Rod B. & Alvaro Garfunk bring you the Miami Underground Movement




HEARTTHROB Biography
 
Currently one of the brightest stars in the Minus firmament, Heartthrob aka Jesse Siminski
has arrived on the scene with a fresh new take on the minimal sound. It’s not just his ear for a
killer riff that makes him such an exciting prospect it’s also his natural ability to convey a sense of
drama and humour through his music. There’s an infectious energy in his sound that rubs off on
his audiences but it can also be heard in his musical collaborations. Heartthrob brings something
new to the table - be it quirky melodic hooks or twisted vocals - that manages to inspire those
around him to even greater heights.  
 
Growing up in the remote and rural town of Marquette, Michigan, situated about 6 hours North of
Detroit, music was a vital part of his upbringing. Dad played guitar in a number of bands that
regularly practiced at their house and this healthy diet of rock, funk and reggae together with his
older sister‘s obsession with Prince, shaped his appreciation of dance music from an early age.
Erotic City, Laid Back’s ‘White Horse’ and Kraftwerk‘s ‘Tour de France’ are still huge influences
from that time. Jesse discovered techno music around 1996 through a magazine called
‘Massive’ that covered the new rave culture exploding in the Midwest. Plastikman’s ‘Gak’ was
one track in particular that opened his eyes and motivated him to visit his first Rave. Needless to
say, he was totally hooked!  He immediately bought turntables and started looking for
synthesizers to make music, starting out with some retro 70’s gear handed down from his father.
 
Next to studying art and painting, music rapidly became his true passion although it was never
something he seriously considered as a career option. All that was to change when he hooked
up with Magda in New York in 1999 and was immediately taken by her warm nature and
fantastic musical sense. She and Troy Pierce had started working on music and introduced
him to Ableton Live. Shortly after, Richie Hawtin moved into the same building as them, it was
a very natural situation during which this dedicated band of producers and djs began laying
foundations for the future. Since then the learning curve has been steep. Jesse swapped New
York for Paris in 2005 to focus his full attention on production and performance and by his own
admission it’s been an incredible experience. Being invited to use Richie Hawtin’s studio and
remixing Depeche Mode’s  ‘Personal Jesus’ are two major moments that particularly stand
out for him since arriving in Europe however ‘Baby Kate’, the memorable opening to 2006’s
min2MAX compilation is the track that has come to define his sound.  
 
Heartthrob describes his approach to music as “a messy ‘stream of consciousness’ daydream”.
The challenge for him is to make something unique and personal that speaks for itself, regardless
of whether it stays true to form or not. The traditional functionality of Techno music must always
be present but for Jesse it’s all about taking risks and trusting his instincts, which is why his own
particular style is so varied, covering a whole lot more than just glitches, bleeps and sound
effects.  
 
Melody plays a significant roll in his work, often providing the focal point around which the rest of
the track orbits. There is also an inherent darkness to his music but just as it’s always darkest
before the dawn, there’s often an uplifting, cathartic side to it that celebrates the unified spirit and
generates such a positive vibe on the dancefloor. Music also allows him to document his
experiences and with the cast of characters that surround him, inspiration is never far away.  
With tongue firmly fixed in cheek, he often creates fantasy personas that get documented
through vocals or song titles, like a secret tribute and with such an impressive collection of
releases and remixes already to his name (both as Heartthrob and alter ego Vivienne
Projects), it can only be a matter of time before the tributes start flowing back the other way.


Special Thanks to Mr Meike Nolte,Rudy Delgado & Richie Hawtin
 
http://www.m-nus.com/
http://www.plus8.com/
http://www.contakt-events.com/ 

Rod B. & Alvaro Garfunk bring you the Miami Underground Movement

Rod B. & Alvaro Garfunk bring you the Miami Underground Movement






TROY PIERCE Biography
 
Growing up in the quiet farm town of Muncie, Indiana four hours drive from Chicago and
Detroit, it was hard to ignore the rich sounds emanating from these House and Techno
strongholds. Troy was among the first to pick up on DJs like Derrick Carter, Jeff Mills
and Richie Hawtin and was always out and about at parties in Detroit, Ohio and across
the Midwest. Strangely enough though, he never thought about picking up a pair of
headphones himself, preferring to leave the DJ duties to his friends. This way he could
fully immerse himself in the music, especially the experimental ambient tones of the after
hour chill outs.  
 
