Dusty Brown is a Sacramento electronica project led by producer-musician Dusty Brown, built around a family core of his sister Jessica Brown on vocals and cousin Zac Brown on guitar.[1][2] Across more than a decade of Submerge coverage, Dusty Brown emerges as one of the most decorated and influential figures of the Sacramento electronic-music scene — a multiple-Sammies winner, a Command Collective veteran, and a producer whose home studio became a hub connecting many local acts.[1][3][2]
At a glance
- Sacramento electronica act; described as "Sacramento's shining gene pool of electronica soundscapes" and as veterans of the local scene.[1]
- Core lineup: Dusty Brown (drum programming, Moog/keys, production), sister Jessica Brown (vocals), cousin Zac Brown (affected guitar).[1][2]
- Won enough Sammies (Sacramento music awards) to be inducted into a Hall of Fame "after winning the award too many times"; had "a half-dozen Sammies."[1]
- Self-described style: "melancholy electronica."[2]
- A founding member of the early-2000s Command Collective electronica scene.[3]
- Runs a home studio used by many local and visiting artists.[2][4][5]
- Called "one of the best electronic acts to have ever called Sacramento home."[6]
Origin and local status
Dusty Brown is unambiguously local to the Greater Sacramento region. Submerge repeatedly frames the project as a hometown act: "Sacramento's shining gene pool of electronica soundscapes" and "veterans of the Sacramento music scene."[1] Dusty Brown himself is quoted as "a Sacramento guy, who nobody literally knows who we are outside of Sacramento," and the project is described as having gone "from strictly known in Northern California" to wider exposure.[2] He explicitly states "I still live in Sacramento," the city "where his family lives."[2] (Confidence: high.)
The band is family-built: Dusty's band consists of "his sister Jessica and cousin Zac."[2] Zac Brown refers to "my cousin Dusty Brown," confirming the relation.[5]
Lineup and roles
- Dusty Brown — leader and producer; handles "intricate drum programming and ethereal Moog keyboard lines" and the project's production.[1]
- Jessica Brown — Dusty's sister; vocalist whose singing is a defining element of the sound.[1][2] She is "a long-time contributor to her brother's eponymous project."[4]
- Zac Brown — Dusty's cousin; contributes "affected guitar riffs."[1] Zac describes starting his musical life in Dusty Brown, where "the songs were written and I'd just try to do something over the top of it," with little room for "visceral release."[7]
According to a 2015 Sacramento News & Review profile, this trio lineup has since dissolved, and as of that writing Dusty Brown performs solo.[8]
Personal background
Dusty Brown married at 18 and, as of 2010, had four children with one more on the way, identifying as "a family man with hermetic impulses."[2] He claims to have understood the 1990s music-business model of touring and making connections but never expected free distribution to revive interest in the band.[2] He is noted as prolific, at one point employing a writing method of three to four new songs per live set, and describing "mass amounts of music" and "10 years" of unreleased material in his vaults.[2]
Brown has been making electronic music since the late 1990s,[8][9] establishing his craft well before the early-2000s Command Collective period. His stated artistic philosophy is "I'm always trying to take the computer out of electronic music," and his influences include trip-hop acts like Portishead and 1990s rap acts like Wu-Tang Clan.[8]
Discography and releases timeline
- Hope You're Happy (LP) — released to recoup losses after the band's live equipment was stolen in 2007; Brown said sales "succeeded in getting my money back to the dot" before dropping off.[2]
- This City Is Killing Me (EP, 2010) — a five-song EP given to friend Scott "Tycho" Hansen, who released it for free download on his ISO50 blog with artwork based on photographs by Raoul Ortega, taken at a Dusty Brown show at Harlow's in Sacramento.[2][10] XLR8R, announcing the free release in June 2010, described Brown as "a name intrinsically linked to the Sacramento electronic music scene for over eight years."[9] The free release drove roughly 2,500 downloads in three days and coverage from XLR8R, Pitchfork Media and Yourstru.ly, "a buzz" that pushed the band beyond Northern California.[2] Submerge later called it "an instant classic" and "destined to be a local classic," noting songs "How's That" and "Back to Back."[11][12] Brown considered pressing it on vinyl with donated funds.[2]
- A new full-length was described in 2010 as "nearly completed," but no completed album title appears in the corpus.[2]
- In 2013, the viral YouTube video "Girl Learns to Dance in a Year" by Karen X. Cheng featured Dusty Brown's music; the video garnered over five million views and represented his biggest sales boost, earning enough for him to replace old instruments.[8]
Note: sources reference the buzz and recordings but do not name a finished follow-up album within the covered span.
