Ben Ebyam grew up on a mountain top outside of Willits CA, and after moving through a series of destination locations he was lured to the bright lights of San Francisco. Rave scenes and club dreams exploded off of the dot com boom transforming the city a wonderland of musical diversity. However bright lights soon turned into dark nights as the boom went bust. The ever evolving dance scene solidified as people began to fear the instability of the unknown, many of the smaller genres died off and the larger ones strived to develop radio stations and "top seller" charts. U9lift is the resurrection of musical exploration, music that defies genre yet defines emotion. U9lift the underground, a struggle to create a new sound.

Despite a fifteen year career producing instrumental dance floor records, main Kitten Jon Drukman has always harbored a secret love of electronic pop music. A fortuitous Craigslist posting connected the razor sharp sounds of Jon’s electronic wizardry with the angst-ridden human edge of Samantha Lien’s vocals: Bass Kittens was born.

Cloud City Rejects is a San Francisco collaboration featuring members of the dance pop group TIGERcat and the rock group The New Up. Blending dance and rock elements, Cloud City Rejects creates a unique electronica flavor that is both driving and hypnotic.

From Peoria, IL, Dang was raised on The Beatles, orchestral music of the 19th & 20th centuries, and a wide range of jazz styles. A multi-instrumentalist with an affinity for drums and guitar, his venture into electro was brought about by attendance at Pyramind, where he was bombarded with electronic synthesizers and fellow students' musical creations. Unable to escape the pull of this pulsing genre and a need to share his affection for distortion, Dang dove into the pool and emerged with the song; “Ballstro.”

Daniel Riera draws inspiration from remnants of the past; old records, found objects, and sounds that are strange yet familiar. He is interested in the marriage of electronic techniques with human rhythms. First an instrumentalist, Daniel makes music with his breath, fingers, and pulse. These elements only make up a part of his main instrument, the studio. It is through careful manipulation of melody, rhythm, harmony, form, and timbre that the full extent of Daniel Riera’s musical ideas is realized.

Liam Shy has been an active member of the psytrance and dance music community in the SF Bay Area for almost 10 years. His work involves DJ'ing, music production, event production, sound design, and even some political dealings with issues and fundraising for electronic music education. Liam's been an active member of the Tantra Productions crew helping to produce stages at some of the biggest street parties in America, including the SF LovEvolution festival.

For more info please visit www.liamshy.com

Ellul, made up of Joel St. Julien and Koel Tarman, has been playing music in the Bay Area since 2005. In the spring of 2007, they released their self-titled album on Sounds Are Active Records, owned by Asthmatic Kitty recording artist Chris Schlarb. Subtle, raw vocals, shimmering guitars, and dueling electronics converge with choral harmonies, dark acoustic textures, beats, clicks, and pops to produce the iconic sound of ELLUL.

MDFX, sometimes known as Martin Fowler, is a bassist and composer of electronic music from the San Francisco Bay Area.  He currently resides in Boston, MA where his studies at the Berklee College of Music include electronic production, design and bass performance. Martin frequently collaborates with other artists such as Frost-RAVEN, together releasing the single “Ready Go!” on both Muzimo Music and the TestPressSF.02 compilation. He is currently working on a body of down-tempo electronica work due to be released the summer of 2010.

Frost-RAVEN is the solo project of Dustin Musser, a well versed producer with backgrounds in post-production and music theory. Frost Raven has previously worked with MDFX on the 2007 release "Fire City EP,” but 2009 marked their first true collaborative effort with the release of “Ready Go!” an electro-breaks track released on Mizumo Music. Whether he's rocking a huge outdoor three-day festival or an intimate renegade party, Frost-RAVEN is one act not to miss.

MitraMusic is the latest venture of artist, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Gabe Lackner. Lackner’s music melds the fast-paced nature of city life with the laid back temperament of his native California. After producing and releasing multiple albums as a singer/songwriter in New York City and Santa Barbara, Lackner relocated to San Francisco; a move imbuing the taste of electronic and dance genres into his signature songwriting style. Drawing inspiration from his travels around the world, the ocean, lucid-dreams, and the inner-rhythms of the city, Lackner hopes to replicate the soundtrack heard in his head and tap into a pulse we all can move to with MitraMusic.

Say hello to San Francisco wundertrio Pance Party: through which members Eric Luttrell, Ben Swardlick, and Andy Coenen have rapidly created an international buzz-storm for themselves. Their infectious brand of electro and chart-topping remixes have landed them coast-to-coast performances and a record deal with Miles Dyson’s Plasmapool label.

Return To Mono formed in San Francisco in 2006 with singer Tanya Kelleher, keyboardist Andy Sybilrud, and guitarist J.G. Paulos. Described by Keyboard magazine as, "Repositioning the proven hybrid of edgy female vocals & dark, grooving electronics used by Garbage, Portishead & Mechanical Birds," while hailing their EP Involution as, "Original, sophisticated, skillfully crafted, and highly listenable." Kelleher draws on the influence of previous years spent in the Madison, WI alternative rock scene playing in a band with Sigtryggur Baldursson (The Sugarcubes) before meeting founding member Sybilrud, a Minneapolis transplant to San Francisco who honed his craft studying music production and sound engineering, and Paulos, a guitarist and multi-instrumentalist in the SF music scene since the late nineties. Together they form a powerful live act, often with the help of venerable guest musicians like percussionist Florian Simon and Dopestyle (Daly City): “This group delivers a larger than life performance that makes for an incredible one-night journey.” (Nitevibe)

Sam Harkness moved to San Francisco by way of Boise, Idaho.  As the unofficial creative ambassador for the "Gem State," Sam has earned radio airtime before thousands of KNBR listeners, has been a finalist in two production competitions, and has logged many engineering hours at Keller Studios (aka "Loudville") in Sausalito, CA.  The only thing that Sam enjoys as much as digital media production is business development. "The Shark" has proudly closed deals with some of the largest companies in the world, including: Nokia Corporation, Rio Tinto, and QANTAS Airways. This creative, go-getter can be found in front of a mac, a mic, or a decision maker.

David Eric Tillman, a.k.a. TILLMANINOFF, was born in Chicago, IL. Inspired by radio and movie scores, he became a musician, composer, arranger, and producer. His musical education started with drum and music theory lessons under the great Harold Jones, jazz improvisation with Bunky Green, and record production under Glenn Ballard. As a musician, he has traveled the world touring and/or recording with a very diverse roster of artists including: The Temptations, The Dells, Willie Bobo, GAP Band, Norman Connor’s Starship Orchestra, Linda Hopkins, Linda Clifford, Dr. Robert Stewart, and Billy Paul. Tillman has logged enough album credits to become a voting member of the Recording Academy and through an Academy function met Greg Gordon of Pyramind and Epiphyte records, affording him the opportunity to be included on the Test Press 03 release.

An up and coming multi-instrumentalist, singer/songwriter, and producer, Steve Ambarian is a native Californian just getting his start in the music industry. Raised on an eclectic blend of music genres supplemented by an early love of roots reggae, Steve found his home in the rhythm and pulse of the "one drop." While studying music in high school, he began to expand his sound into lush, grooving dreamscapes that drew upon psychedelic influences from bands like The Beatles and Pink Floyd. After winning numerous awards for musicianship from organizations including the International Association for Jazz Education, he took his skills to another level by attending Pyramind in San Francisco. Now equipped with a brand new set of tools, Steve is constantly sharpening them with each passing day. Armed with a trusty ukulele and a mind for groovy beats, he has set out to explore fresh and uncharted musical territories . . . and to make new friends along the way.