If you trace back the career of the Fort Knox Five, you’ll also discover the evolution of the musical style commonly known as electro funk. Almost 15 years ago they found their way from Washington D.C. to British Columbia, Canada and Shambhala Music Festival, and they’ve made it their home ever since. More recently, Fort Knox Five began performing with fellow DC DJ Qdup, and soon the duo will funk Shambhala for the fifth year in a row.

Channeling New York City's undeniable hip-hop legacy, nick tesla reinvents the relationship between sampled gold and head-nod rhythms. His style absorbs the melodic sensibilities of soul, jazz, blues, and disco wrapped up and delivered in a Lo-Fi veneer.

The backstory of Austrian producer Voljum is a novel one. He’s a 19-year-old classical pianist who produces electronic music in his spare time, and offers ghost production across several genres of music. He’s released six original tracks to date, and each one demonstrates extraordinarily advanced sound design. Little else is known about the producer beyond this, although perhaps more will come to light following the release of his first EP, Cyberglobe, which is available today through the experimental outlet VALE.

Telemakus is a 19-year old producer from the Bay Area who is skilled beyond his years on the piano and in the digital audio workspace. His first productions appear to come from three or four years ago, and his most recent work came earlier this year; Calantha Vol. 2, the second of his two LPs. On this record from Inner Ocean Records, you can hear Telemakus truly indulging his jazz sensibilities.

Hailed by some as “the funkiest DJ on the planet”, the Australian-born Vancouver-based DJ/producer Slynk has been performing at Shambhala Music Festival for nearly a decade and returns this summer as one of several acts labeled on the 2019 lineup as “Shambhala Favorites”. Shambhala has chosen to recognize this group of artists whose roots run especially deep with the festival, so we decided to see what the buzz is about, starting with the fun-loving and funky Slynk aka Evan Chandler.

Is it challenging for an artist who has found a degree of success to consciously decide to switch up their style? If one earns recognition doing things a certain way, how will they fare once they begin doing things differently? The experimental producer Sixis has some insight on these questions. He made his name with a handful of EPs and singles marked by ambiance, attention to detail, slow progression, and tropes of transcendence. Now the producer is pursuing a “fierce new direction”.