This all changed in 1994. He moved to New York to study photography and like every
student worth their salt, blew the remainder of his cash on a pair of turntables. He’d
been toying with the idea for a while and as luck would have it his flatmate was also the
manager of Temple Records so there was an endless supply of quality tunes on hand
from labels like Perlon to satisfy his growing vinyl addiction.  
 
Troy eventually hooked up with Magda at the Detroit Music Festival in 2001, who in turn
introduced him to Mark Houle six months later. An immediate chemistry developed
between the three of them and although Magda was now in Berlin, Mark in Windsor
and Troy in New York they started swapping music files over the net. By the time the
Run Stop Restore project finally crystallised into their debut release in early 2003, Troy
had already moved to Berlin. It was a big decision to leave but somehow New York no
longer offered up-and-coming musicians the same freedom of expression it used to,
while Germany and Berlin in particular was setting new standards in minimal electronic
music production.  
 
Since touching down in December 2002, he’s been letting his music do the talking. As
a relative unknown, it’s never easy staking a claim in a new city, especially one with
such a rich musical heritage but sure enough, through a string of successful gigs and a
mixture of impressive releases on Minus (Run and Slacknoise), Underline (Louderbach)
and Mo’s Ferry Productions, Troy has been attracting the right kind of attention and is
now a regular performer on the European circuit.
 
2005 was the year when it all came good. The release of the Minimise to Maximise
compilation and the accompanying tour left a lasting impression on clubbers at such
centres of excellence as Robert Johnson in Offenbach and the Paradiso in Amsterdam
but perhaps the real turning point came in August at pop.com. All those endless nights
on the road and solitary days in the studio came together in one heart stopping set at
the Watergate club. Taking the game to an expectant crowd including fellow producers
and industry types, his uncompromising mix of minimal house and down beat, funked
up techno announced, in no uncertain terms, that he was here for the long haul.
As a DJ, attempts to categorise his style pose more questions than they answer.
Minimalism in its purest form is a tag he more freely associates with labels like
Consumed - ‘super sparse, difficult and totally out there’. Troy on the other hand, has
developed a dance floor friendly hybrid sound that takes the best from the ‘little
movements and micro trends’ that constantly spring up, helping electronic music to
evolve. It retains the mechanical, futuristic sounds of techno but is slower and less
abrasive allowing him to work between the lines, exploit the space between the beats
and push out into the third dimension that epitomises the Minus sound. 
 
Like his label mates, Troy is a strong advocate of cutting edge technology like Ableton
Live, Final Scratch and sample tools like Cyloop. The ability to shift between these
sound sources offers him unparalleled flexibility as a DJ but the benefits don’t just stop
there. He recalls road testing a new track one night in Berlin, getting the thumbs up
from the rest of crew but then receiving puzzled calls the next day because the track
didn’t sound quite the same – he was of course looping in samples ‘on the fly’ and it
was this spontaneous improvisation that really set the dancefloor alight. Needless to say
these overdubs found their way into the final mix.
 
From a production point of view his tracks normally derive from experimenting with his
Machine Drum or expanding outwards from the dark, atmospheric vocal elements that
play a pivotal role in many of his productions. Inspiration often comes through choice
regarding the effects he uses, rejecting standard, tried and tested settings in favour of
unique percussive elements designed to challenge and intrigue. The result is a montage
of scratchy subliminal textures and grinding beats. It’s edgy stuff driven by dark funky
bass riffs that get right under the skin, the perfect tonic for any after hour as sleep
deprivation starts playing tricks with the mind.
 
As it stands, 2006 promises to be an even busier year than 2005. Having provided the
backbone of their releases so far, Troy will wrap up his work for UK label Underline with
the eagerly anticipated Louderbach LP. Alongside this, his growing status as a remixer
(check out his version of Ellen Allien’s Your Body is My Body) will see him reworking the
likes of Lawrence and Donnacha Costello. There’s also another Run EP in the pipeline
but maybe the most interesting development is the conception of a new label - Items
and Things - together with Magda and Marc Houle which should take flight in the
spring. 
 
