Manufactured Superstars

Comments (0) By Benjamin Leatherman Thursday, Mar 22 2012

While costumed DJ twosomes are as much a fixture in the world of electronic dance music these days as pirated copies of Ableton Live, there are a few ultra-talented tandems who rise above the rest. Besides the groovy Gauls in Daft Punk, the Italian dance-punks of the Bloody Beetroots, or even Australia's Northie and Benson, there is Denver's Brad Roulier and Shawn Sabo, better known as Manufactured Superstars. Not only are their ethereal-yet-energized electro and progressive house sounds better than most rank-and-file DJ/producer teams who sport costumes, both artists also are relatively renowned in their individual accomplishments (Sabo co-founded Beatport, and Roulier owns influential Mile High City nightclub Beta). The NASA-inspired spacesuits worn by the artists during their performances seem apropos, considering how their careers have shot into the stratosphere in the past few years. Their most recent coup came last month when Paris Hilton lent her vocals to the track "Drunk Text" and starred in its music video. The assistance of the oft-inebriated socialite helped get their shit on MTV, which probably means their gig at Axis/Radius, 7340 East Indian Plaza in Scottsdale, on Saturday, March 23, will be plenty packed.