“You know him”
“I don’t think I do.”
“No, man. You definitely do. His song like, starts off slow, then goes real instrumental.”
Jeff Hartford is ATTLAS, the guy whose music you’ve been horribly describing to your friends lately. You heard his mixes and loved it; his remix of ‘Bitch Better Have My Money’ and ‘Aural Synapse’ surprised you with their original sound. Maybe you can’t quite place him because you need a face to go with the name; which is hard to get from Jeff Hartford because the guy just hates getting his picture taken.
You’ll probably be referring to ATTLAS even more after August 7th, when he releases his newest EP, ‘Scene’ on mau5trap. Typically obscured from the public eye, the notoriously camera-shy ATTLAS returns with his newest selection of work. Fans can get their first listen of the Canadian producer’s latest sound via instant grat “Wastaga.” You can pre-order the EP here.
Canadian-bred Jeff Hartford was visiting his hometown, awaiting verification of a work visa so he could go back to L.A and continue interning for film score composer Trevor Morris, when he got bored and took a chance. Since returning to Toronto, Hartford spent his downtime working double on songwriting. He emailed one of his best tracks to Mau5trap, DeadMmau5’s record label on a whim. They were floored and signed him.
ATTLAS surfaced relevancy with his remix of his now-boss’s single “Aural Synapse,” in November 2014. The track caused a tidal wave of speculation, and ATTLAS would at first be considered a side project of deadmau5 himself. Speculation ceased when Jeff Hartford and his project were officially ‘outed’ by Pete Tong. On June 6th, he made his first appearance opening for Deadmau5 at Governor’s Ball in New York City.
Within months of the announcement, ATTLAS released several tracks and a debut EP Siren, and at a time when originality is in short supply, is unanimously described as completely original. The momentum of the producer’s career has been quick, but with no surprise, as ATTLAS stirred a culture that has been longing for creativity and a new sound.
‘Scene’ EP Track Listing Includes…
- Batch
- Lighthouse
- Rasor
- Beside
- Wastaga
- Crane
By: Sarah Kelleher