If that’s not enough, there’s a full-on, five week Minus tour of the US on the horizon.
Richie, Magda, Marc and Troy will set off in May (complete with monster tour bus) for
what can only be described as a next generation magical mystery tour during which
they’ll take in 25 cities. They probably won’t be stopping in Muncie but it’s a sign of just
how much his stock has risen over the past couple of years and confirmation that a
solid work ethic, positive thinking and a total dedication to the cause always bears fruit
in the end. 

Special Thanks to Mr Meike Nolte,Rudy Delgado & Richie Hawtin
 
http://www.myspace.com/168585319
http://www.m-nus.com/
http://www.plus8.com/
http://www.contakt-events.com/ 
 

Rod B. & Alvaro Garfunk bring you the Miami Underground Movement

Rod B. & Alvaro Garfunk bring you the Miami Underground Movement




PACO OSUNA was born in Barcelona. His passion for music started out
when he was very young, at the tender age of 14 he was part of a regular
crowd at Studio 54, where the most charismatic dj, Raul Orellana, was
spinning Acid House, marking Paco in the way of understanding djing. 
 
In '94 Paco moved to Valencia where he had his first contact with the decks
as a hobby. In '95 Paco made his first dj set as a professional at the ACTV
club, where he gained a year residency. After that, he started playing in
many different clubs including Heaven and Universal. 
 
In the meanwhile he worked in a record shop, where he got access to a
recording studio in which he produced three singles for the label Lucas
Records. In '99 he got a residency at Amnesia in Ibiza. There he had the
brilliant opportunity to be line up with the biggest djs and could learn the
different styles looking to build his own. Amnesia was also the place where
Paco got in touch with the person who most influenced his future as much
personally as professionally, Sven Väth, who soon discovered Paco to be
very talented and introduced him in his Cocoon Booking agency. Paco was
the frist Spanish dj to play for this prestigious agency. 
 
In 2001 Paco decided to leave house music moving closer to Techno. From
then on Paco´s career has gotten better and better, leading him to the best
clubs and festivals in the world and giving him a 'seat' in the techno scene.

Special Thanks to Mr Meike Nolte,Rudy Delgado & Richie Hawtin


http://www.pacoosuna.com
http://www.myspace.com/pacoosuna   
http://www.m-nus.com/
http://www.plus8.com/
http://www.contakt-events.com/

Rod B. & Alvaro Garfunk bring you the Miami Underground Movement




Tracklist:

1. Guillaume & les Coutu dumonts - Sous D'arbe (Horror inc. remix) - Musique Risquee
2. Andrea Fiorito - Boti's World - Cynosure
3. Monoblock - Charlie es un Mingus - Unreleased
4. Ido Oshkopun - Rangun - Cynosure
5. Adam Marshall - Chord tracking (Mike Shannon mix) - Kuji
6. Mike Shannon featuring Fadila - Bounce your body the box (futurist bounce mix) - KMS
7. Dub Taylor - Sour & Salty - Cynosure
8. Andrea Fiorito - Betty Loop - Cynosure
9. Mike Shannon - Uno para el Sol - Plus 8
10.Mike Shannon - Dr.X - Plus 8
11.Brett Johnson - Space (Basstrumental mix) - Cynosure
12. Chez Damier and Ron Trent - Untitled - KMS
13. John Shananigans - the box is open - unreleased
14. Todd Terry - put your hands up - unreleased #2
15. Reese and Santonio - Bounce your body to the box (Mike Shannon flashback mix) KMS
16. Hearthrob - Signs (Deadbeat and Shannon mix) - Minus
17. Monoblock - Ombu - Cynosure
18. ATOM - prend et mois - rather interesting

MIKE SHANNON BIOGRAPHY 
 
It’s been 10 years since Mike Shannon started making a name for himself on the international techno
scene as a DJ, producer and label owner. Now, having relocated to Berlin from Valencia via Montreal in
2007 he’s about to crown his first decade of active service with Memory Tree, his third full length to date,
and his debut for another notable Canadian export - Richie Hawtin’s Plus 8 Records. Over the years,
Mike has well proven that it’s not just his music that makes him such a valuable asset to the techno
community, it’s his total dedication to the cause. Whether finding him standing behind a record shop
counter or searching out new talent for his labels, it’s always been about bringing people together and
investing in the future of the scene. 
 
