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MICHNA

A SKILLED TROMBONIST AND A MASTER OF MIAMI BASS, THE BROOKLYN ELECTRONIC MUSICIAN HAS TURNED HIS ARSENAL OF INFLUENCES INTO A WHOLE NEW GENRE

“I grew up with a healthy balance of raves, Fugazi, and Cypress Hill,” recalls the 30-year-old DJ and producer Adrian Michna. “Even the Mighty Mighty Bosstones were a big influence, oddly enough.” The fratty ska-punk band does seem an unlikely reference for an artist who specializes in hip-hop–flavored electro, until you hear the rich live horns that open his debut full-length, Magic Monday. In fact, as a teenager, Michna used to gig as a trombonist in New York City bar bands and in a walking ragtime quartet at an amusement park—just two of the many musical experiences that inform his soulful, cinematic sound.

In the mid ’90s, the Westchester native relocated to Miami, where he attended college, worked odd jobs (pizza delivery guy, camp counselor, poolboy), and cut his teeth with the Secret Frequency Crew, a mail-order company–turned–production trio that fused instrumental hip-hop and electronic music. While living there, he got his “street education” in Miami booty bass, and soon began further crafting his sonic fingerprint by playing sweaty club sets around the world as DJ Egg Foo Young. In 2003, his work got the attention of Philly-based producer Diplo, who asked Michna to lend a hand on his acclaimed debut album, Florida; later, Diplo recruited him again to mix beats for the breakout Brazilian baile funk act Bonde do Role. Further showing his eclecticism and independence, Michna became the first person ever to remix Jandek, the elusive outsider artist who has released dozens of damaged folk albums from a Houston post-office box.

All of these influences are on display on Magic Monday, an instrumental autobiography that merges organic funk and melancholic downtempo, weaving together the tropical energy of Miami and the urban grit of Brooklyn, where Michna now lives. Now known simply by his surname, Michna recorded the album without samples, naming each track to reference a life experience (from an encounter with a UFO to a stint working as a video-store clerk in Austria). He sees the album as part of a new genre he describes as “detailed listening,” but hopes that it’s more than just headphone music. “At the end of the day,” he says, “I still need to make people dance.”

SAHEER UMAR

MICHNA IN NYC, AUGUST 2008 PHOTOGRAPH Y BEAU GREALY ST YLING BRIAN MOLLOY JACKET ACNE SHIRT FILIPPA K HAIR DENNIS GOTS USING BUMBLE AND BUMBLE (COMMUNIT Y NYC) ST YLIST ASSISTANTS RICH AYBAR AND BRITTANY BERGER PRODUCER GINA LIBERTO (MAP NY) RETOUCHING LA BOUTIQUE MAGIC MONDAY IS OUT NOW FROM GHOSTLY INTERNATIONAL

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