SUNDAY JULY 09 // THE PHOENIX HOTEL // SAN FRANCISCO
The Philippines and suburban Maryland aren't exactly R&B or dance music hot beds, but they didn't need to be for Antonio Cuna aka Sweater Beats to ingest both genres and spit out an exciting hybrid, melding the sensuality of contemporary R&B with the immediacy of dance music. Born in the Philippines, Cuna moved to Maryland, adapting to his new environment by engaging with music and skate culture. But it wasn't long before R&B entered the picture, first as an obsession and later, while Cuna was at university in New York, as a creative outlet. Growing up in the 2000s, it's no surprise that Cuna's heroes include R&B producer mavens like Pharrell and Timbaland, as well as French dance music behemoths Daft Punk, but it's how he's filtered those influences into the ingenious sonic aesthetic, a sound equally fitting both the festival stage and bedroom play, that makes Sweater Beats such an unavoidably intriguing project.
Up-and-coming electronic music it-boy, Bearson, has come a long way since starting his career in 2014. At the time, the 18-year-old emerged onto the scene as a an extremely fast growing producer, catching the attention of fans and producers alike making him a huge name in his native country of Norway. Steadily his international presence grew with remixes of Susie Suh, James Bay, The Lighthouse and the Whalers, Benjamin Francis Leftwich, amongst others. His astronomyy remix of “Nothin On My Mind” caught the attention of BBC Radio 1, slingshotting his music globally.
In 2014, Bearson expanded his involvement in the music industry beyond making music. Teaming up with his manager, the two created label/management company Next Wave Records. The label’s roster has included, Bearson himself, Jerry Folk, Atlas Bound, Beshken, Mark Johns, SYRE, Dinnerdate, TÂCHES and many more. Bearson acts as an owner and a face of the brand, by curating the music Next Wave releases. At the end of 2014, a variety of blogs and tastemakers named Bearson one of the most promising artists to look out for in 2015.
BKAYE is a 21-year-old producer/DJ hailing from San Francisco, California with an innate musical talent and an ear for undiscovered hits. BKAYE has been remixing songs of all genres since 2014, finding early success with a remix of FourFiveSeconds by Rihanna that garnered over one million plays. Since then, BKAYE has released remixes of Major Lazer, Kaskade, Janelle Kroll, Gryffin, Bryce Fox, and more, racking up millions of plays on Soundcloud, Spotify and Youtube. His music has been supported by some of the top producers and DJ’s in the world, such as Major Lazer, Diplo, The Chainsmokers, Vanic and others.
