Hailing from the vibrant city of Miami, Nala got her start playing in underground nightclubs where she developed a reputation as a reliable tastemaker and energetic performer. Her knowledge of deep house, indie dance, electro, and breaks made her a versatile and compelling choice for the local market and helped establish her “as one of Miami’s top female DJs and certainly an act making some serious strides on the circuit.” (EARMILK)

Her positive attitude and infectious DJ style recently caught the attention of Dirtybird Records’ founder, Claude VonStroke, who now actively manages her career.

Currently, Nala is a hardworking member of the Los Angeles electronic music scene. Her unique take on Riot Grrrl-style vocals and affinity for analog soundscapes has helped garner the attention of the industry’s top producers and allowed her to pave her own space within the community.

With a slew of releases lined up for 2022, Nala is now playing shows and festivals across the globe.

Born and raised in the heart of Miami, FL, Dipzy has embraced music since he was five years old, mastering the timbales, congas, and drums at an early age thanks to his Cuban heritage. After years of developing his skills and technique as a multi-instrumentalist, he realized that the essence of live music could be amplified through electronic music production. The tech house scene in Miami showed him he could take styles he already loved — from neo-soul, reggae, and even metal — and incorporate that into this new medium. His first major release ‘Wobble Like’ was through Dirtybird, gaining the support from label boss Claude VonStroke early in his musical career. Dipzy has also had the continued support within major underground house players like Shiba San, Green Velvet, Solardo, Kyle Watson, Noizu, Rebūke, Black V Neck, Steve Darko, Lucati and Westend.

Dipzy’s new single ‘Bump Grind’ is out now on This Ain’t Bristol

MORE WCP

With a global upbringing, roots in San Francisco, & a current base in Lake Tahoe, Torie’s sound is eclectic to say the least. She interweaves elements of house + tech house, dark & driving techno, minimal, & soulful sounds. She believes in the power of the groove, and has one ultimate goal: to share a captivating story through sound, & to bring newfound life to the dancefloor.

Photos by Haley Busch

MORE WCP

Tony Guerra was born in Caracas, Venezuela. Since he was a child, Music has been a staple in his life. In adolescence, he began being influenced more in electronic culture, based on DJS / Producers such as Luciano, Marco Carola, and many others. In 2006, Tony begins to experiment with warmer sounds outside electronic music, working in small clubs and halls, DJing all kind of music, but it was not simply DJing, his creativity and fusion knowledge was a compelling show live that went beyond expectations, so much passion positions it as one of the most important figures of Venezuela, success today extends far beyond his own country.

Interview with Tony Guerra

Can you tell me about how you got into electronic music and became a producer?

I started when I was 14 years old, thanks to my father, he had a stereo at home where he played his Salsa and Folkloric music vinyl’s over the years, my very young brothers assembled a sound system with turntables, light horns and much more, I was learning from them how to mix with vinyl’s, that’s how my interest grew in the art of mixing music, thanks to my family over the years. As an adult and a professional Dj I felt that I had to move on to a different level and that level was production, I’ll always be grateful with my class tutor at that time Mario Romero for teaching me everything that I know in that area, music evolves every day and that is why I like it read and learn as much as I can.

What artists were you listening to that impacted the tracks you wanted to make?

In the year 2009 when I started as a producer, one of the record labels that followed the most was “DESOLAT” by the amazing Loco Dice, the sound that they were creating at that time was a very danceable Tech House with sounds of artists who are currently quite positioned, artists such as the Argentine GUTI or SANTE from Berlin among much more, I’ve always been into House music in all its aspects but that was my true influence because it was the evolution of Tech House.

Tech house and techno are constantly debated as different sub-genres of electronic music. How do you define them and what moved you to blend them together?

For me, both are part of a great culture, where all the followers of electronic music will have a good time, no matter the genre, sub-genre the only thing that matters is that the dj makes the crowd spend an unforgettable night. As a dj in one night I like to present a proposal loaded with various genres such as techno, tech house, minimal and melodic moments, a dj needs to know that it is necessary to create emotions in the audience and that’s achieved only by joining several genres and not being lineal, that is one of my rules during the game, be versatile.

