Revolvr

When Revolvr pulls the trigger, you feel it.

Whether it’s through an irresistible house music hook or propulsive progressive production, the Las Vegas-based artist and producer specializes in igniting emotions. Hands go up in the air and bodies shake when his fusion of styles pipes through the speakers. Locked and loaded with numerous tricks up his sleeve, Revolvr has arrived on the scene with a big bang.

Revolvr a.k.a. Touvan Sughiarto officially entered the electronic music world in 2011, but the genre has been a part of his life for as long as he can remember. A fan of The Prodigy and Crystal Method during his high school years, Touvan relocated from The Bay Area to San Diego to finish college, where he perfected his skills on the decks. While, a detour into the corporate world post-college delayed his eventual destiny, a sunrise at 2010’s Burning Man festival changed everything.

“I was watching the sun come up, and something overcame me,” recalls Revolvr. “It was like I got slapped in the face. I knew that I needed to be doing music. I wasn’t happy in the corporate environment even though I was doing well in it. I wanted to walk away from everything I was doing and chase what I loved. I went home, quit my job, camped out in the studio for four months, and found my sound.”

That sound immediately became embraced by fans, contemporaries, and critics alike. His very moniker sums up its diverse nature. He reveals, “Revolvr doesn’t reference a gun. The name points to the fact that my style revolves around so many different aspects of music. I take what I feel I connected to in each genre and infuse that into my own work, whether it’s a remix or an original production.”

Collaborating with Donald Glaude, he dropped an incendiary and infectious remix of Scooter and Lavelle’s “Beats Inside My Head” that set Beatport ablaze. Spreading like wildfire, “Beats Inside My Head” peaked at #2 on the site’s Electro House Chart and #16 on the Overall Chart. Meanwhile, Tiësto added the track to his podcast and the live set of his mega-successful Club Life tour, exposing the remix to thousands nightly. It was Revolvr’s first bona fide hit.

About the track, Revolvr explains, “I connected with the song. The lyrics were catchy and I wanted to create something equally catchy musically. Once it exploded, I felt pretty good about my decision to focus on music 100 percent.”

Fast-forward to 2012, and the past year and half has been awash in one successful release after another. Every single track Revolvr released in 2011 and 2012 has reached the Beatport Top 100 chart, and his latest EP, “Two Worlds Apart [Big Fish Recordings], went on to demonstrate Revolvr’s dynamic range. The lead track “Toll Says No More” is a melodic yet energetic dubstep track with hypnotizing vocals from Majai. While the second track, “Make Me Want More is a peak hour energetic club track with vocals from Sue Cho.

Then, there’s Revolvr’s remix of Morgan Page’s “Body Work” [Featuring Tegan and Sara]. The track is part of Page’s latest effort, In the Air, as a bonus cut and landed itself in the Top 10 on the iTunes Dance Chart. It also shows another side of the artist as he expands into a skittering dubstep groove. Other remix highlights include a unique take on Luciana’s “I’m Still Hot”, which hit #1 on Billboard’s Dance chart, his remix of Florence + the Machine’s “You’ve Got Love” that landed at #1 spot on Hype Machine, and his Who Is Ready to Jump (Revolvr Bootleg) that has received over 130,000 plays to date.

On stage, his music really comes to life. Boasting a show comprised of mostly originals, he’s played to packed crowds at Avalon (Los Angeles), Beta (Denver), Last Supper Club (Seattle), and a slew of summer festivals including Sunset Festival (Tampa), Sun City Music Festival (El Paso), Camp Bisco (New York), Stereoterra (Michigan) and the Pure White Party (Edmonton) alongside the likes of Avicii, Sander Van Doorn, and Gareth Emery. “I want to create an experience for people,” he adds. “I like to see everyone jumping. My set is like a roller coaster. Everyone is along for an amazing ride.”

Ultimately, with a forthcoming EP featuring Lea Luna being released by Dim Mak in Fall of 2012, the ride is only going to get even bigger and better. He concludes, “I’d love for people to walk away feeling some sort of connection to the show or music. I hope the last thought they have is, ‘I can’t wait to hear that again’.”