Miguel Steward, better known as Miguel Migs, is an American
deep house DJ and
producer and founder of
Salted Music
Salted Music is an American electronic dance music record label, based in San Francisco, California, founded by Miguel Migs.
Artists
* Miguel Migs
* Lisa Shaw
* Julius Papp
* Deeplomatik (DJ Seb Skalski)
* Soledrifter
* Yogi & Husky
Relea ...
, an independent
electronic dance music record label
A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...
based in
San Francisco, California
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
.
Biography
Migs began his music career at 18 years old, as a lead guitarist and songwriter for a
Santa Cruz local band called Zion Sounds.
[Bush, John]
Miguel Migs Biography
, Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
, retrieved 2011-05-30 The band split up in the mid-1990s, however Zion Sounds' African and Jamaican style is said to have been a major influence in Migs' personal career. After the band dissolved, Migs went on to explore electronic music production thus creating his unique and soulful sound.
Miguel has produced over 100 remixes to date, including remixes for a number of mainstream artists. Such artists include
Britney Spears,
Macy Gray
Natalie Renée McIntyre (born September 6, 1967), known by her stage name Macy Gray, is an American R&B and soul singer and actress. She is known for her distinctive raspy voice and a singing style heavily influenced by Billie Holiday.
Gray ha ...
and
Lionel Richie. Miguel Migs has been associated with a variety of
record label
A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...
s, most notably
Salted Music
Salted Music is an American electronic dance music record label, based in San Francisco, California, founded by Miguel Migs.
Artists
* Miguel Migs
* Lisa Shaw
* Julius Papp
* Deeplomatik (DJ Seb Skalski)
* Soledrifter
* Yogi & Husky
Relea ...
and
Om Records
Om Records is an American record label, established in 1995, which releases electronic music, dance music and hip hop. The label was founded in San Francisco in 1995 by Chris Smith. Om Records releases both artist albums and compilations, incl ...
and Naked Music Recordings .
In 1998, Miguel co-founded the deep house record label Transport Recordings, along with fellow DJ MFR and Naked Music label director Bruno Ybarra. Migs was credited for his soul-driven vibes and hailed as one of the pioneers of the nascent house and chill-out revival scene alongside
Dimitri from Paris
Dimitri from Paris (born Dimitrios Yerasimos, el, Δημήτριος Γεράσιμος; 27 October 1963) is a French music producer and DJ of Greek descent. His musical influences are rooted in 1970s funk and disco sounds that spawned contempo ...
and
Bob Sinclar
Christophe Le Friant (; born 10 May 1969), better known by his stage name Bob Sinclar (), is a French record producer, DJ and remixer. He is the owner of the record label Yellow Productions.
Musical career
A native of Paris, Le Friant began DJ ...
as a result of his early foray into Deep House in the late 1990s and early 2000s, releasing several highly sought after singles and remixes under the Petalpusher pseudonym. In 2005 he founded
Salted Music
Salted Music is an American electronic dance music record label, based in San Francisco, California, founded by Miguel Migs.
Artists
* Miguel Migs
* Lisa Shaw
* Julius Papp
* Deeplomatik (DJ Seb Skalski)
* Soledrifter
* Yogi & Husky
Relea ...
, an
independent record label.
In early 2008, Migs' ''Those Things'' won in The 7th Annual Independent Music Awards for Best Dance/Electronica Album.
Independent Music Awards - 7th Annual Winners
In 2009 Miguel Migs' Salted Music won the Independent Music Awards Vox Pop vote for best Indie Label Site.
Miguel Migs grew up in Northern California on his parents' diverse collection of classic rock, blues, funk, soul and reggae records – which helped set the tone for his musical inspirations. He infuses these creative influences into his own sound, which combines this wide range of styles, blending them together into his own unique artistry.
Migs emerged from the '90s deep house underground scene to become the kind of artist who transcends the stylistic limitations of a genre so very few can. His musical journey began after picking up a guitar in his early teenage years and his first outlet was writing songs and playing in Dub/Reggae bands. Although Migs always loved and listened to all different styles of music, in the early 1990s he connected to the soulful sounds of Deep House. By the mid ’90s he began experimenting with producing electronic dance music. And by the time the new millennium dawned, a string of releases and remixes on numerous leading indie dance labels earned him an enviable reputation among discerning dance music fans worldwide. As Petalpusher, he’d also become a stalwart of the hugely influential Naked Music stable with his original productions, remixes and compilations.
His well-received 2002 debut album '' Colorful You'' was released on the legendary Astralwerks label, and Migs began to attract attention from the broader music community, remixing big-name artists as diverse as Macy Gray
Natalie Renée McIntyre (born September 6, 1967), known by her stage name Macy Gray, is an American R&B and soul singer and actress. She is known for her distinctive raspy voice and a singing style heavily influenced by Billie Holiday.
Gray ha ...
, Lionel Richie and Britney Spears. After years of relentless nonstop global touring, his 2007 follow-up album ''Those Things'' saw him collaborating with big-hitting names like hip-hop legend Sadat X and reggae icon Junior Reid, among others. The album was nominated for Best Dance Album in the Independent Music Awards, and was also included in Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), Tom Newman. It ...
yearly ‘Virgin Recommends 24 ECD’ promotion, as well as the single "So Far" entering the Top 5 on the ''Billboard'' Dance chart and #5 on the iTunes dance chart.
''Those Things'' was released on Migs' own label, Salted Music. Founded in 2004, he launched Salted Music as a creative outlet for, in his own words, “music I like to play as a DJ, those B-side dubs, that underground creative feel. I never set out for it to be a large record label, it’s something we do pretty much on a part-time basis for fun as a side project. but it’s also important to me to be able to keep pushing new sounds and new artists.”