What is your approach to DJing, who influenced you as you got into it, what is your own unique style?

I always focus on having a good relationship with the audience, they are my energy and my vitality… it is important to always keep that direct and close contact with them, my influences are dj’s as LUCIANO, PACO OSOUNA OR JOSEPH CAPRIATI, the three of them in my personal opinion, beyond being great artists are excellent people who love what they do and have beautiful values ​​as a family, that is the basis of stability, having a family and a good work team to achieve every day all of your purposes.

How has your year been? What has been good and bad for you? 

It’s been a pretty good year, it’s no secret that the world has been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, and there have been many changes in the industry adding the new rules for the attendance of the shows, in the end is the most important for the dj and the audience, this has led me to make important changes in my life, such as making a renewal in my career and restructuring my way of working with my work team, we know that the most complicated thing about DJS today is Staying active, it has been difficult for many, but despite how bad everything was, for me it was a great test of believing in myself. I have never been good at going with the flow, and the truth is that when I try to do something that is out of the ordinary, because I am true to myself, it is when I find myself the most problems. Up to now I have not cared, I have always followed my ideas and principles to the end… I enjoy my career, and I am grateful for having a family and a great team that supports me in every step I take and every decision I make.

What’s next, what else are you working on?

Many projects, I’m currently working with my team to organize a great calendar with my project of “Mez-class”, a vlog on YouTube where I am interested in having that contact with my audicence showing more DJ tips, my travels and my everyday life. As well as I am focusing a lot on my record label, a lot of music it’s coming all from incredible artists, I focus a lot on that search for good sounds and the industry never seize to amaze me. The truth is that a lot of work to do but I am happy with the results that we have achieved so far, everything is in the commitment and today I feel more committed to my public, their love makes me stronger every day, so the most important thing is to be remembered for the good things and that is my goal.

-Tony Guerra

MORE WCP

Born in Moscow, Artem Boldizhar aka Legit Trip has been instrumental in pushing the frontier of the Eastern European/Russian minimal movement. His position at its forefront has allowed the burgeoning producer’s tracks to be played by curious diggers and house heads the world over. He’s also traveled far for his own sets, working crowds from Moscow to Mexico, Brooklyn to Belarus.

Legit Trip tracks support Djs as Apollonia, Djebali, Alex Arnout, Mihai Popoviciu, Steve Bug and many others.Resident of such labels as Jack’s House, S.A.S.H., Cyclic, Innocent Music, Bla Bla Music, Blind Vision Records, Little Helpers and many others.Owner and creator of the Svoboda label whose releases are constantly at the top of the charts

MORE WCP

Casmalia is a producer and vocalist residing in San Diego, CA, who has taken the west coast music scene by storm. A classically trained musician with a degree with audio engineering, Casmalia has been consistently churning out 4 on the floor weapons since her freshman EP in 2017 with Hood Politics Records, and has since earned affiliations with Insomniac Records, mau5trap, Box of Cats, Space Yacht, My Techno Weighs A Ton, OKNF Records, House of Hustle, and more. Casmalia made her festival debut at 2018 at Same Same But Different Festival, and has since performed at Northern Nights Festival, Lucidity Festival, and Santa Cruz Music Festival. She looks forward to joining the San Francisco leg of Diplo’s fall tour, as well as performing a 90 minute live set at EDC Las Vegas in 2021. Her sound can be described as bass heavy with detailed percussion and can range in style from minimal to melodic. Heavily influenced by disco, Detroit style techno and 90’s hip hop, Casmalia is known for playing mostly original songs in her sets.

