Al de Leon

Riding a warm, West Coast breeze into town is Miguel Migs, one of the biggest proponents of laidback, sun-drenched house music. Lively vocals, bright instrumentation and mid-tempo beats all pine for a piece of your soul when Migs is behind the decks. But he's more than a one-trick pony. Migs keeps it interesting by varying between the deep end of house and something much funkier, then dropping in a thumping bass line, tribal drum roll or jazzy horn solo at just the right moment. And, unlike the quick trigger-fingers of some DJs who bounce haphazardly from record to record, Migs lets songs develop long enough to create a proper groove and build into the next track. When he spins, he's more like a traditional musician than a club-focused DJ. Undoubtedly coming from the foundations of his musical career as a teenaged songwriter and guitarist in a dub band, it's a style that was clearly evident on last fall's compilation, "Get Salted Vol. 1." His flawless track selection and forward-thinking approach to dance music made the album one of the year's best house mixes. His next album is slated for release this April. So even if it's 20 degrees outside come Friday and looking like a Netflix night, true house heads will grab sunscreen, dancing shoes, and head to Zentra for the bliss of West Coast-styled house music. (Al de Leon)

Miguel Migs spins, with Julius "TMT," Sativa, Hiroki, Chris Santiago, Frank Solano and the Chance.Local Lounge at Zentra, 923 West Weed, (312)787-0400 on February 17. (2006-02-14)

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