“Living in San Diego, you hear that there is no scene here, that there is nothing going on,” says musician and freelance graphic designer Miguel “Miguex” Vega, who in 2011 compiled a glimpse of the local forward-thinking electronic bass music scene in Future Sounds of San Diego, a joint release between Big Up Magazine and Vega’s burgeoning Dataset Clothing line. “But, I think this is proof that that idea is incorrect. I think the result speaks for itself. It’s a great album. I listen to it over and over.”
The compilation, which is free for download at thebigupmagazine.com, features 20 progressive electronic music producers, including Puppy Kicker, Nino Seneris, Elan, Mike Gao, DJ Pound, EshOne, HM.T DM.T, Austin Speed, and Illuminauts, most of whom can be found debuting new tracks at regular events such as Liquid Geometry Presents, Critical Beatdown, Ocean Beats, and Brokenbeat, San Diego’s longest running Electronic Dance Music monthly.
“I didn’t pick just beats or dubstep or whatever,” the Buenos Aires native says. “I went out of my way to reach out to artists. Brokenbeat or Liquid Geometry might not be as popular as what’s going on downtown, where you pay a $20 cover and buy $10 drinks all night, but I think there’s a lot more going on at these events.”
Drawing on his experience designing graphics for companies such as DC Shoes, Vans, K2, and Honda, Vega inaugurated Dataset Clothing in December of 2010.
“In the past couple of years, my entire clientele has been revolving around music,” said Vega approximately one year later. “That’s what I like. So, I thought, make a clothing line that caters to electronic music enthusiasts. Right now, I rely on online sales, which are mostly in Europe — Holland, Portugal, places like that. I don’t even know how they found out about it. It’s great. I’m hoping to get some stuff in retail stores here and in L.A. soon.”