Using a Mac laptop and an occasional trumpet, Chicago producer Jason Tyler has made music to set dancefloors afire, his sound resembling a David Byrne--if he'd grown up on blog-house--and an intermingling of Justice and Drop The Lime.
Over the last several years, Jason Tyler has become an immediately
recognizable figure in the ever-growing electronic music community -- and it
isn't just because of his thick-rimmed white glasses custom made out of vinyl
that makes total strangers stop him on the street. Jason's one of few electronic
music lovers in Chicago making and performing his own brand of searing club
bangers crafted specifically for peak-time dancefloors -- his clear
understanding of what makes a great party coming through every time he
plays, even adding live trumpet into the mix.
Raised in Indiana, it was Jason's trumpet skills that led him to Chicago on
a full scholarship to college, but the Windy City had other plans for him --
putting a house music lover in the city where it all began would only result in
the inevitable: raving the $@#% out. Jason began throwing parties and DJing
widely attended rave parties for crowds of more than 3,000 people, always
closing out with a set of his own. After making a considerable name for
himself touring all over the country as DJ Translucent, Jason has since moved
on to bigger things -- and certainly a bigger sound. Much bigger. In 2006,
Jason released "Model Tested, Rockstar Approved" on his own Snapshot
Recordings label, his first studio album under his given name. Filled with
tracks made on his iBook and inspired by legends like Daft Punk and Felix Da
Housecat and Giorgio Moroder, Jason received a lot of blog love for his efforts
and even TV giants like Showtime sought him out to license his music for their
shows.
These days, Tyler is at that ever-loving point in his career that all noted
musicians remember with a yearning fondness -- that point just before you
break into mainstream consciousness, when everything is exciting and
possibilities seem endless. Having lived in New York and Miami since the first
album's release, Jason is still on the heels of bigger things and ready for round
two: his second studio album, Modus Operandi. There's the best of both
worlds on this one -- tracks that fly along the same path as Justice and
Kavinsky (like "Fantazm" and "Ghetto Child") but swerve off and do their own
thing. Big basslines. Nasty, serrated synths. Drum patterns that absolutely
demolish the dancefloor. But then you've got the more mid-tempo, vocal gems
like "Life Is Good" and just plain fun, quirky numbers like "Let's Play Pool!".
"I put my heart and soul into my music and hope it does for others what it
does for me while I'm making it," Jason says. "If even one track puts a smile on
your face or made you dance and have a good time, then it was well worth it. I
guess you can say that is part of my personality and is my M.O."
Modus Operandi is slated for release in the fall -- with a few tracks leaked
here and there for your early enjoyment. Seek 'em out and we'll pray for your
feet.