Congratulations to Pittsburgh bred, LA based producer Derek Dumont for being our March winner! His music is an earthy electronic with sounds inspired by “landscapes and weather patterns, sunsets and city lights dotted in the distance.” Derek shares:

“As much as I want to make music that is fresh and stimulating, I want to make music that communicates on a therapeutic level, without being boxed into any specific genre. A level that allows people to escape to their concentrations.”

The young producer is featured on two tracks for Wiz Khalifa’s new mixtape Taylor Allderdice, and as such, be sure to dig into “Number 16″ and “Mia Wallace.” But that’s not introduction enough for this self-made beat maker who’s just getting started. Derek has also composed the soundtrack to a feature-length documentary entitled Only God Could Hear Me. Watch the trailer for the documentary after the jump.

And we are so very excited to premier the video for the gorgeous cinematic tune, “Yesterday,” above – don’t you see yourself on an epic rode trip in the middle of nowhere?! Below, we have been graced with the opportunity to share an unreleased track, “Colored Coma,” yet another brilliant cinematic tune – we’d pair it with the breakdown the protagonist has after finding out the love of his life is gone forever. After that is a free download for the previously released “One Night In Charlotte” – put this over a scene of all-night teenage shenanigans on a coming of age indie flick. Yep – we could make up stories to his songs all day.

Derek Dumont – “Colored Coma”
 

Derek Dumont – “One Night In Charlotte” [MP3]
 

Watch out for this dude – he’s not playing games.

Facebook | Soundcloud

Watch the trailer for Only God Could Hear Me after the jump

Photo by Seher Sikandar

Electric Wire Hustle is undoubtedly one of our favorite newer acts to hit the scene in the last couple years. Their sound cocoons you in soulful nostalgia all while keeping your expletives in free flow with their unforgettably unique flavor. SXSW brought the New Zealanders several shows, including the Mint Collective x Grown Kids Radio Showcase, where we got a chance to snap a few photos and catch up with the guys.

Self-described as more “painting with oils than water colors,” Electric Wire Hustle’s fluid sound is one of purpose where individuals strengths are recognized and utilized. Citing the opportunity to travel and “sample more than what’s limited to [their] particular portion of the universe” as one of their reasons for making music, the group’s seemingly effortless appeal becomes easy to understand – their music is informed by both the depth and breadth of experience.

Trying to pin down exactly what feeling you get when listening to Electric Wire Hustle can be a bit difficult to describe at times. There’s a familiarity and a newness all at once, and on the first record, an undeniable sense of Marvin Gaye. Per the guys themselves, they share that they ‘don’t necessarily wan’t to be any one thing.’ They explain

“It’s beat driven, it’s Hotere influenced, its Samo before Basquiat blew up, its Kafka after the first chapter.”

Read more, watch a live video, & get info on tomorrow’s NYC show after the jump

Congratulations to Awalé for being our December 2011 Next Step winner! The diversity of music that we have come in for this contest is impressive, and we are so excited to present a winner with such eclectic international influences like Awalé’s.

Awalé is a true testament to London’s diversity, with members from Tunisia, Cuba, France, Slovakia and England. Similarly, the sound is vivid and textured, skirting genre lines as it touches on Afrobeat, Balkan music, North African amazigh music, Congolese rhumba, Ethiopian funk, and Latin jazz.

Awalé’s debut album Just Have To Grow released in November 2011 and is incredibly pleasing to our ears. Co-produced by Nick Page (Dub Colossus), most of the album was recorded live in one room over the course of just two days. Preview the entire album below and experience the amazingness yourself. And you absolutely must watch the live performance video above as well – truly heartening music.

Londoners are encouraged to support the album launch, which will be a special all-star gig on March 14th at Hoxton Bar and Kitchen. Tour dates will follow in the spring.

Facebook | Twitter | Official Site

Awalé band photo after the jump

We are now ready for our sixth installment of the Next Step contest. This is going to be the last one for 2011 and we are tingling with excitement about what our extraordinary community will bless us with next!

Now five months in, we’ve featured Tara Priya in July, Iman Williams in August, Tall Black Guy Productions in September, Cole Williams for October, and Tensei for November. Four spirited singers a few kick butt producers.

The winner will receive an “Artist Spotlight” feature post on the Giant Step website, and up to $1,000 in Giant Step Marketing services!

Please note that we are accepting submissions from anyone that makes music – producers, singers, instrumentalists, rappers, and bands alike are all welcome.

This month, we are accepting submissions from today until Friday, December 30th. That said, we are now open for December entries!

