Kid606

• Genre: Laptronica
• Hometown: Berlin
• Kid606 Website

About

Good luck trying to pin down Kid606 (Miguel Depedro). The Venezuelan-born musician was just barely out of adolescence when he began to turn San Diego's experimental music community on its head with a homegrown style fusing the fury and irreverence of punk with the electronic sonics of jungle and techno. After moving to San Francisco in the '90s, he -- along with likeminded mischief-makers such as Kit Clayton, Sutekh, Gold Chains and Matmos -- helped put the Bay Area on the map as a mecca for electronic music's free spirits. Long before Girl Talk, Kid606 was drenching his laptop in the sweat of frenzied crowds, playing a sly, pop-loving strain of high-energy dance music. But Kid606 has never been just a prankster. While he's prone to snarky titles ("Luke Vibert Can Kiss My Indie-Punk Whiteboy Ass") and his music often revels in fluorescent samples and breakneck tempos, he's also capable of the tender, contemplative I.D.M. of P.S. I Love You. His Tigerbeat6 label, meanwhile, is one of America's great electronic indies, encompassing a roster as diverse as Pimmon, Numbers, Knifehandchop, Black Dice and the Bug.

- Philip Sherburne