Dan The Automator

San Francisco-based producer extraordinaire Dan "The Automator" Nakamura made his mark on hip-hop forever with his contributions to Dr. Octagon's (aka Kool Keith) mind-boggling 1996 classic Dr. Octagonecologyst. His smooth drum breaks, lingering loops, spacey sound effects, and deft turntable prowess proved the perfect complement to Keith's schizophrenic rhyme style. Prior to the Octagon project, the two had collaborated on the Automator's own A Better Tomorrow EP on Ubiquity records, which showcased his inventive and original style, blending down-tempo beats with classical guitars, clicking clocks, and melancholy strings, creating sounds of a future few had heard. He worked with another hero of the underground, fellow producer Prince Paul, on the genre-bending Handsome Boy Modeling School's So How's Your Girl? (Tommy Boy '99). 2000 saw him teaming up with Del and Kid Koala for the sci-fi epic Deltron 3030, followed in 2001 with the conceptual, Platinum-selling Gorillaz project and Music To Make Love To Your Old Lady By, a sizzling soundtrack for a night of guaranteed romance. Like all great producers, he has a signature sound. Instead of fearing change he embraces it, pushing the envelope and testing the limits, consistently releasing inventive and high quality tracks.