Submit your music for consideration!

NOTE: Due to a technical mishap, contest entries for October were lost. The contest has been extended through November, and we’re encouraging everyone who submitted for October to do so again. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Next Step is a monthly contest to aimed at giving back to our thriving community of artists who keep us going! Our goal is to highlight some the freshest new musical talent, which also happens to abundant in this same community. We accept submissions from anyone that makes music – producers, singers, instrumentalists, rappers, and bands alike are all welcome.

The winner will receive an “Artist Spotlight” feature post on the Giant Step website, and up to $1,000 in Giant Step Marketing services!

We featured Tara Priya in July, Iman Williams in August, and Tall Black Guy Productions in September. Give them all a listen in case you haven’t already.

We will be accepting submissions from today until Monday, November 28th. We are now open and ready to consider entries for both October and November!

Submit your music for consideration!

We are now entering the third month of our monthly Next Step contest aimed at highlighting up and coming musical talent.

To date, we’ve featured a couple of amazing folks, including Tara Priya in July and Iman Williams in August. Both very talented vocalists.

The winner will receive an “Artist Spotlight” feature post on the Giant Step website, and up to $1,000 in Giant Step Marketing services!

Please note that we are accepting submissions from anyone that makes music – producers, singers, instrumentalists, rappers, and bands alike are all welcome.

This month, we are accepting submissions from today until Tuesday, September 20th. That said, we are now open for September entries!

Submit your music for consideration!

Last month, we premiered our monthly Next Step contest, which is aimed to highlight up and coming musical talent. The winner will receive an “Artist Spotlight” feature post on the Giant Step website, and up to $1,000 in Giant Step Marketing services! Last month’s winner was LA-based retro songstress, Tara Priya.

This month, we will begin accepting submissions on the 1st and close submissions on the 15th. That said, we are now open for August entries!

Submit your music for consideration!

We’ve selected a winner for our Next Step Artist Spotlight Contest – congratulations to Tara Priya!

LA-based Tara Priya is really on a roll. The retro-soul singer/songwriter hailing from San Francisco has already been awarded several honors, including winning Billboard’s Annual Song Contest earlier this year. Beginning piano and poetry at age four, opera training at age eleven, and jazz training in high school, it’s clear that Tara has had her eyes on the prize for a long time. In fact, she breezed through undergrad at Columbia in two-and-a-half years, just so she could focus on her music full-time as soon as possible.

Since graduating, Tara returned to California and released her self-titlted debut EP in September 2010, which you can stream in full below. Make sure to take a listen to our favorite track, “Memories.” Above, you’ll find her adorable video for the infectious “Rollin,” which released last month. If you like Nikki & Rich, Tara may well be right up your alley.

We caught up with Tara over email and looks like she’s busy working on a second EP for this fall! Also, keep your eyes peeled for tour dates in LA, SF, and NYC! Tara’s current tour dates can be found after the jump.

Thanks everyone for your submissions! Heads up that round two of Next Step will be announced in a couple weeks along with some tweaks to the rules and an additional prize!

Tara Priya: the EP by TaraPriya

Purchase Tara Priya EP on iTunes | Amazon

Facebook | Twitter | Official Site

Tour dates after the jump

French producer dÉbruit is something else. Traveling to different countries to gain inspiration and learn their musical traditions, this sound architect makes us understand music as the playtime so many musicians revel in. When dÉbruit relocated to London, he lived in a Turkish neighborhood where his curiosity eventually birthed his latest EP, Şiş Sürpriz. Naturally, the work couples traditional Turkish folks instruments with choppy head-knocking electronic sounds. The most recent video from the EP is for the textured and tasty track, “Mezdé,” which provides visuals just as bold as the bassy sounds. His debut album is in production and will center around trips to West Africa. It’s going to be killer, we already know.

Purchase Şiş Sürpriz on iTunes

Facebook | Twitter | Official Site

Only Children covers Metronomy’s “Everything Goes My Way” to bring us the very special “Everything.Goes.OUR.Way,” which will be on their forthcoming project, Love.Shaped.Love.Sounds. The duo consists of Def Sound and Nikko Gray, who claim to have birthed a new genre they call trillwave. On this particular track, Nikko’s vocals sound like a yummy blend of Karma Stewart (of PPP fame) and Ragen Fykes of Grillade. Heart. You can also take a listen to their latest single, “Automatic,” below.

Purchase “Everything.Goes.OUR.Way” on Bandcamp

Bandcamp