Heavy Arts Ensemble is a collective ensemble fusing jazz and electro acoustic live sampling with textures inspired by the lo-fi beat school of thought. Heavy Arts Ensemble blends together hip-hop, jazz, and the outer edges of experimental rock along with live improvised and generative visuals. The Oakland based ensemble is forming an approach influenced by jazz sounds and everything in-between to create a unique listening experience gathering the past, present, and future of underground beat culture and ambient free jazz.

Mophono aka DJ Centipede wanted “to take the mystery out of the legend that says electronic music is an art that is esoteric, exclusively reserved for a few initiates, an elite of avant-garde intellectuals and artists” he adds “it deserves to be raised to the level of popular music, a music designed for fun and relaxation” and so Circuit studios was born in Lower Haight, San Francisco for the experimental researches of Thug Jazz and Dirt Wave. While electronic and sample based music matured In the nineties, so did Mophono’s career as the most successful experimental electronic dance music DJ in the bay area. Booked at many of the underground raves until April of 1998 when one Oakland warehouse dance floor collapsed during one of his epic DJ sets, ending an era and starting a new one. DJ Centipede aka Mophono then focused his attention on the growing bay area beat scene, perfected his production and beat juggling skills while promoting San Francisco’s most forward thinking events. Since then Mophono has released two full length albums and a slew of singles giving birth to two new genre’s Thug Jazz and Dirt Wave and a new standard in the record indus­try called Skip on Beat. Inspired by 60’s psyche and experimental electronic music, Mophono Is known for his destructive drum breaks and heavy and orchestral instrumental compositions. With his legendary “Change the Beat” party in San Francisco, Mophono is so deep in the beat culture melting pot he is stirring it. Performing live on Boiler Room with long time partner Gaslamp Killer and sharing the stage with DJ Shadow, Flying Lotus, Amon Tobin, Edan, DJ Food, DJ Krush, Dabrye, Diplo and De La Soul with his Skip on Beat records, drum machines and moogs, Mophono intends to set a new standard in live electronic music performance.