Mike first got the vinyl bug at the tender age of 12, buying house and techno tunes at Play de Record in
Toronto and by 15 his turntable skills were already landing him gigs at local underground parties and clubs.
From then on, Mike’s musical world expanded rapidly thanks in no small part to Detroit’s influential WJLB
radio station which turned him on to U.R., Juan Atkins and Kevin Saunderson - influences that still play a big
role in his approach to music today. To satisfy his appetite for all things Techno, he was soon managing the
orders at Speed Records in his hometown of Kitchener, Ontario where he continued his education;
importing cutting edge sounds from across Europe.
 
Throughout that time, Mike was out DJing and clubbing from Detroit to Toronto, making connections and
building up a solid network of producers and artists, which led to the inevitable formation of his own label
Cynosure in 1999. A couple of years later, he teamed up with Jeff Milligan on the more experimental
Revolver Canada imprint. Both labels have since developed into highly respected and trusted sources,
subsequently raising the profile of Canada’s electronic music scene by providing then unknown producers
such as Akufen and Deadbeat an international platform to spread their distinctive sound throughout the
world. Beyond developing homegrown talent, both imprints continue to invite an inspired selection of
international artists including Pier Bucci, Monolake and Brett Johnson to name a few. 
 
For Mike it’s always been a question of choosing uncompromising artists who possess a unique and original
voice - an attitude that also defines his own work whether recording as John Shananigans, The Sunaj
Assassins or under his own name. There’s a distinctive feel to his music that’s both dark and soulful, that
stays true to his roots while embracing the future and never fails to deliver a flurry of kick-ass, funk infected
beats easily proven by a volley of timeless singles over the years and two previous full lengths. Take 2001’s
Slight of Hand on Force Inc - an album that cemented his reputation as an up-and-coming Minimal Techno
producer and 2005’s Possible Conclusions to Stories That Never End - a collection of chilled-out
Electronica inspired by his musical odyssey throughout Chile in 2003. 
 
Mike’s recent move to Berlin represents the fulfillment of another chapter in his musical career and with so
many influential Canadian producers having taken up residence in the German capital over the last few
years, it’s a chance to hook up with old friends again and start collaborating on new plans and ideas, just
like the old days. Then of course there’s the new album, the accompanying remix projects and the
immediate matter of fatherhood to make 2008 something of a milestone both professionally and personally.
 
Special Thanks to Mr Meike Nolte,Rudy Delgado & Richie Hawtin
 

http://www.m-nus.com/
http://www.plus8.com/
http://www.contakt-events.com/

Rod B. & Alvaro Garfunk bring you the Miami Underground Movement





Mauricio Barembuem (a.k.a. Barem) is a young emerging artist from Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was a
music student and a guitar enthusiast since the age of 15. By the age of 19, Barem was fully dedicated to
creating electronic music shortly after a trip to Berlin. In 2003, he started djing and performing live sets of
minimal techno. Today, Barem's groovy minimal tracks are based around synthetic samples, analog
rhythmic elements and hypnotic basslines. Also integrating rhythmic nuances of his native argentinian
roots, Barem's work is singularly deep, tracky and heady with a timbral sensibility that is intermittently
harmonic. Meanwhile, his sound continues to evolve while he cleverly maintains his own unique style.
 
In 2006, Barem did extensive world touring throughout Europe, South America and North America. At the
year's end, he was ranked as the #4 "best newcomer" in Groove Magazine's annual reader's poll issue. 
Now that Barem is a household name in the techno world, he will continue expanding his sound while
constantly djing and playing live around the world. For the present and future, Barem takes a step
forward by focusing his music productions to the only two families where he feels a strong connection,
MIinus and foundsound.
 
 
Special Thanks to Mr Meike Nolte,Rudy Delgado & Richie Hawtin


http://www.myspace.com/barem_ 

http://www.m-nus.com/
http://www.plus8.com/
http://www.contakt-events.com/