Meet the Winners of the Discovery Project and EDMbiz 2016 A&R Competition

The Discovery Project, Insomniac’s talent discovery and development program, has always represented the expansive diversity found throughout dance music. As such, it was important to tap into that pool of musical variety for EDC Las Vegas 2016 as the festival celebrates 20 Years Under the Electric Sky this month. As the Discovery Project family continues to expand, it now welcomes four new artists who we believe are clearly on their way to changing the face of dance music: Blacklab, Kyle Walker, Christofi, and La Patilla, all winners of the second annual Discovery Project and EDMbiz Conference & Expo 2016 A&R Competition.

The sibling duo Blacklab is from Las Vegas and has already grabbed the support of a long list of drum & bass legends with their harder-edged sounds. Kyle Walker’s UK-inspired, dirty bass house stands out even in a scene as intensely competitive as L.A. Also from Los Angeles is Christofi, whose more classic approach to house will vibe with audiences of all ages. And New York’s La Patilla has found a place between deep house and future bass that’s all about beauty and funk.

These four young artists will present their production chops and selector skills in front of an esteemed panel of A&R representatives and industry tastemakers at this year’s EDMbiz. They’ll later make their respective debuts at EDC Las Vegas 2016, taking place June 17–19 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Before heading out to EDC Las Vegas, meet the newest members of the Discovery Project family.

Christofi

Hometown: Newport Beach, CA
Currently Living: Los Angeles, CA
Origin of Name: It’s my last name! It has a nice ring to it, and my friends have always called me Christofi, so it made sense to go with it.
Weapon of Choice: My guitar—you can really hurt someone with that thing.
Source of Power: Nothing inspires and lifts me up more than hearing a new, fresh-sounding song. And the smoothie I make every morning—I love smoothies.

Winning Track:

Winning Mix:

Follow Christofi on Facebook | Twitter | SoundCloud

Blacklab

Hometown:
The Bronx, NY (Kashim), Las Vegas, NV (Kariem)
Currently Living: Las Vegas, NV
Origin of Name:
Kariem: We’ve had a black Labrador, Kuda, for the last five years or so. One day we took a picture and gave it a hashtag that looked pretty interesting with no spaces, #blacklab, and from there it just became a name we decided to use. Weapon of choice: Ableton
Source of Power:
Kariem: Our influences are hard to nail down to any particular artist, but I have a few! Technimatic, Lenzman, SpectraSoul, Ivy Lab, Loz Contreras, Break, Teddy Killerz, Audio, Mefjus, Emperor, Black Sun Empire and Noisia, just to name a few.

Winning Track:

Winning Mix:

Follow Blacklab on Facebook | Twitter

Kyle Walker

Hometown: Agoura Hills, CA
Currently Living: Agoura Hills, CA
Origin of Name: It’s just my name.
Weapon of Choice: Frosted Flakes.
Source of Power: My friends and family.

Winning Track:

Winning Mix:

Follow Kyle Walker on Facebook | Twitter | SoundCloud

La Patilla

Hometown: New York, NY
Currently Living: New York, NY
Origin of Name: When I was 6 years old, I almost died after swallowing my grandmother’s prescription pills. I know—sad story. Pills in Spanish [translates to] pastilla. After that incident, everyone in the neighborhood started calling me “pastilla” as a joke. I took out the “s” and decided it would be a good DJ name after all: La Patilla.
Weapon of Choice: Serato, Ableton and pineapples.
Source of Power: Steve Angello, Carl Cox and a few others.

Winning Track:

Winning Mix:

Follow La Patilla on Facebook | Twitter
EDMbiz Conference & Expo 2016 takes place June 14–16 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Tickets/badges are available now. For more information, visit the official website.

EDC Las Vegas 2016 takes place June 17–19 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. A limited number of VIP tickets and shuttle passes are available now. For more information, visit the official website.

Follow EDMbiz on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Follow Discovery Project on Facebook | Twitter | SoundCloud | Instagram
Follow EDC Las Vegas on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

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