of Beta's resident DJs, recently orchestrated another Mile High milestone: Homegrown. Compiled by the Triad mascot, Homegrown is a mixed CD consisting primarily of Colorado producers. Pretty Lights, Shawn Astrom, Ty Tek, Venaccio, Satori-C, Entropy, Lea Luna, Sonaris, mLe, Shawn Mitiska, Joman, Sir Thomas, Jquintel, Manufactured Superstars, Dirt Monkey, Savoy, Kostas K, Samples, Jontron and Dragon himself are among the individual artists included....
Denver Music4 min read
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Birthday Bash: Johnny Cash

George Peele
MTV's program 120 Minutes facilitated my first visual exposure to The Man in Black. “Delia's Gone”, the debut single from Cash's Rick Rubin-masterminded comeback, was set to a black and white and sepia video clip featuring Kate Moss. My curiosity was certainly piqued, but I wasn't sold until he channeled Soundgarden's “Rusty Cage” (with a little from friends Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers) on the American Recordings follow-up....
National Music4 min read
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Aural Pleasure: Tommie Sunshine

George Peele
Tommie Sunshine is a DJ for the ADD generation. ADD DJ. Apple’s omnipresent shuffle feature has obviously influenced tastes in an unprecedented way, and a brand new breed of beat matcher is adapting to meet the resulting dance-floor demand. While doctors continue to over-prescribe Ritalin for attention deficit cases, though, music is the only mind-altering substance Sunshine craves these days....
Nightlife2 min read
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Movin’ Units: Velcro City Records

George Peele
Jason Schlosky has long had a thing for hooks and loops. Velcro City Records, the dance music label he founded with DJ Hero (no relation to the video game of the same name), benefits from nostalgia value associated with the patented “zipperless zipper” system invented by Swiss engineer George de Mestral. Hooks and loops, an idea de Mestral ganked from Mother Nature (burdock burrs, specifically), are the functional foundation for the popular textile technology. They play a similarly essential role in the creation of electronic music. Where would techno and its related electronica genres be without hooks and loops?...
Denver Music4 min read