Andre

L.A. based duo SmilesnSummaz features a dynamic fusion of various hip-hop, R&B, and pop genres that can't help but make you move. Formed in 2006 when childhood friends Jermaine Kelly and Andre Nurse reunited far from their hometown of Toronto, Ontario, SmilesnSummaz quickly became known for their eclectic but powerful mixes, combining elements from today's top producers while still retaining their crucial pop sensibilities. The combination of Kelly's keyboards and musical arrangements and Nurse's instinctual percussion, mixing and sampling skills quickly led them out of the underground scene and onto the big stage, producing individual tracks for rapper Enormous and American Idol's AJ Gil, scoring and effects for stage and theater, and a full length album for Spazzmatic. With Kelly a former college track star and Nurse a gymnast and professional stage performer, they dub their own unique process, "Acrobatics on the Track" owing to their ability to take an idea, mold its acoustic shape and flip it around so the listener never quite knows what to expect. You'll be mesmerized by not only the profound, overall thrust of the sound but its nuanced, elemental feel. They describe their own particular sound as "Drugs in Your Ear" because listening to their music can't help but take you to another place, it's an escape from the sterile everyday tracks and beats that are all too familiar in today's mega-hyped and over-commercialized music scene. Kelly and Nurse list a who's who of popular influences ranging from Quincy Jones, Dr. Dre, The Alchemist, Kanye West, Pharrell, Timbaland, Jay-Z and Mobb-Deep, and yet they aren't afraid to experiment out of the vein, taking stylistic cues from Daft Punk, Stargate, Ryan Leslie, Cold Play, Green Day and Nirvana. Most rewarding for the pair? In their words, it's collaboration with the individual artist: going through the entire creative process from start to finish, listening to each artist's vision for their work, coming up with ideas to realize their goals, and engineering the sound so that every aspect is perfect. Their message? "Simple! If our beats make you nod your head, or you hear the songs and find yourself singing along, we've done our jobs, it's to make people feel good. And inspire other producers or musicians to make music!"