Migs’ last album ''Outside the Skyline
''Outside the Skyline'' is the third studio album by songwriter and music producer Miguel Migs, released September 20, 2011 on Om Records. ''Outside the Skyline'' features vocal performances by Migs's main vocalist, Lisa Shaw, as well as Aya, di ...
'' (which debuted in the iTunes top 10 dance chart and received rave reviews by top publications) featured various collaborators including disco diva Evelyn "Champagne" King
Evelyn "Champagne" King (born July 1, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. She is best known for her hit disco single "Shame", which was released in 1977 during the height of disco's popularity. King had other hits from ...
, reggae legends Half-Pint and Freddie McGregor, Meshell Ndegeocello
Michelle Lynn Johnson, better known as Meshell Ndegeocello (; born August 29, 1968), is a German-born American singer-songwriter, rapper, and bassist. She has gone by the name Meshell Suhaila Bashir-Shakur which is used as a writing credit on so ...
, Berlin based jazz singer Georg Levin and bossa nova star Bebel Gilberto
Isabel Buarque de Hollanda Gilberto de Oliveira (born May 12, 1966), known as Bebel Gilberto, is an American-born Brazilian popular singer often associated with bossa nova. She is the daughter of João Gilberto and singer Miúcha. Her uncle i ...
, who all make an appearance on the album, alongside two vocalists who've been regular collaborators through the years, Aya and Lisa Shaw.
Record label
In 2004, Miguel Migs started his own record label, Salted Music
Salted Music is an American electronic dance music record label, based in San Francisco, California, founded by Miguel Migs.
Artists
* Miguel Migs
* Lisa Shaw
* Julius Papp
* Deeplomatik (DJ Seb Skalski)
* Soledrifter
* Yogi & Husky
Relea ...
.[Mayers, Norman (2005)]
Miguel Migs ''Get Salted Vol. 1''
, Prefix, December 9, 2005, retrieved 2011-05-30 No stranger to independent and major labels, the founding of Salted Music
Salted Music is an American electronic dance music record label, based in San Francisco, California, founded by Miguel Migs.
Artists
* Miguel Migs
* Lisa Shaw
* Julius Papp
* Deeplomatik (DJ Seb Skalski)
* Soledrifter
* Yogi & Husky
Relea ...
was a more personal venture.
The idea behind Salted is for Miguel Migs to have a creative outlet for releasing forward thinking; soul based electronic music
Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroa ...
that is not limited in tempo. Not just instituted for Migs’ own creations, Salted is a vehicle for upcoming and well-known artists who come across his path and catch his ear.
Discography
Albums
*2002: '' Colorful You'' (reached #14 on Top Electronic Albums)
*2005: ''Get Salted Volume 1''
*2007: ''Those Things
''Those Things'' is the second album by songwriter and music producer Miguel Migs, released in 2007. The album has gained critical praise as well as commercial success. ''Those Things'' peaked at number 15 on the US Top Electronic Albums chart." T ...
'' (reached #15 on Top Electronic Albums)
*2009: ''Get Salted Volume 2''
*2011: ''Outside the Skyline
''Outside the Skyline'' is the third studio album by songwriter and music producer Miguel Migs, released September 20, 2011 on Om Records. ''Outside the Skyline'' features vocal performances by Migs's main vocalist, Lisa Shaw, as well as Aya, di ...
''
*2014: ''Dim Division''
*2021: ''Shaping Visions''
EPs
*1998: ''The Mercury Lounge''
*1999: ''Future Flight''
*1999: ''Hardnights'' (with Marc Jellybear)
*1999: ''Summer Spectrum'' (with DJ Rasoul)
*1999: ''The Fog City''
*1999: ''The Night Affair''
*1999: ''The Roundtrip''
*1999: ''True Formula'' (with DJ Rasoul)
*1999: ''Very Chic'' (with Marc Jellybear)
*2000: ''Find What's Mine''
*2000: ''Inner Excursions''
*2000: ''Take Me to Paradise''
*2001: ''Friend of the Blues'' (with Jay-J)
*2001: ''Mi Destino''
*2001: ''The Soul Selecta''
*2001: ''Underwater Sessions''
*2002: ''Dreaming''
*2002: ''Dubplate Sessions''
*2004: ''City Sounds Trilogy''
*2013: ''Heartbeat'' (with Lisa Shaw)
*2016: ''Waterfall'' (with Lisa Shaw)
DJ mixes
*1999: ''Nude Dimensions 1''
*2001: ''Nite: Life 03''
*2002: ''Goldclub Series Presents Klub Love'' (Promo, with Maurizio Aviles)
*2002: ''Nude Tempo One'' (reached #17 on Top Electronic Albums
Top Dance/Electronic Albums, Dance/Electronic Albums (formerly Top Electronic Albums) is a music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine which ranks the top-selling electronic music albums in the United States based on sales compiled by ...
)
*2003: ''In the House: West Coast Sessions''
*2003: ''Southport Weekender''
*2004: ''Nite:Life 020''
*2004: ''24th Street Sounds''
*2005: ''House of Om Presents: Get Salted, Volume 1'' (#20 Top Electronic Albums)
*2007: ''Coast2Coast''
*2009: ''Get Salted Volume 2''
*2012: ''Nikki Beach Miami''
*2013: ''Southport Weekender Volume 10''
References
External links
Official website
Salted Music
Miguel Migs
at Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...
Miguel Migs
at SoundCloud
SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming s ...
Salted Music
at Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Migs, Miguel
1972 births
American DJs
American funk musicians
American house musicians
Record producers from California
American soul musicians
Deep house musicians
DJs from San Francisco
Remixers
Independent Music Awards winners
Living people
Electronic dance music DJs