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Ambient Mafia Bios
On February 18, the Ambient Mafia lost a dear friend and member, Matt Jakes. Matt was a longtime supporter of us before he ever became a mafioso, but more importantly he was a sweet guy whose giving, engaging nature touched many, with a smile that was open and contagious. Many of you knew Matt as a DJ and promoter in the Bay Area for many years. For us, he was a brother, and we'll miss him. You can download Matt's last recorded set with the Ambient Mafia on New Year's Eve 2007 here.
Actual Rafiq (ambient mafia / the Drow) was born in the future and raised in the past. He currently lives beneath the faultlines of NorCal in the Earth's mantle. Don't feed him after midnight. A link to his websites: http://myspace.com/actualrafiq and http://myspace.com/evilrafiq
Calamity Jane (aka Shelley Gehlbach) has vested 6 years in the Bay Area spinning everything save for gems like gabbercore or diva trance. After starting out with a couple years of D&B, Calamity picked up breaks and did the club circuit for a couple years with crews like AM Breaks, Moksha Tribe, SFR and the dRow. At present she spins primarily 'fluffy and loverly' chill including some of her own production but also continues her transcendental assquake to tech house whenever the opportunity arises. Calamity's presently a member of Moksha Tribe and Word of Mouth - SF (www.womsound.com). A link to her websites: http://people.tribe.net/calamityjane and http://www.thedjlist.com/djs/CALAMITY_JANE/
The Captain has been following electronica since he was first introduced to 808State way back in 1989. Later he would be introduction to the underground rave scene by joining the Stargaze Family where he would later find the oppertunity to begin spinning downtempo. In early 2006 he co-founded The Chill Syndicate with Skyebaby as a commercial free outlet to promote local DJ talent through podcasting. The Captain recently joined the Mafia and has a special love for groovey sounds with a distinct brazilian twist, acid jazz, and especially the occational polka or show tune remix. He so old that some say that he was DJing before DJing was even invented. Some say that he invented chairs. But most believe that his stuffed monkey collection is superior, and he causes all of the gnomes on the floor to get loose. A link to his website: http://myspace.com/ms7330
Cubik and Origmai are ... Multi-instrumentalists. Manic dub mixologists. Kid's records crate diggers. Unsatisfied staying in one genre, even within songs. Whipping keys, bass, guitar, and drums into a soul funk stew. Sippin' sake in the studio like it's going out of style. Bringing the danger back to downtempo. Cubik & Origami's eponymous 2nd album on Wide Hive Records blends funky downtempo, blunted jazz, electro, IDM, space rock and indie pop into a mesmerizing continuous-mixed experience that creaks, wiggles, gets down and dirty, sings, laughs, freezes and thaws.. I mean.. You just have to hear it. You can download from the iTunes music store and mp3.com, or buy it from Giant Peach. A link to his website: http://www.myspace.com/cubikandorigami
Ambient Mafia founding member Old Nasty started dabbling as a selector in 1995. while he's notorious for mixing different styles and eclectic sets, his work with the mafia tends to focus on chunky midtempo and, more recently, roots reggae and rock steady/dancehall. A link to his website: http://www.cosmicblatherings.org
Harken started spinning records in 1997 upon hearing LTJ Bukem's seminal Logical Progression. After several underground appearances with the likes of Epiphany, Plate Tectonics, and High Jinx, he was approached by Redstickman, and asked to be a founding member of the Ambient Mafia. Little did he know that the key word there was "member". He will stun you with (FKA "intelligent") drum & bass, obscure indie rock, creepy/beautiful ambient, and the occasional mashup. Hallucid and Harken have teamed up for mind altering, dream weaving, beanbag grabbing ambient sets at the Mafia 8 Year, Feather River, and future considerations... DJ Fieldsoe (AKA d.roc, Fieldstone, Triad, Tree-Odd, etc) and Harken still drop old skool dolphin jungle together. Harken has also recently started playing guitar with The Lag http://www.myspace.com/thelagsf , who specialize in psychedelic/garage/shoegaze rock and witty on-stage banter. A link to his website: http://www.myspace.com/djharken
Ari went to his first underground in 1994 and became quickly obsessed with the passionate audiogasms that make the booty shake and the heart skip a beat or two. Having joined the Ambient Mafia in 2003, he brings an aural delight of ambient soundscapes layered with a tweaked glitchy chunky-style peanut butter, smoothed out with dubby undertones and hints of clav_e'. Ari is currently dabbling in music production, but will throw down some dated vinyl from time to time. He has also been a key contributor in the industrial design of a variety of audiophile gear for clients such as M-Audio and Niveus. A link to his website: http://www.hallucidations.com
Seeking musical freedom, Hickory moved to California from Louisiana. By selling his kid brother into slavery and skinning household pets to sell their furs to third world nations, Hickory was able to purchase his pair of 1200s. Much like the legend Robert Johnson, it is rumored that Hickory made a deal with the devil, trading his soul for his impressive skills rocking the 1s and 2s. There is no genre that isn't Hickory's bitch and he can be seen as part of We Are Not Pandas or creating musical madness on his own. He'll charm his way into your heart leaving you willing to trade him your soul for 15 more minutes of his magic on the decks.
