Music truly transcends borders; in electronic music more than any other style without a doubt. Nobody I know outside the scene has developed global connections like we have in the underground. It’s amazing that we’ve developed relations with people from all over the globe; most of whom we’ve never even spoken to face to face.

It’s the common ground of funky melody and deep bass that instantly makes an artist our friend. It’s listening to a set and realizing that the person who compiled it actually ‘gets it’. It’s when you know, that they know it should be heading somewhere and you have enough trust to allow this relative stranger take you there. That’s a bond as strong as I’ve ever known.

Gabriel Sordo was the one who formally introduced us to Luis Caparroso, one half of the legendary Columbian duo Liluca, alongside Farid Char Yidi. But it was through both Ricky Ryan and Luke Fair that we first heard of these genius music makers.

See I don’t know anything when it comes to production or individual tracks. I’m one of those guys that reference a tune by “the twenty-fifth minute of the Summer Promo” or “the second track on the Balance.” I most enjoy music in the flow of a compilation, so I’m left to pry info on the best producers from guys like Luke and Ricky and on multiple occasions the name Liluca has come up in conversation.

Thank God it has because I feel like we’ve hit the jackpot scoring a set from these two. In the game together since 1998, Luis and Faird are production heroes to many our favourite DJs including Tom Morgan, Desyn Masiello and Add2Basket. As live performers Liluca’s held residencies at clubs Gotica, Cha Cha and Cinema in their hometown of Bogotá and have appeared at the Summer Dance Festival and Ultra Music Festival in Cartagena.

They’ve traveled for gigs in Mexico and Guatemala and will be making their second appearance at the WMC in Miami aboard the Sunrise at The Bay cruise headlined by SOS, Paolo Mojo and Jody Wisternoff. It’s going to be amazing to strike Liluca’s name off the list of artists we love but have yet to meet in person. It’s one of the things we’re most looking forward to at this year’s conference.

The word that first comes to mind when describing this exclusive is “crisp”. The beats, the mixing and the programming are so tight they’re “crisp”. It moves from ambient techno to pure house to pure techno and mid way there are some massive floor-filling bombs. There’s hip hop influence and smooth groovy progressive house. It’s surely one of the most eclectic mixes we’ve hosted and absolutely one of the best. You’re in for a treat with Liluca’s debut on bringthebeats.

Download (left-click and unzip):
Liluca – bringthebeats – March 2010

I know we’re sounding like a dirty CD going on and on about these young South American upstarts spinning and producing unbelievably mature house sounds. But the world will never stop talking about the football skills and slick styles of the people of this region, so neither will we when it comes to the underground.

I was full on into the high school party scene when Leonardo Tou was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1989 (okay now I’ve seriously aged myself… ugh). At the incredibly raw age of eight, Leo was learning piano and guitar and being influenced by seminal acts of the ages including Pink Floyd, Joy Division and Brian Eno.

By 16 his electronic arousal was in full bloom through productions supported by Satoshi Tomiie, Jimmy Van M and Hernan Cattaneo… an absolute prodigy indeed. Over time other superstars of our scene including Eelke Kleijn, Demi and Chloe Harris have regularly played out Leonardo Tou tunes on highly respected labels such as Avangardia, Fat&Blind and In4mation Records.

As a DJ he’s travelled throughout Argentina, from Buenos Aires to Rosario and Cordoba, as well as international gigs in Uruguay and Chile. His promos have been heard all over the internet airwaves with features on Proton Radio, Digitally Imported, friskyRadio and Danceradio in Greece. All of these accomplishments before he’s even legally able to order a drink in the USA… it boggles my mind!

This exclusive mix is true to the style description in his bio, the first I’ve ever read with the aid of Google Translate I might add. It’s a dynamic groove meant to surprise with originality, absolutely without monotony. It’s a fusion of house and techno; I feel a little tribal influence as well. From start to finish its deep and soooo smooth. It’s a mix for the connoisseur, serious music from a seriously talented dude.

Download (left-click and unzip):
Leonardo Tou – bringthebeats – February 2010

It’s no coincidence that our favourite DJs end up being the ones that promote their music with the sole purpose of having it heard. There’s no strings attached in their messages, just beautiful house music coming from a like-minded ally. I guess as you get on in the scene, approach becomes as important as presentation.

