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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Alec Ness is an artist and educator who creates and teaches music in Ableton Live who is sometimes also known as Su Na and was born in a small town in the middle of America but currently lives in a larger town in the middle of America after spending some time in an even larger town on the side of America where the idea of making and teaching music for a living was personally conceived and perceived by many as a contrary decision to the American Dream but regardless followed and eventually led here.

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.

BAARD, (aka Michael T. Johnson) can be found DJ’ing at just about every known venue in Minneapolis, with gigs regularly every weekend.  But, he wears many hats, (both figuratively and literally). Versatility is a skill that he balances well, as he is equipped heavy in education with a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of St. Thomas.  His studies dove him deep into communications, recording arts, choral ensemble, music business, music theory & acoustics, social media branding, marketing, and graphic & web design. Baard is an Ableton Live enthusiast, getting daily mentoring from the top ACT’s for over 2 years now after completing the Ableton Live program at Slam Academy. He teaches privately as well as providing support for other instructors. Baard’s creativity comes from being a multi-instrumentalist with a forte in vocals. He knew, ever since making his first beats and raps in high school, that music was his direction. Baard also keeps himself busy as a music producer, clocking in endless hours of studio time to create music for short films, documentaries and reality shows. His most recent new hat is artist management, providing guidance and connections for new artists.

Aaron Neff aka. NuAge Knight is one of the few recognized chill electronic music producers in the twin cities demonstrated by his performances as direct support for similar sounding electronic producers like Sweater Beats and Luca Lush.  He has had multiple releases with EDM.com sub labels, Chinchilla and The XXX and understands what it takes to make a label ready song. Starting making rap beats on Garageband, that progressed into buying Logic. Followed by making the decision to move to Minneapolis to attend IPR to pursue a career in music production.  Aaron was introduced to Ableton Live as well as a brand new world of lo-fi, funk inspired, downtempo electronic music on the contrary from the extreme high energy EDM that he thought electronic music was only made up of. Since then, Aaron created his NuAge Knight alias and has shifted his focus from hip hop beat production.  Obtaining his associates degree in Audio Production and Engineering in 2015, no matter what sort of music you’re making, Aaron knows what your song needs to be finished and how to get to that point.

Nick Shvetzoff (Nicky Boy Floyd) has been producing deep electronic music since 2010. From the foundation of an MPC and a small vinyl collection, Nick has been pushing himself and his productions to new heights. Currently, his areas of expertise include Ableton Live, sound design, drum programming, Serato, and Dubstep production.

Nick has played in many venues across the Twin Cites and has shared the stage with acts like L Wiz, Tunnidge, Thavius Beck, and more. He made a guest appearance on Bassport.fm for the Bristol based record label 140 Ninja, as well as Run That Radio in Eau Claire, and Bassment Jams out of Minneapolis. Nick has been on stage at numerous music festivals including Infrasound, Sonic Fusion, and New Autumn Experience. He released his first EP on Minneapolis based record label The Great Magnet, and also has a remix featured on J. Anthony Allen’s album Conic Arias.

David Wiesjahn is a Minneapolis based music producer, sound designer and drummer. David has been performing professionally for the past 10 years and producing electronic music for the past 8 years. After receiving his degree in drum set performance from McNally Smith College of Music, he began writing and performing electronic music under the artist name CORA, which continues to be an active member of the Minneapolis electronic music scene. Additionally, David is aiding Slam Academy’s Sound Design Program, as well as developing new coarse material for Slam.

Private lessons with David Wiesjahn are available in person at Slam Academy. David specializes in Sound Design, Mixing, Synthesis, and Drum Programming.

Additionally, David offers drum set lessons at the Slam Academy campus.

Juke Nukem, a DJ/Producer with roots firmly planted in Texas during the bolstering DnB scene of the early 2000s, relocated to Minneapolis, Mn in 2006. By 2011, he founded Slipmats Radio, the weekly internet radio show for turntablism, which later evolved into the local dj cooperative.

Following that, he was introduced to the Chicago juke/footwork culture and never looked back. As a result, the proclaimed duke of Minneapolis juke was inducted into TekkDJz; The international DJ collective founded by the late DJ Rashad and Traxman.

Subsequently in 2013, Juke created his brand, DISTRICT160. A record label dedicated to 160bpm music culture; including but not limited to juke/footwork.