Miguel Migs

Owing to the particular ambiance of his chilled-down sound, one pictures Miguel Migs doing most of his studio prep work poolside, surrounded by friends.

The San Francisco DJ makes midtempo house music that glides and slithers. Nothing too bassy, nothing too chirpy. "Personally I'd rather hear great music all night than some guy who can technically spin records on his head," Migs professes. "I just wanna hear groovy stuff."

Migs's attitude is a fine fit for the Pawn Shop, which, since its inception in 2004, has been a social melting pot, where punks can be found mingling with CEOs. Chances are good that you might even chat up the man himself this Saturday. "I'm thankful for all the people who enjoy the music, but I'm not some big superstar guy. I really just hang out and make music, and I'm happy doing it." (He's a generous guy too: You can download and burn four of his tracks on the artist-approved free download site Epitonic.com.)

Having already handled big-time remixes for the likes of Britney Spears and Macy Gray, Migs is finishing up work on a new full-length LP, which will feature guests such as Aya, Junior Reid, and Tim Fuller. — Eric W. Saeger