From our initial introduction, till the moment he delivered this exclusive, Pedro Bueno has been a picture perfect portrait of our vibe. The initial discovery was made through the wonders of internet radio, as our good friend Lonnie Bynch, who’s currently hanging in the Far East, caught a segment of his Dirty Kitchen show on Proton Radio. She immediately heard the sound and knew he’d be ideal for our style. Lonnie chatted with Pedro, loved his spirit and passed on his deets to us. Before we could touch base, he sent some music, and then some more, and the relationship was born.

Not so oddly enough, Pedro hails from South America, where he’s one of the hottest talents in the Brazilian club scene. His debut original production “Timmy’s Song” was signed to Ricky Ryan’s Avangardia and he’s recently founded his own label, Fat&Blind Records with his mates Bruno Conti and Junior Paiva. Pedro’s joined by the likes of the The Timewriter, Terry Lee Brown Jr., Sultan, Lucas Abadi, Hernan Cerbello and a host of other amazing artists on Up Front Sounds DJ Management roster and has scored a residency for the Audiochic Project at Wish Club in São Paulo.

His sound is self-proclaimed as deep, funky disco to progressive house, we couldn’t have wrote it up better ourselves; literally music for bringthebeats’ ears. So without further adieu, here’s Pedro Bueno’s btb debut…

Download (left-click and unzip):
Pedro Bueno – bringthebeats – January 2010

Since I’ve been working in the scene more I’ve been lucky enough to receive a lot of emails from really nice people with really great music inside. This is how I was introduced to Jacob Henry. I could sense from his first email that Jacob was genuine, so I’ve paid close attention to everything he’s sent and I’ve taken the time to listen to all of his sets.

Jacob fell in love with house music after listening to music from acts such as Chicane, BT and Robert Miles. He is now DJing his own style of very melodic house, which he showcases on his radio show ‘Silk Royal Showcase’ which airs every third Tuesday of the month on Proton Radio.

On top of DJing he is a producer and a label manager for Silk Royal Records, which is focused on giving the dance floor atmospheric, yet energetic house music. Recent releases such as those from PROFF and Solarity do just that, so I expect to hear a lot of great new stuff from Silk Royal in the future!

Jacob has put together a very smooth set representative of his melodic sound. Turn it on and turn it up; I think you’ll enjoy it!

Download (left-click and unzip):
Jacob Henry – bringthebeats – December 2009

When my life is running around in circles; when work is insane, parties are firing up, family, friends… responsibility… blah, blah, blah… I just never get enough time to get these btb Beats posts up. Because the great beats keep coming and thanks to all these cool cats sending them our way, the music continues to be there to escort me through the nutty times.

I especially love it when we have the chance to debut artists on the site; when a random email becomes hours of head bopping and a burnt CD. The two diamonds we have going down here have provided much of the fun for the month and finally I’ve found a minute to share the goods.

Shlomi B was born in Jerusalem, Israel. He’s 28 years old and for the last five years has been living in Queens, New York. He’s not been playing in the big city much (got married +1) but every two months he returns home for his residency night at the Gotham Club in Jerusalem where`s he spun alongside the likes of the Flash Brothers, Rollo, Guy Gerber and Shlomi Aber.

It sounds like our interest in his choons might motivate him to get into the game in NYC and if he continues to put out cool promos like the one we have here, the Big Apple is in for a treat with Shlomi in the hood.

Download (left-click and unzip):
DJ Shlomi B – Promo Mix – April 2009

Often I slip back into my Happy Place on the Lokitas dance floor in Cordoba, Argentina in November 2006. Though the next night at Pacha in Buenos Aries was a massive party never to be forgotten, the Lokitas night possessed a magical vibe that embedded the feeling that remains at the core of my judgment on what a truly great party is supposed to be all about.

Opening for Luke at that event was Rodrigo Vacis. Buddy was locked into this deep, sexy down-tempo groove that allowed Luke to step up and take over exactly where he wanted to and had the 800 plus on the packed dance floor properly incubating the room. Total pro, incredibly wicked dude; I`m so pumped he`s still got it going on and that we have something to share with the crew.

Download (left-click and unzip):
Rodri Vacis – Last Summer (Smells Like Sunny)