Artist description Active Ingredient is independent music innovation created through the fusion of funk, hip hop, jazz, reggae, rock and dance - performed, masterminded, and produced by Jason Vertz. Dubbed rhythmic fusion, the style is like no other. Musically it blends raw bass heavy energy with a fun mellow vibe, powered by retro instruments along-side electronic beats. Lyrically it combines twisted abstraction with a modest yet potent politically-driven angle. Whoa! Can you swallow that? I'll bet you can - if fact, most people find it quite tasty. Much of the sound is inspired and driven by snowboarding, extreme sports, and the culture which surrounds these. It's electronic-based music, but uses all real instruments - (as opposed to music created using sampled beats and loops.) Jason is known by several aliases, most commonly DJ rhythmatyx, for his selecta skills. He writes and lays down all the tracks, performing most of the instrumentation himself - the exception being the various musicians and mc's that collectively make up Active Ingredient. In other words, Active Ingredient is Jason Vertz - but it's also his group.

Music Style Rhythmic Fusion

Musical Influences Bob Marley & the Wailers, Herbie Hancock, Sly & Robbie, The Beatles, Public Enemy, Lalo Schifrin, Fugazi

Similar Artists Sublime, Gorillaz, Fugazi, Weather Report, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Digable Planets

Artist History Active Ingredient is based in Colorado, where jason originally formed the group as a performing hip hop-jazz act in '97. He's kept the name, but in '99, he went back to his roots as a studio artist to spend most of his time creating original music for independent films and TV. Over the past five years, he's made music for several extreme sports films, commercials, and local TV shows. But in 2001, he began his quest to rise back to the summit of underground music innovation. He formed Give Peace Music and A.D. Records, under which he released 2 Active Ingredient LP's - Flavors of Fusion and Brand New Past. Both small underground releases featured the multi-instrumentalist himself playing guiter, keyboards, bass, drums, turntables and even vocals. Originally from Philly, Jason played with Superwand - a band which fused punk rock, dance music and jazz. He moved to Steamboat Springs, CO in '96 to pursue his love for snowboarding - a sport and culture which has since then influenced much of his music.

Albums Be Smart Don't Think, Whatchamacallit, Flavors of Fusion

Location Steamboat Springs, CO - USA

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