MORE WCP

Tracklist 

Stan Jericho & n808 - Miss U [King Street Records]
Some Bloke - Give It Heart [Quincy Boy Records]
Ferreck Dawn x Guz x Jack Back - Missing You [Sink or Swim]
RIFFA - ALL 4 U (Casmalia Remix) [Rock Bottom Records]
Casmalia - ID
GAWP - London It Is [Prime Society]
ID - ID (Casmalia Remix)
Yeah Yeah Yeah’s x A-Trak - Heads Will Roll (Arnold & Lane Edit)
ID & Casmalia - ID
Casmalia - ID
Casmalia - ID
Casmalia - ID 
Gotye - Somebody That I Used To Know (Casmalia Bootleg)
Casmalia - ID

Samantha Black is a multitalented DJ/producer known as Sam Blacky. Originally from San Diego, Sam spent several years in Australia, where she first fell in love with producing music and performing live. Since moving back to Los Angeles, music and performing have taken a front seat in her life. In addition to her hectic modeling schedule, Sam has performed live across the world from 2017 to 2021, from Mexico to Ibiza to Bali, racking up over 120 gigs a year at some of the premier electronic festivals and clubs on the planet. With the global pandemic in 2020, Sam released a series of videos onYoutube called “A New World,” where she streamed live sets from some of her favorite places in Mexico, giving viewers a taste of vacation vibes even while staying safe at home. Before all the music, her modeling portfolio included brands such as Nike, L’Oréal, Galore, Marie Claire, Superdry, Guess, Sports Illustrated, Malibu, and Playboy, giving her a unique creative perspective to all types of cultures and styles to bring to her music. With the launch of Sam Blacky’s label, Stabby Records, and her first releases, 2021 is set to be a breakout year for Sam as she expands her artistic brand.

MORE WCP

Expert skills, decades of experience and a fresh perspective. It’s a rare combination of qualities in any business, but it’s exactly what Chicago-raised and Detroit-based DJ and producer Wave Point brings to the table.

Bryan Jones is the mastermind behind this slick and soulful new groove. A drummer since the age of 8, he traded in his kit for turntables as soon as he went to his first rave. Traveling from his native Indiana to Chicago regularly to get the latest house record fix, Jones dedicated his life to pulsing club rhythms and intoxicating grooves.

He’s released records under a few names since the mid 2000s, most recently as one-half of house banger duo Golf Clap. Through the project and its Country Club Disco label and radio shows, Jones nabbed his first Pete Tong Essential Tune, worked with Todd Edwards and dropped sets at Boiler Room and Mixmag’s In the Lab. He won the hearts fans from Lollapalooza to Movement Festival, Electric Forest, FriendShip and more.

MORE WCP

Los Angeles (California) native, Kyle Walker has made monumental waves in the dance music scene almost instantly upon beginning his career. Since igniting his passion for house music, he’s devoted his energy into carving out a name for himself within the scene and has made quite an impact in a short period of time. With sounds ranging between deep & melodic to the grittier & club-driven side of tech house, there are truly no limits to the music he creates.

MORE WCP

Since his first release in 2013, Raul Facio has been sculpting his cutting edge sound into something that is truly unique. After releasing music for a few months, Raul received enourmous support from DJ’s all across the globe. One year later at only 15 years old, Raul manages to gain support from Richie Hawtin and UMEK, two of the biggest names in Techno. A few months after he gains immense support from Italian producer, Stefano Noferini. Raul signs his first track on his label Deeperfect, and a couple weeks later is asked to remix Stefano himself. Soon after, Raul and Stefano collaborate on a track that reaches the Top 20 on beatport’s Techno chart. Fast forward one year later, 16 year old Raul Facio signs his first track on Dubfires mega label Sci+Tec Digital Audio. And this is only the beginning. 2016 marks the biggest year thus far for Raul, early in the year he performed at one of the biggest clubs in California, Create in Hollywood. After this he went on to performing in Salt Lake City’s Control Room, and it doesn’t stop here. In July of 2016, Raul opened up for superstar DJ Claptone, at one of the best clubs in America, Kingdom Austin. Later that same year Raul shared the decks with fellow Sci+Tec artists, Johnny Trika, Lancaster and Julia Govor for a Sci+Tec label showcase inside the Panther Room and Output in Brooklyn

– jams
Jimbo James
Editor-in-Chief
jams@musicis4lovers.com