Miguel Migs

San Francisco has long been the bastion of slinky, soulful house music, and homegrown hero Miguel Migs is one of its biggest proponents. With a strong background in songwriting and performing, the Santa Cruz-born DJ fell into the NorCal dance community in the late Nineties, after a stint as a guitarist in a local dub band. Producing cuts in his apartment and trading wax with San Francisco's top selectors, Migs quickly made a splash in the OM Records-sponsored SCUBA monthlies, rocking underground clubs, warehouses, and boat parties with his undeniably sexy mixes. And it doesn't get sexier than Naked Music, the SF label with which he's most closely associated. His singles and artist albums on Naked — which effortlessly blend elements of dub, funk, salsa, and rock with deep house beats — are what vaulted him onto the international stage. It's a place he occupies gladly, exporting to the world the relentlessly upbeat, funky San Francisco sound he helped create. If you can't make it out to watch him live, pick up his just-released Get Salted mix CD. Segueing smoothly from bouncy electro to organic downtempo, it's the next best thing to being there.