TF Archives

Miguel Migs aka 'Petalpusher'

Author: Naked Music
Sunday, June 24, 2001
Standing at the forefront of dance music's futuristic, soulful realm, this 27 year old musician personifies the chilled-out, soul-driven vibe of the Naked Music concept.

Smooth, sexy, funky, elegant, lush, sophisticated and deep are some of the words commonly used to describe Miguel's unique sound. His quality productions can consistently be found on dance floors worldwide, and sliding into the record bags of deep house DJ's across the globe.

As a new comer to the world of dance music, and in the last 3 years alone, Miguel has quietly put out more than 47 productions and remixes on seminal labels like Naked Music, Yoshitoshi, Talkin Loud, NRK, Large and Transport. All of which have made waves in the underground circuit and hit DJ hype charts of international media.

Contrary to his club-ocentric DJ/ producer peers, Miguel is unabashedly unconcerned with the potential dance floor appeal of his soulful, uplifting tracks. "Its music to enjoy and listen to at any given time, not necessarily meant to rock the club at its peak." Explains the Santa Cruz, CA native who grew up with a true love for reggae, soul, funk, as well as classic rock music.

His professional career started at the tender age of 18 as song writer and lead guitarist for his culturally diverse local dub band, 'Zion Soundz', whose Jamaican and African rhythms earned them gigs with globally known reggae outfits Burning spear and Culture.

Tired of band related differences, Miguel decided to take his musical talents into the drama free studio, and in 1997 he began to experiment with electronic music, combining the best of both the digital and electronic worlds with live instrumentation and full songwriting.

As a producer, Miguel perceives a strong connection between his house productions and reggae roots. Reflecting on his live background, he writes his own lyrics and plays his own instruments, be it guitar, keyboards, bass or percussion."Essentially I use the same type of ingredients as I do in reggae and dub. It's basically bass-line and drum oriented music with similar arrangement structures and abstract experimentation with effects. Basic chord progressions, settle melodies and rhythm and dub style breakdowns."

As a DJ, Miguel likes to combine many flavours into his colourful sets,
but always maintains his smooth, sensual, soulful sound. " I like to take the dancefloor on a journey to many different places, but, whether it be vocal, percussive, moody, funky, techy or broken beat, its always in the same view of deep house and must be soulful" He describes, "Instead of playing in a band situation, I perform as a disc jockey controlling the vibe and emotion of the dancefloor. I'm able to creatively share my sound through a careful selection of records, hopefully inspiring people in a positive and uplifting way."


Currently Miguel Migs can be found either DJ'ing, rocking dancefloors all over the globe, or hard at work in the studio producing a various range of original material, as well as remixing many different respected artists. "I am inspired musically by everything around me", explains the 'Petalpusher' "The response for my music globally has been very inspiring. Musically, stylistically speaking, this is just the beginning."
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