Live performances and shows
- Jan. 25, 2009 — The Press Club, a Club Pow "Unplugged" set (with DJ Whores). For this show Jess Gowrie (drummer of the defunct rock group Red Host) sat in on a few songs, turning electronica tracks into "heavy, Moog-flavored rock," and Dusty played bass on a track.[1]
- Jan. 2010 — first Sacramento Electronica Music Festival (SEMF), where Dusty Brown played "a capacity night with Tycho," only to play again a week later "to three people."[2]
- June 26, 2010 — Capital Garage (with Paper Pistols); July 17, 2010 — the Townhouse (EP release show).[2]
- May 3, 2012 — SEMF Day 1 at Harlow's (third annual SEMF), opening with two new songs before drawing on the This City Is Killing Me EP; Submerge called the band Sacramento's "secret weapon."[12][11]
- Sept. 2015 — TBD Fest after parties (Dusty Brown DJ set) at Midtown BarFly, hosted by Requiem Events.[13]
- Dec. 31, 2016 — "Midtown Mountain Get Down" NYE party with Miami Horror, Le Youth and MyKill, presented by the THIS Midtown concert-series organizers.[6]
Brown lamented the city's "superficial love for live music," contrasting capacity crowds against near-empty nights blamed on events like the NBA Finals.[2]
Scene role and relationships
Dusty Brown is positioned as a central, connective figure in Sacramento electronica.
- Command Collective (c. 2002–2004): Dusty Brown was a member of this early-2000s electronica collective alongside Tycho (Scott Hansen), Evan Schneider (Tha Fruitbat), Park Avenue (later Lifeliner) and Chachi Jones, with DJ Mupetblast as resident DJ.[3] Schneider and Dusty Brown "came up together as operators in the drum and bass scene at raves and underground venues."[3] The collective's shows at Espresso Metro were considered "the scene," and its advocacy helped prompt an electronica award in The Sammies.[3]
- Tycho (Scott Hansen): A close friend and collaborator. Hansen wrote on the ISO50 blog that Dusty "got me into the live music scene when I was starting out in Sacramento" and that "I've learned more about music from Dusty than anyone else; his production style and methods are truly awe inspiring."[2][10] The Tycho-blessed free release of This City Is Killing Me catalyzed the band's wider buzz.[2] Hansen said "My exposure to the scene now is whatever Dusty is doing."[3]
- Little Foxes: A Dusty Brown side project / collaboration with folk songwriter Jacob Golden, described as downtempo/psychedelic/trip-hop; Submerge calls it a "Dusty Brown side project" and notes EPs were prepared as a precursor to a full-length.[14][2][15] Little Foxes made a live debut supporting The New Humans' Avalanche EP release (Aug. 21, 2010) and played a HUMP anniversary show in Nov. 2011.[14][11]
- Who Cares: Dusty Brown was the "silent partner and executive producer" of the Sacramento hip-hop group, joining as engineer, contributing producer and co-writer on their 2010 album Teenage Ego Trip — a move Submerge credited with resolving the group's "identity crisis."[2][11][16] He later made the "executive decision," sensing the group's apathy, to suggest members Ernie Upton and Young Aundee pursue other projects.[16]
- CHLLNGR (Steven Jess Borth II): Borth used Dusty's home studio and "vintage gear" to create early Haven demos, and Dusty was a behind-the-scenes collaborator across CHLLNGR releases; Dusty was flown to Red Bull Studios Copenhagen for Form of Release to "fill in the gaps," with Borth calling him "crucial."[4] Borth was recording in Dusty's home studio when a 2010 interview phone call interrupted them.[2]
- Young Aundee (Andrew Southard): Maintains "a long-running musical partnership" with Dusty Brown, calling him one of "the most underrated electronic music producers in Northern California"; Aundee's track "Amazing Grace" used a beat Dusty had since 2007.[17]
- Contra (local supergroup): The Contra EP was recorded and produced almost entirely by Kris Anaya and "the Brown brothers" (Zac and Dusty); Anaya joked the Browns "pressured me into doing it."[18] When playing live, Contra included Dusty and Zac Brown among six players.[18]
- Zac Brown's other bands: Zac was a performing member of Doom Bird and Tycho in addition to Dusty Brown, and co-founded the rock two-piece I'm Dirty Too with Jess Gowrie (2009); Dusty played Moog on one I'm Dirty Too song.[7][19] I'm Dirty Too split recording time between The Hangar and Dusty Brown's home studio.[19]
- Jacob Golden: Credits playing with Dusty Brown (via Little Foxes) as helping him rediscover "the simple joy of making music."[15]
Home studio
Dusty Brown's home studio recurs across the corpus as a working hub of the Sacramento scene: used by CHLLNGR/Steven Borth,[2][4] by I'm Dirty Too,[19] and central to Who Cares and Contra productions.[16][18] Borth praised Dusty's deep experience: "He has so many years of experience with electronic music that he can just get in there and finish up any ideas that I had started."[4]