Miguel Migs. Saturday, February 27. The Vagabond, 30 NE 14th St., Miami. Doors open at 10 p.m., tickets cost $10 in advance from wantickets.com. Age 21 and up. 305-379-0508; thevagabondmiami.com

For a town so obsessed with dance music, Miami has very few nights devoted to straight-up house. Not electro-, not tech-, just house. And so, besides Aquabooty’s epic events, Backdoor Bamby at the Vagabond has become a required stop for hungry house heads. Titans like Louie Vega and Jellybean Benitez have all become Saturday-night regulars there, and this weekend, Miguel Migs makes a stop at the club, not too long after his last one.

For the last five years, Migs’ real baby has been the label he founded, Salted, which pushes soulful dance music of all tempos, free of nitpicking genre constraints. The DJ/producer’s current tour supports his latest mix for the imprint, Get Salted Volume 2.

It’s funky, deep, gushy, all that stuff, and features tracks from Migs himself, as well as like-minded artists like Fred Everything and the inimitable vocalist Lisa Shaw. It’s a sound that bangs particularly well through the Vagabond’s main-floor sound system, and the gig will provide an intimate taste of Migs’ flavor before the WMC madness begins.

Original Blog Post: New Times

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Hailing from San Francisco, Miguel Migs has made house heads bop across the globe for over a decade. For those of you that know the name, I’m sure there has been many occasions when a piece of his music has stole your attention begging you to the ask the question “what is this track?”. For those of you that don’t know the name, I’m sure its an experience you are likely to have soon. His soulful productions and remarkable sets have been seen on numerous labels including NRK, Naked Music, Om Records, Defected, Hed Kandi, Soma, Sony, Yoshitoshi to name but a few. He also runs his own label ‘Salted Music’ which features artists such as Lisa Shaw and Chuck Love. We managed to steal some time from his busy schedule to ask him a few questions.

For those that don’t know you, in your own words could you give us a quick run down of who you are, and what it is that you do?
I’m a music producer/dj/musician from northern California. I enjoy good food, good music of all kinds and good people!

You have been releasing tracks for a good ten years on other labels, what spurred you to start up your own label, Salted Music in 2004?
I wanted to start something new and fresh. Something that I could release my own material on, as well as music from new and established producers around the world.

How does having your own label affect productions for other labels?
Im pretty busy with Salted so I don’t have as much time to focus on remixes and producing music for other labels right now.

What musical trends are you seeing in your part of the world? How is it impacting on your label and/or productions?
I don’t really follow the musical ‘trends’ and never have… I got into all this because i Iove good ‘music’….  I love and listen to all styles of music, so im inspired by whatever im feeling at that moment and its always been that way… I always have incorporated elements of dub, soul, disco, rock, hip-hip and everything else in my music and I will continue to do so…

What Artists are currently exciting you at the minute?
Well, I’m always getting inspiration from all kinds of music, but all i really listen to at home is classic rock, reggae, some old school soul and hip hop… But its mostly stuff ive always listened to my whole life. Artists such as the stones, steely dan, maxwell, erykah badu, prince, tribe called quest, burning spear, steel pulse, dennis brown, jimi hendrix, the black keys, radiohead, adele, and soooooo many more…

You have done work with numerous British labels, such as Drop Music, Defected, Soma, NRK. Do you have many future plans with other british labels?
Right now I’m working on my new album so that’s taking up all my time and energy between touring all the time, so I don’t have any current plans to work with any British labels at the moment.

You have remixed numerous mainstream artists such as Lionel Richie & Macy Gray & your music has featured on numerous TV shows. Are we likely to see you moving further in either of these directions?
I’m just focusing on my new album right now, but i always try and remain open to new projects and working with various artists depending on the project and timing.

If you could name one, what is your favorite piece of studio gear at present?
I’m really enjoying my virus TI this past couple years…

When in the studio, what triggers your inspiration to write a song, and what device is your first port of call to get the idea down? Your guitar, drum machine, synth?
I don’t really pre-think it to much… I like to go in there and create sort of spontaneously and see what happens, although I never have a shortage of ideas and melodies I hear throughout the day in my head… but I usually go into the studio and start building beats and then add in a chord progression or bassline, then on and on…

On tour after the release of album ‘those things’ you performed tracks with a live band. Was it hard transitioning the tracks from your productions to a band performance, or did the band play a main roll in the original productions?
Doing the live band came after the album was released… the transition was pretty natural since the music is easily performed in a live band format being that all the songs have a lot of live instrumentation and arrangements, so it worked out pretty smoothly although it is a lot of work to rehearse and coordinate with everyone’s schedules and all…

You then proceeded to remix the entire album a year later! How would you describe the difference between the original and the remix album?
The remixed album is sort of a reinterpretation of the original album… it still maintains a similar energy, giving the songs a new vibe and flavor. I really enjoy the remixed album and play a lot of those versions in my sets.

You have recently released mix compilation ‘get salted volume 2′. Nearly 3 years on from volume 1, how would you compare and contrast the two?
I approach a mix comp as something that is listening pleasure oriented rather than a night out in the club, so I choose tracks that I can enjoy listening to in the morning, afternoon or night… They are both a little bit different but in the same vein and style maintaining a funky, soulful deep house kind of feeling… I don’t over think it, I just sort of mix tracks together on the fly and see what works.

What musical direction do you see yourself and your label moving in the coming years?
I just produce, play and release music that Im feeling, its that simple… no matter what the tempo… but whether its funky, deep, soulful, techy or vocal, it always has to have a soulful element…

What else lays ahead for Miguel Migs?
Working on music, traveling/touring, hangin’ out with friends, enjoying life!

TrafficMag.com - Original Artist Review with Miguel Migs

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