Your Weekly Vibe Check: Let’s Dance
January 29, 2024
January 29, 2024
Based in San Francisco, 24-year-old visionary Spencer Brown creates forward-thinking dance music that defies quick-shifting industry trends, carving his fresh take on the progressive space by creating earworms that incorporate authenticity with accessibility.
After Above & Beyond discovered Spencer through his graceful 2014 debut release “Chalice EP” on Avicii’s LE7ELS (garnering over 1.5 million listens), a string of successful EPs on their legendary Anjunabeats label led to his chart-topping iTunes #1 2018 debut album “Illusion of Perfection,” presented in a continuous mix. This mix-album journey was Spencer’s creative response to the modern era of pumping out saturated radio-edited singles, something from which Spencer shies away. Spencer’s darker follow-up, “Windows 95 on Acid EP,” was released on deadmau5’s mau5trap label and caught the eye of countless techno tastemakers.
Having received diverse DJ & radio support from Avicii, Above & Beyond, Armin van Buuren, Sasha, Pete Tong, Don Diablo, Hardwell, Danny Howard, Adriatique, Paco Osuna, Dubfire, John Digweed, Getter, Seven Lions, Gareth Emery, and more, Spencer continues to showcase the diversity of his productions ranging from house to techno, trance to deep house, all the while encapsulating his unique progressive flow.
Outside of the studio, Spencer is no stranger to the road. After making his live debut at Avicii’s 2013 Hollywood Bowl show, Spencer was invited to tour across North America on Avicii’s True Tour in stadiums such as Barclay’s Center, TD Garden, and Rogers’ Centre. This extensive touring was done while studying Electrical & Computer Engineering at the prestigious Duke University, where he graduated with distinction in 2016 after publishing a 47-page thesis on omnidirectional loudspeakers.
With over 10 years of DJing under his belt, Spencer’s live brilliance is rooted in his renovation of the classical ideology focusing on reading the room and defiance of premade sets to create an unparalleled journey mostly comprised of his original material. Following up his opening for Above & Beyond’s colossal 2018 Common Ground tour (in venues such as the LA Convention Center), Spencer embarked on his own mammoth international headline “Illusion of Perfection” tour to support his mixalbum, packed with 3 to 6 hour sold-out extended and open-to-close marathon sets. After proving himself on the previous North American Above & Beyond tour, they invited him to join for the entirety of both their Australian and European tours to finish off 2018.
His passionate, ever-growing fanbase has opened the door to playing at top festivals around the world, such as Tomorrowland Belgium, EDC Las Vegas, Electric Zoo NYC, Global Dance Denver, Ile Soniq Montreal, Dreams Fest Toronto, Electric Festival Helsinki, Creamfields UK, and many more. In addition to the festival circuit, Spencer has been invited to play some of the most renowned clubs in the world, such as Output Brooklyn, Echostage DC, Space Miami, and Hï Ibiza (invited by Armin van Buuren).
Spencer recently launched a new concept of parties called “Extended Sunsets,” where he plays open-air extended sets beginning a couple hours before sunset and playing into the darkness, creating an organic experience in harmony with the beauty nature. In the future, these parties may be held on rooftops, in forests, on beaches, or anywhere else with a beautiful sunset backdrop. The first installment, held at Hotel Via Rooftop in San Francisco, completely sold out in 4 hours.
Spencer’s relentless work ethic and production prolificacy, crystal clear vision, extensive A-List DJ support, and forward thinking compositions forecast a breakthrough as he continues to deliver ambitious performances that can stand the test of time.