Carter Van Pelt
Carter Van Pelt had an inauspicious beginning for a reggae DJ, event producer, and historian. Born and raised in Nebraska, Van Pelt grew up surrounded by the sounds of John Denver, the Eagles, Simon & Garfunkel, and Bread—music beloved by his ever-encouraging, artistic mother. Although he had an ear for soft rock, Carter’s musical passion was grounded in something Nebraska knew little about–reggae. He found the genre as many would in the ‘70s and ‘80s, through Bob Marley and The W
Rafa Jazz
São Paulo’s Rafa Jazz has become a ubiquitous force on the capital city’s scene in recent years. As a shop owner, label boss, radio personality, heavy-weight vinyl junkie, and purveyor of some of the creamiest sounds in town, what drew her to the world of wax began as a way to procure the jazz music she loved in an affordable format.
Mary G
Born and based in São Paulo, Brazil, Mariana Mendes Guarnieri—known as Mary G—has become a staple of the Brazilian house scene. It took years to break into the mainstream, but now she plays the biggest stages alongside artists who once filled her parents’ modest record collection. At the Coala Festival, she opened for the father of so many generations, Gilberto Gil, and at Blue Note São Paulo, she set the stage for the legendary “wizard” Hermeto Pascoal.
A-Trak
Smooth transitions are paramount in DJing, and few DJs have transitioned through the phases of their career as gracefully as A-Trak. He first rose to prominence as a turntablist wunderkind at the DMC World DJ Championship in 1997 at fifteen-years-old, founded his first record label Audio Research when he was still in his teens, and then became a tour DJ to the stars, such as Kanye West and John Legend, before diving headfirst into the world of house music and founding the influential label Fool�
Thes One
As far as record cities go, Los Angeles can feel like an enigma. The size and diversity of its population, in addition to long-standing music and movie industries, means that many meaningful sides were both cut and distributed here, but the geographic size and population dispersion have long frustrated those trying to explore the region’s record riches. It takes time, patience, and a lot of footwork to get anywhere in that game, and if anyone has worn some soles, hunting for soul, it’s been
The Gaslamp Killer
William Bensussen is lucky to be alive. In the summer of 2012, the Los Angeles-based producer and DJ, better known as The Gaslamp Killer, was riding his scooter home from a friend’s house when a gust of wind threatened to take his hat. Reaching for it with one hand and braking with the other, he flipped his scooter, catching a hard blow to the gut on the way down. Internal bleeding meant emergency surgery, which left him with a scar the length of his abdomen and no spleen...