James Patrick is a Minneapolis-based DJ and music producer, label owner (Timefog Recordings), entrepreneur, and educator. James has over 20 years of professional experience performing at and directing electronic music events, including curation of the International Spark Festival. A pilot member of the Ableton Trainer Certification program, James participated in the first wave of trainer certifications, and has been a critical force among the user base in the US. After more than a decade of teaching synthesis and sound design at various institutions including Dubspot and the Institute for Production and Recording, in 2012 James co-founded Slam Academy, an Electronic Music School and Ableton Certified Training Center. James uses his professional involvement in both academic and popular electronic realms to unite the creative energy, ideas and people of his community.

DJ Adatrak made his way to the stage in a decidedly unconventional way. After graduating from University of Minnesota with a degree in architecture, he knew his passion was more about building beats than structures. With this, Adatrak devoted his energy full time to honing his skills as a hip hop producer and DJ. Making a name for himself as a go-to DJ for private parties, Jimmy Cavanaugh a.k.a DJ Adatrak secured his first residency in 2008. Since then, he has performed in numerous major venues in and around his hometown of Minneapolis.

Making the rounds on the local hip hop scene eventually led to his becoming a prominent fixture as well as a member of Slipmats Radio. Thanks in part to this exposure, Adatrak is now DJ for Rhymesayers artist, deM atlaS. In addition to solo slots opening for Atmosphere and Prof, along with deM, he has played the same stage with well-respected artists including: Nas, Brother Ali, Cypress Hill, Joey Badass, Grieves, Dialated Peoples, Grouch & Eligh, and Statik Selektah.

Music is my sword and shield – The motto of 30 year old producer Kyle King. Born in Germany, and raised in America, Kyle developed a love of music at a very early age. He has played and learned several musical instruments, and is always looking to expand his repertoire. Eventually finding electronic music, Kyle was hooked from the start.

Reaching almost two decades as a DJ, Kyle’s selections draw from his experience, and his desire to weave new music with the classics, and always leave the dancefloor blissful and exhausted.

Choosing to focus on production the last couple of years, Kyle has consistently challenged himself with various genres of music, refusing to be compartmentalizations. Kyle then found Slam Academy and now works as a TA and Instructor, while also acting as the student ambassador. Kyle’s passion for all things music truly shows.

J. Anthony Allen has worn the hats of composer, producer, songwriter, engineer, sound designer, DJ, remix artist, multi-media artist, performer, inventor, and entrepreneur. Allen is an Ableton Certified Trainer, and a PhD in Music Composition and master of Electronic Sounds. His music has been heard internationally in film, radio, video games, and industrial sound, as well as the concert hall and theatre. He currently is an adjunct professor of composition at the University of St. Thomas, is the CEO and co-founder of Slam Academy in Minneapolis, and a Grammy-Recognized educator.

(If you run into him on the street, he goes by J. – as in, Jay.)

His music can be found on the Hackademica, SEAMUS, and Panacea3 labels. His music is available on iTunes and Spotify.

With a Bachelors of Science in Music Production from McNally Smith College of Music and a Masters of Science in Arts Technology from Illinois State University, Andrew Hill has the paper credentials to teach audio and music production. What makes Andrew Hill a great mentor in music production, however, is his real-world experiences as the artist Nostalgia where he has been able to play his own compositions around the world to thousands of people, DJing in Paris, Australia, Canada, and of course the USA.

These two educations, hard-knocks and traditional, were not always separate, however. Andrew blended these educations at school and at home, first taking the real-world to school with the creation of the Electronic Music Production Club at McNally Smith and second by working with his friends in the music business to create the Redline Reload Network that utilized the multi-media production skills he was learning in his graduate studies at Illinois State.

Tanya has a Bachelor of Science in Music with a Business Emphasis from Winona State University coupled with a Recording Engineering diploma from Music Tech in Minneapolis.

Tanya manages OMEN Recordings, a record label and promotions group she co-founded. She performs and produces techno music and was 1/2 of the duo known as Complicit. The pair performed in the US and Canada, and have tracks released on record labels from the US, Canada, and Mexico. As a solo artist, Tanya has released remixes for labels such as Webuildmachines and Rheostatus and performed across the country & continent from Seattle to Mexico.

Tanya has been invited to speak at a Women Composers, Performers and Business Founders in Music seminar. She initiated and directed a program called Breaking the Glass Ceiling in 2015. She co-taught an all-female electronic music production class for SheRockSheRock and then joined Beats By Girlz, and ultimately launched the LA chapter.

Currently 1/3rd of the Dubstep super group Ternion Sound, Jack has had experience over the years as a producer of many different styles of music.  Starting with a copy of FL Studio at age 14 in 2004 he began in the world of extreme music, making Speedcore, but quickly became bored and sought to expand his horizons to the rest of the Electronic Music spectrum, and other DAWs like Ableton Live.  Learning lessons from the various schools of thought and taking parts from each genre to create unique music has been his main focus as an experienced producer.  No matter what type of sound you’re going for there’s a good chance Jack will have some insight on how to achieve it.