High Maintenance

1) James Smith, DnB producer from UK. 2) A House-duo from Texas -------------------------- 1)James Smith, aka High Maintenance, may appear a relative newcomer to the drum and bass world, but he did not need time to catch the attention of some of biggest names in the game. Shortly after releasing some digital tracks in 2009, this producer began to hear his tunes on John B's podcasts; it wasn't long before he was sought after by a number of respected drum and bass labels. In early 2011, High Maintenance opted to sign onto Shimon's Audioporn Records and DisasZt's Mainframe Recordings, kicking off with a tremendous remix of Ed Rush and Tali's Dark Days, the lead track from Tali's album, Dark Days, High Nights. High Maintenance began his ascent into music at the age of thirteen with the guitar. He could put on an album and learn it all in an hour. When this became banal, High Maintenance decided to pick up a new instrument: the drums. Soon the fifteen-year-old maverick and his newly formed band began playing events in his hometown of Haywards Heath, England. Writing tracks with the band gave him his first taste of his own musical abilities, but having to compromise on his aural vision proved frustrating. I just wanted to compose a whole piece by myself without having to rely on other people, he says, so I started producing. High Maintenance soon became impressed with the sounds coming out of the electronic music scene, which led to his first production: a remix of Daft Punk's Harder Better Faster Stronger. The realization that he could turn his love of music into a career didn't come about until a number of years later though, when he produced a track entitled Sun Flares. He says, It was the first track that I had produced through active monitor speakers. They definitely changed my life. 2) Hailing from Dallas, TX., a city that has spawned such house music greats as Brett Johnson, JT Donaldson, Demarkus Lewis, and Lance Desardi, the producing tandem of J. Caprice & 4peace, otherwise known as HIGH MAINTENANCE, are the next big thing out of Big D! In a city full of, and respected for it's deep house & minimal DJ's, High Maintenance has been makin' their presence felt with their signature funky, dirty, jackin' underground style of house music. Their high energy tag team sets are setting dance floors across the world on fire while their infectious clownin', lighthearted persona's make them a definite crowd favorite. Both have been accomplished DJ's for quite some time (4peace since '89 and J. Caprice since '96), but it wasn't until Feb. 2008 that things started taking off on the producing front when the two met through a chance encounter. Needless to say, it was a match made in heaven and like two long lost brothers, J. Caprice & 4peace immediately clicked and started working on tracks together under the guise of High Maintenance. The house music community instantly took notice and the pair have been getting tracks signed at a torrid pace to such respected labels as Digi Funk, Dustpan, Groove Baby, Midwest Hustle, Meltin' Funk, Junky Trunk, Footwear, Bid Muzik, Llama Farm, HuHu, Shak Street, Serial Sickness, Illuminati, Voluptuous, & 3345, as well as their own label JUICED MUSIC, which has firmly established itself as a powerhouse in the worldwide house community. Their tracks have been charted by the likes of Mes, Smokingroove, JR From Dallas, Sonny Fodera, Combined, Tommy Largo and more, and have sold their way onto various record store top 100 lists. With no signs of slowing down and a sound that continues to improve and mature with each release, the future looks very bright for these Texas boys! Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.