Thanks to our sponsors
Plat_sponsor1

Volta Bureau

2833


Listen to Erase The Streets feat. Gwenno)

Volta Bureau is an electronic music group formed in Washington, DC consisting of Will Eastman, Outputmessage (Bernard Farley) and Micah Vellian (Miguel Lacsamana). Bernard and Miguel first meet as roommates, with Will coming into things through a shared studio, where the three of them routinely collaborated with each other on their own solo material. As things began to grow they realized they all shared a common thread musically and in the spring of 2011 decided to come together forming Volta Bureau.

Will Eastman is also co-owner of U Street Music Hall, a club named by the Washington Post as “best dance club in the region.” The Post also praises him as “one of DC’s titan DJs.” Eastman’s releases and remixes have received support from a diverse range of DJs and media coverage by URB, NPR and BBC Radio 1, among others. Outputmessage is Bernard Farley: a vocalist, producer, DJ, record label owner, and math nerd. Starting out as a producer while working on a master's degree in mathematics, Farley saw his first music release on the esteemed Ghostly International label at the young age of 20, and has received praise from the likes of URB and Pitchfork for his unusually melodic and catchy brand of electronic music. Miguel Lacsamana , aka Micah Vellian cut his teeth, in typical DC DIY fashion, writing, producing and performing in several indie bands (Stamen & Pistils, Metropolitan, Person). More recently, he has done production and co-writing work with fellow Volta Bureau member Will Eastman, Dmerit (with Outputmessage) and solo releases on Output Noise Records and Plant Music.

Volta Bureau draws on all three members' rich musical tastes and vast experience creating a hypnotic, cosmic take on house, techno and disco. Their debut release entitled “Hope” via their own imprint Volta Bureau Music turned heads and received support from the likes of Danny Daze, Phantom's Revenge, Cosmo Baker, and John Roman among others. The first major break through came in the form of their second single entitled “Alley Cat” released via the newly launched sub-label of Nervous Records aptly titled Nurvous.

“Alley Cat” made substantial strides for the group in 2011 and continues to do so into 2012; maintaining the top spot on Beatport's Indie Dance chart for more than 10 weeks, reaching number 20 in Beatport's overall top 100 alongside the likes of heavyweights Maceo Plex, Moby, Hot Natured and Oliver $. Rounding things out, Beatport picked “Alley Cat” as one of the top 100 tracks of 2011. Not stopping there, "Alley Cat" has gotten massive support in the artist community as well with appearances in mixes from A-Trak, Mike Skinner (The Streets) and The Magician and received chart support from major dance music players like Avicii, Martin Solveig and Moguai. One of the biggest highlights came from BBC Radio 1, with the legendary Pete Tong featuring the track on his seminal Essential Selection show, Toddla T also showing the love featuring it while guesting on Annie Mac's show as well as getting the full nod again from Annie a week later. To close out 2011 "Alley Cat" was honored in Washington Post's "Best D.C. Music of 2011,” a fitting close to a memorable year for Volta Bureau.

Looking toward the horizon, Volta Bureau has some exciting projects slated for release including new originals, some big remixes and a new live show, which will undoubtedly bring them into the class of the electronic music elite.