Didn't have my recorder with me at Burning Man, but figured it was worth re-recording. The sounds of late night deep playa music from the convenience of being in the city at Bad Asstronauts!

2AM Deep Playa Music "Re-Recorded" @ Bad Asstronauts - Burning Man 2019

• Progressive • Techno • Dark Disco • Underground • Tribal •

Based out of Los Angeles, Justin Nicoll’s sound emphasizes melodic elements fusing edgy, progressive, and driving basslines with deep and hypnotic rhythms.  Collectively, his sets merge techno, progressive house, and tribal genres with unique textures and curate a future forward sound while sprinkling in nostalgia along the way. Justin’s DJ sets are truly progressive in nature, and leads his crowd on a hedonistic yet emotional journey that keeps their bodies pumping and grooving all night. His DJ sets and music production draws inspiration from artists such as Sasha & John Digweed, John Creamer & Stephane K, Rick Pier O’Neil, ARTBAT, Oscar Mulero, and Rene Wise.

Justin began his journey DJing during the pandemic (2020), and fell in love with progressive house and techno after attending underground raves and Berlin’s techno scene. Since then he has played numerous and diverse events around the United States and abroad, including leather events, underground warehouse raves, circuit parties, tea dances, and pool parties.  Folsom (San Francisco), Los Angeles Leather Pride’s Off-Sunset Festival, Palm Springs Pride, The Cuff Seattle, and Brawny Bear Weekend (Puerto Vallarta). 

He has recurring gigs and performances for parties including TUFF, Masterbeat, GPS, Trophy Dad, The Eagle LA, MEAT RACK, Tom of Finland, Mantamar Beach Club (PVR) and underground warehouse events including SMD and ABUNDA. He has provided support for headlining artists such as PAGANO, Karsten Sollors, GSP, and Berghain/Panarama Bar resident Partok. His online podcasts and live DJ set recordings have accumulated just over 39,000 plays and listens since 2022 on SoundCloud. 

For bookings contact: jx.nicoll24@gmail.com

Events and Parties
TUFF (resident)
Masterbeat
GPS (LA)
Masteurdome Folsom (San Francisco)
Trophy Dad (San Francisco)
LA Leather Pride Off Sunset Festival (LA)
SMD (warehouse; LA)
Tom of Finland: TOM’s BAR (LA)
Brawny Bear Weekend (Puerto Vallarta)
Bear Trap (Puerto Vallarta)
Palm Springs Pride
Cheap & Dirty at The Cuff (Seattle)
Meat Rack at The Eagle (LA)
ABUNDA (warehouse; LA)

Just a Techno head originating from 1991, and branching off to different genres, but, most importantly, always knowing my roots which are deeply rooted in Techno.

This )'( account tries to organize all the lovely Burning Man music on soundcloud. The tracks are sorted into annual playlists. You find them here: soundcloud.com/burningmanmusic/sets

It’s not progressive if it doesn’t push music forward: this is the position held by KSTEELE. Be it the next track in his mix or his ambitions out on the horizon, the Denver DJ always keeps it real and keeps it moving.

KSTEELE is the forerunner of #properPROG — less a genre and more a philosophy of sonic exploration. His refusal to conform has yielded an unpredictable style that holds captive house, techno and trance fans alike in rooms like Temple Denver, Bar Standard, Club Vinyl, and Meow Wolf Denver. Only a few short years into his electronic music career, he’s beginning to rapidly accelerate.

It’s a rare sort of confidence that allows KSTEELE to rise above the tribalism that plagues modern dance music. It only makes sense, though, as he’s no stranger to going against the grain.

Born Kalib Steele in Colorado Springs, he first fell in love with trance at boarding school when he found “For An Angel” by Paul van Dyk on a friend’s iPod Nano. He played the track on repeat every day. Even without access to a community who shared his newfound passion, he then explored much of the electronic music landscape on his own before graduating high school.

2013 marked a turning point as Steele touched down in Denver and immediately got involved with Global Dance, the city’s largest electronic music event brand. Doors opened to a world even bigger than the one he envisioned when he heard the otherworldly melodies of his formative influences. He started out as a promoter and quickly worked his way up to A&R.

It wasn’t until much later that Steele entertained the idea of performing himself. By 2017 he was constantly dazzling established artists in the trance-progressive arena with his knowledge of cutting-edge tracks on obscure labels. After enough respected tastemakers pushed him to take up DJing, he finally made his way to the other side of the decks.

KSTEELE debuted at Denver club Bar Standard in December of 2019. He was billed as the opener, but by the time his set ended he had a crowd that any local DJ would envy. More importantly, he demonstrated to all the right people in the city that his passion for music had manifested as a talent for music curation.

The years since have been kind to KSTEELE. His résumé now includes gigs at Club Vinyl, Larimer Lounge, Knew Concious, Temple Denver, Your Mom's House, Milk Bar, Global Dance Festival, X BAR, Meow Wolf Denver, Disco Pussy Las Vegas and both the Denver and Las Vegas iterations of Techno Taco Tuesday. 
He has played support for such well-known artists as Tinlicker, Jody Wisternoff, Simon Doty, Cristoph, Matt Lange, Charles D, John Monkman, Hannes Bieger, Grum, Moon Boots, Shay DeCastro, Qrion, CRi, Estiva and Matt Fax. KSTEELE also boasts strong ties with Denver promoter TheHundred Presents, Knew Conscious, and techno/progressive label JourneyDeep Records.

KSTEELE has covered this much ground in such a short period of time because he’s building something bigger than himself. It’s not lost on him that he’s among a small handful of Black artists active in the trance-progressive range of the electronic music spectrum. He wants his success to lead the way for others in his shoes who might not otherwise see a place for themselves in this community.

At the same time, KSTEELE attests that proper progressive is not a creative range at all. He believes that every piece of music is unique in itself, and whatever meanings we give to the words that become genres will never measure up to the sounds themselves. His drive to unearth a diverse array of forward-thinking gems is what makes his music progressive. His seamless mixing, stage presence, and immediate connection with the audience is what makes it unquestionably proper.

Listen closely enough to the moments that make up a KSTEELE set and you can hear the omen of a not-so-distant future. One thing is for sure: There’s no telling where the #properPROG movement will take him next.

Josh Forster is a Toronto-born, LA-raised, Denver-based DJ and resident of the Bad Asstronauts. His musical focus resides in the darker spectrum of sound with interests including tech house, progressive house, and techno.

Catch Josh's sets at Burning Man and throughout Denver's underground music scene.

Some of the clubs, venues, and Burning Man camps where he has played:
 
1154 Broadway (Denver)
Altitude Lounge (Burning Man)
Bad Asstronauts (Burning Man)
Bar Standard (Denver)
Beacon (Denver)
Celtic Chaos (Burning Man)
Charlie The Unicorn (Burning Man)
Club Lexi (Denver)
Club Vinyl (Denver)
Cocks on Colfax (Denver)
Disco Lips (Burning Man)
Draft Punk (Burning Man)
DV8 (Boulder)
F8 Nightclub (San Francisco)
Glow Lounge (Denver)
Jaguar Room (Denver)
Joule (Burning Man)
LVL (Denver)
Milk (Denver)
Mirus Gallery (Denver)
National Western Stockyards (Denver)
O Club (Cabo San Lucas)
Opulent Chill (Burning Man)
Reelworks (Denver)
Slutgarden (Burning Man)
The Black Box (Denver)
Tracks (Denver)
Triangle (Denver)
Temple (Denver)
Viceroy Lounge (Denver)
Void Studios (Denver)
X Bar (Denver)