Lefto + Jt Donaldson

As one the most important tastemakers Europe has to offer, and affiliated with labels Brownswood, Blue Note, !K7 Records, Stones Throw and Jazzy Sport, this bearded early riser is consistently a couple steps ahead of your average early adopter. He doesn't wait for the next thing to land on his lap, he actively seeks it out, therefore just take a peek at his playlists on Belgium's foremost national radio station Studio Brussel which received compliments from Rough Trade Shops and Gilles Peterson. However, don't assume that he's only working futuristic angles - no sir. Firmly rooted in jazz and hip hop, he sharpened his digging sensibility working at the now legendary Music Mania record store in hometown Brussels. His passion for jazz resulted in a remix album for Blue Note which was well received by the community. LeFtO is forever moving forwards but always got an ear in the past. Famed for his gloriously eclectic dj sets, he switches effortlessly between hip hop, funk breaks, neck-snapping beats, future bass, south-american influences, bruk riddims and some wild african rhythms. He's not only a deejay and producer but also curates his own stage at the Dour Festival and his own nights in Gent in collaboration with Democrazy. World renowned, LeFtO regularly blesses sound systems from Tokyo to Seoul and Singapore to New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles. He has been a resident deejay for Gilles Peterson's Worldwide Festivals since 2008 around the world. Camera under the arm, he is also one of the few deejays on this planet who can deejay somewhere and have a nice movie on the internet a couple hours later, with over 250 videos on Youtube and Vimeo, it's very impressive. The travel resulted in a compilation on Gilles Peterson's Brownswood Recordings with partner in crime DJ Simbad. Today, he's been working on several projects including compilations, a serie of t-shirts for 101 Apparel and more secrets... This guy goes on where others stop...

With over 300 productions to his credit and numerous DJ sets all around the globe under his belt, JT Donaldson has definitely left his mark on modern dance music. Originally from Dallas Texas, JT got his start listening to the productions coming out of Chicago, New York and Detroit. After a few years of practice in his home studio, JT relocated to Chicago. Learning, listening, collaborating and just hanging out with the now legendary Chicago artists and Dj’s had an affect and played and important roll in his production career. JT then headed west to Los Angeles for a period of four years. He then moved to San Francisco, continued on to Brooklyn, NY for 2 years and now resides back in his hometown of Dallas, TX. While his restless nature and nomadic behavior may seem strange to some people, the experiences are what drives this artist to keep being creative and strive for innovation in his music. In 2003 JT started Gallery Music Group, a homegrown recording label that has released records from Derrick Carter, Mark Farina, Luke Solomon, Pty Ltd, Urban Jazz Naturals, Vibezelect, Malcolm Charles, Joshua, Slater Hogan, John Larner, 2nd Shift, Jennifer Karr and many others. JT’s side project THE HUE, has been a labor of love for the past few years. The group consisting of Tim K of Home and Garden and DJ Damon Bell (Oakland, CA) was formed over a 2 years ago and has recoded with artists such as Kissey Asplund of Sweden, Dam Funk of Stones Throw, Black Spade, Bernard Wright, Mic Murphy and many others. With influences from early house and techno to disco to hip-hop and jazz, funk and soul, The Hue is helping to blur the genre lines and open things up for listeners and crate diggers alike. JT has performed for commercial clients like Banana Republic for their BR monogram launch in NYC, Fund Raisers for Bravo TV Show hosts Padma Lakshmi as well as holding down a residency at the W Hotel in Union Square. JT currently throws two parties at Trophy Bar in Brooklyn, one called “Disco Social”, the other a monthly called “Family Affair” with international DJ’s Amir, Ge Ology and Waajeed. While his music has been in demand worldwide for some time now, he continues his quest remixing, producing and making beats on a daily basis.