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Desert Dwellers

 

Desert Dwellers is Amani Friend and Treavor Moontribe, each of whom began their careers as independent music producers and DJs in the deserts of New Mexico and California.  Coming together in the late 1990s after connecting through the Moontribe events in the deserts outside Los Angeles, today the duo enjoys a reputation as one of the most pioneering and prolific downtempo acts in the United States.  Their collaborative power has resulted in numerous full-length albums, remix projects for other artists, and EPs for labels like Black Swan, Twisted and their own label Desert Trax, among many others.
 
After the initial success of their “DownTemple Dub” series, the Desert Dwellers have spent the past three years at some of the most prominent international music festivals. In 2014, the pair embarked on a massive 7-week tour across the United States opening for world renowned Twisted Records artist Shpongle, then quickly followed up with a full summer of festivals including Boom (Portugal), Shambhala (Canada), Atmosphere (Israel), Burning Man, Coachella, and countless others across North America. They are planning extensive touring for 2015 through Australia, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Europe, North America, and Canada in 2015, supporting their records and bringing joy to dance floors across the globe.

Taking a new approach on digital production, Amani and Treavor have combined the raw sounds of the natural world while skillfully blending deep bass, earthy percussion, etheric voices and cross-cultural instrumentation into sonic incense for the mind and body. With this blend of sounds they provide listeners with a heightened sense of connection through their musical soundscapes. Desert Dwellers are one of the foremost influences in a genre that they have been instrumental in developing. Blending a variety of sources, their compositions form a heavily woven set of sounds that have allowed them to establish themselves beyond their home base and around the world.

 

Bringing the electronic music vibe to the yoga scene, and the sounds of yoga to the electronic dance scene, Desert Dwellers’ global sounds are the bridge between the worlds of dance and movement. Joining solid groove with sounds of serenity, their signature aesthetic feels as natural on the dance floor as it does after hours or on the mat. Due in no small part to Desert Dwellers’ pioneering spirit, the borders of Downtempo music have expanded dramatically. These sound alchemists offer modern techniques that blend the edge of electronica with ancient sounds, offering a spellbinding hybrid with echoes of our past and future. The result has been the prolific production of genre blending dance tracks and chill-out grooves that make for truly memorable listening experiences.

 

Collaborative Partners

Desert Dwellers was initially created out from a collaboration in the late 90′s between electronic music pioneers Amani Friend & Treavor Moontribe (aka Amani vs Teapot). The group has their roots in the Southern California dance collective known as Moontribe, famous in the electronic underground for organizing dance rituals at magical locations deep within the vast expanses of Southern California and New Mexico's deserts. Desert Dwellers has been blessed to collaborate with an amazingly talented group of producers like Rara Avis, Craig Kohland (Shamans Dream), Michael Stearns, Sattva Ananda, and Jonathan Grossman on various co-production projects. They have also worked closely in the studio with many musicians over the years including Ixchel Prrisma, Meagan Chandler, Nicolle Jensen, Sarah West, Michael Kott, Hannah Theim, Paul Livingstone, Alex King-Harris, Domonic Dean Breaux, Yamuna Wali, and Ricardin, all incredible masters of their various musical traditions and transmissions. Desert Dwellers have produced remixes for artists such as Eat Static, Kalya Scintilla, Bird of Prey, Kaya Project, Adham Shaikh, Karsh Kale, Deep Forest, David Starfire, Deya Dova, Girish, Donna DeLory, Deva Premal, Jai Uttal, and many others.

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