mo corleone celebrates the unpredictable. as such, her sets vary in style and speed, refusing to be pigeonholed. jazzy breakscapes, asian flavored chill, and stoned out dubstep currently dominate her crates, but the only thing guaranteed is music that will make you take notice. A link to her website: http://www.mocorleone.com
Still a freshman to the electronic/dance music culture, Brian caught the Thump Radio wave just as it started gaining momentum. After 5 years of promoting for the monthly Thump events, on the Thump Radio airwaves at KUSF, and online as an Assistant Radio Producer for ThumpRadio dot com, Peek found jazzy, funky, psychedelic downtempo grooves. Peek finally began DJing outside the bedroom when Masonic and Sinukus asked him to be the opening resident for their successful Friday weekly Happy Hour called "Thump Chill" that welcomed guests such as Jondi & Spesh, Garth, Didje Kelli, Felix The Dog, Jonathan Ojeda, Ben Doren, Kaya Project, Ambient Mafia and many more... Since "ThumpChill," Peek has teamed with the Quid Pro & the Ambient Mafia to keep bringing the downbeat funkness to their weekly Happy Hour called "Flow Fridays."
Fortunate to have attended some of the first parties in the bay area in 1989, Michael the Redstickman has seen the dance community from all different facets. As a clubber, go-go dancer, promoter, setup/cleanup monkey, party planner/organizer, DJ, remixer, and co-producer, Michael has done it all. He founded the infamous Ambient Mafia in November of 1999, and they've taken over chill rooms in the Bay Area by storm with their chunky and funky downtempo beats. Known for their imbibatory excesses as well as excellence in DJ ability, Michael and the Mafia can be found at their weekly residency at Anu, first Fridays of the month with Flow Fridays. Versatility being second-nature, Michael has been known to spin downtempo, techno, ghettotech, disco house, funky dubby house, deep house, tech house, breaks, midtempo, bossa nova, ambient, and dub. If he's really toasted, he'll mash-up some obscure 80s song on the fly. A link to his website: http://www.redstickman.com
DJ, Producer and "Missionary of Music", Swami delivers a wide range of musical styles... from downtempo, trip-hop and dub to midtempo, breakbeat and psy. Swami bridges the gap between "Live PA" and "Mashup DJ" in his performances by bringing together classic DJ techniques with glitchy effects, live sampling and on-the-spot remixing. Melodic and beat-oriented... Swami's music is spiritually uplifiting, original and always thought-provoking. A huge supporter of the NorCal Outdoor Psytrance scene, Swami can frequently be found at your local campout crashing through the brush with a bottle of wine, shaking squirrils from their trees with bass or trying to perfect the art of corned beef hash on a propane stove... A link to his websites: http://people.tribe.net/seventhswami and http://www.myspace.com/swami7
A musician since the age of eight, Shane spent most of his early years learning how to harness the power of the tuba. By the time he graduated High School, he was proficient in seven other instruments and was ranked among the top five tuba players in New York State! Once in college he continued with music by becoming the singer in a garage band. Eventunally, his band-mates showed their appreciation for his vocal prowress by handing Shane a guitar. Withing two weeks he had taught himself the basics and spent the next few years playing in a series of local indie bands. After NASA brought Shane to the Bay Area in 1997, he eventually decided to go to a warehouse party to see what the hell everyone was raving about. Three months later hed bought turntables, a ton of vinyl, and soon became a core member of several Bay Area collectives including Epiphany, Viberation and Friends and Family. An innaugural member of the Ambient Mafia, Shane looks forward many things, such as blowing minds, one banana at a time. He also likes mimosas, walks in the park, robotic death, driving fast and bacon.(Editor's Note: Mmmmm Bacon!!!) A link to his websites: http://www.nuclearferret.com and http://www.myspace.com/nuclearferret
sixty4k, the ambient rockstar. The jet setting international chill dj of vague confusion has been rocking bay area chill rooms for 10 years now, as well as occasional invasions into foreign lands. Typically playing ambient found sound to the slower end of downtempo, he brings the funked up midtempo ass shakers when teamed up with fellow mafia dj Hickory as: 'We are not Pandas.' His affiliations: ambient mafia, mirai kanai A link to his websites: http://sixty4k.com
DJ Skye (aka Skyebaby) started spinning in 1997, focusing primarily on dark trance and jungle. And then she stumbled upon children's records and nifty mixers with effects. Layers upon layers of ambient with twisted samples from anything under the moon (and above it for that matter). That led to downtempo, and her friend with no pants (aka Red Stickman) said, "Hey Skyebaby!" and she was all, "Hi." Everything after that is a blur. A link to her website: http://www.skyebaby.com
Speakeasy Ray is a downtempo DJ specializing in groovy beats and crossing genres. Electronica, Manchester baggy beats, 60’s cocktail lounge pop…no one is safe. He produces remixes and his own tracks, working with the likes of Rowetta from Happy Mondays. He also has a psychedelic dreampop band called Hope Chest, 3 cats, and a predilection for Irish whiskey. A link to his website: http://www.myspace.com/speakeasyray Checkout his band at http://www.hope-chest.net and http://www.myspace.com/hopechest
Squelchy has been making noise in the Bay Area for the past decade as both a musician and a dj. Since stepping behind the decks publicly in 2000 with the monthly "Code Green" downtempo night at Sublounge. Squelchy has spread his love of funky, fun and hard-to-classify music as regluar dj at The Extra Credit's "Beats and Boardgames" events and as a frequent contributor to the Chill Syndicate podcast series. A link to his website: http://www.myspace.com/djsquelchy Checkout his mixes at http://www.digitrash.com and his orginal music at http://www.vocoid.com |