El Dusty

Origin: None

Raised and rooted in Corpus Christi, producer, DJ, and nu-cumbia pioneer El Dusty translates the Southern Texas border experience into new barrio anthems where the MPC2000 sampler and chopped clips of Latin music history collide. With his major label debut on Universal dropping soon follow- ing the success of his single “K Le Pasa,” El Dusty’s self-taught approach is as collaborative as it is singular, drawing from a crate-digging and turntablist tradition that links Latin classics with the new genera- tion of bass-heavy soundsystem and hip-hop cultures. Critical acclaim has hailed El Dusty as Rolling Stone’s 10 New Artists You Need to Know, Billboard’s New Latin Act to Watch in 2016, and Pandora’s Latin Artists to Watch 2016.

As a producer, El Dusty’s aesthetic is an effortless rendering of his palette for old school sounds thanks to growing up in a home soundtracked by Tejano anthems, Chicano soul music, classic rock, ‘70s Latin soul. These classic sounds are balanced by a solid education in hip-hop, and house music in their earliest stages thanks to his older brother, with this combination of aesthetics and generations laying the groundwork for the massive sample catalog he’s been building non-stop for years.

El Dusty always wanted to be a DJ, inspired by DMC videos and top-notch turntablism routines from the likes of Bad Boy Bill and Richard “Humpty” Vission’s open format approach to mixing genres and razor-sharp scratching routines. He got his start practicing on a pair of Technic 1200s (that fortuitous- ly showed up from his brother) at home at the age of 12, teaching himself turntablism skills that landed him on the radio with his own mixshow by the age of 16.

When it comes to working in the studio, the sampler is his primary instrument, taking after the cut and paste aesthetic of the masters like DJ Premier, DJ Shadow, Alchemist, and Dr. Dre. El Dusty takes this collage technique to new territories to reflect the layered experience of Tejano border culture, using cut samples from his massive collection of old school Latin vinyl as the instruments for his original tracks with an MPC2000 sampler.

While El Dusty’s studio is rooted in Corpus Christi, he’s constantly on the road for live gigs and collaborative projects with new wave Latin artists like Ana Bárbara, Toy Selectah, Erick Rincón of 3BallMTY, MLKMN, DJ Buddha, and more, as well working on projects for brands like Pepsi, Jack Daniels, Miller Lite, and Red Bull. While preparing for his upcoming release, he’s also collaborated on a mixtape series called LOCOS ONLY to release tracks digitally with friends like Royal Highness, Alan Rosales, MLKMN, Chingo Bling, and Principe Cu. El Dusty is also part of the Peligrosa All Star DJ’s Collective, an Austin-based crew of DJs, producers, and visual artists reenergizing the sounds of Latin America’s past, present, and future.

With El Dusty’s first major label LP dropping soon, Made in Corpus, his steady travel and gig schedule is reflected in the collaborative nature of his music. These opportunities have linked him with guest appearances from reag- gaton innovator DJ Blass, Dominican bass producer Happy Colors, Camilo Lara of Mexi- can Institute of Sound, Trinidadian rapper/vo- calist Angela Hunte, genre-bending Mexican producer Toy Selectah, and even puppets from the webseries “Hey Vato.” In 2015, El Dusty released, Trapanera EP, “Cumbia Anthem,” “Orale”, “We Out Chea” & “Cinco de Mayo”. MADE IN CORPUS is set to be released in 2016.

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