Girl Talk * Dev

GIRL TALK

Celebrating 10-plus years of sample-obsessed production and relentless touring, Gregg Gillis returns with All Day, his fifth album as Girl Talk, and his most epic, densely layered, and meticulously composed musical statement to date. Continuing the saga from the previously acclaimed albums, Night Ripper and Feed The Animals, Gillis lays down a more diverse range of samples to unfold a larger dynamic between slower transitions and extreme cut-ups. With the grand intent of creating the most insane and complex “pop collage” album ever heard, large catalogs of both blatantly appropriated melodies and blasts of unrecognizable fragments were assembled for the ultimate Girl Talk record (clocking in at 71 minutes and 372 samples).

Since the release of Feed The Animals, things have flourished for Girl Talk. He’s played almost 300 shows and hardly taken a full week off from hitting the road. He’s playing even larger venues and making even more of a spectacle—he’s employed a small crew of toilet paper launching stage hands, who also propel confetti, balloons, and inflate oddly chosen props into the audience. For the New Year’s Eve show to ring in 2010, a team was hired to build a life-size house, with attention to fine details, on the stage at Chicago’s Congress Theatre. Described as the craziest house party ever, Girl Talk continues to please live audiences as the mass of sweaty bodies at his shows continually grows. Touring highlights from the last couple of years include the Vancouver Olympics, large festivals such as Coachella, Austin City Limits, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, V-Fest, Sasquatch, Rothbury, Monolith, Planeta Terra, and trips to Australia, Japan, South America, Europe, and Mexico.

Earlier this year, Girl Talk finally took a break from touring, festival dates, and college shows, in order to create an album that is being released immediately after its completion. While posting the album as a free download on the Illegal Art label’s site allows All Day to reach his fanbase quickly and with minimal cost, Gillis spent more time on this album than any previous release and considers it the most fully realized and evolved manifestation of the Girl Talk aesthetic.

DEV

There's an image we all have of the small town girl following her dreams and moving to Los Angeles, only to have the City of Angels chew her up and spit her out. This is not the case with Dev. This small town girl has fangs; and she's come to L.A. on a mission to take it to the top.

For Dev, that small town was Manteca in California's central valley. Born to Portuguese and Mexican parents, Dev always had a cultural awareness that seeped into her style from day one. If she wasn't spending afternoons barbecuing in the family's backyard, she was making music in her closet vocal booth. But this is no nostalgia trip...

Recently signed to Universal Republic Records, Dev, who now resides in L.A., is the sound of now; from the streets to the club to the bedroom, Dev's music is a fun, sexy, mishmash of pop, R&B, dance and hip-hop, all delivered with a distinctive, unique voice.

That voice belongs to a self-described outsider. “I love Los Angeles, but I’m not really part of any scene,” says Dev. Living in a city full of followers and going your own way might seem paradoxical, but that’s what Dev is all about. She’s a small town girl with a big city attitude. In her lyrics you’ll hear someone who is cocky and sarcastic and at the same time, incredibly sweet and honest.

Along with the red-hot production team The Cataracs, who discovered Dev and nurtured her talent, she has carved her own sound by creating her own world. The duo, stacked all of their chips on Dev when they sampled her song, “Booty Bounce,” for The Far East Movement’s "Like a G6". Soaring on the strength of Dev's seductive croon, "Like a G6" has become an international smash hit and current Billboard #1 single.

Speaking of “Booty Bounce,” that infectious, confident and unforgettable track has paved the way for Dev to introduce her sound to a massive audience. Produced by The Cataracs, "Booty Bounce" properly established Dev into pop culture’s consciousness. The song's hyper-charged music video has received over one million hits on YouTube, and it's become a staple on MTV. As a result, countless music and fashion publications have embraced Dev, featuring her online and in print.

Dev and The Cataracs continue their electric collaboration with her newly released Universal Republic debut single, “Bass Down Low.” It’s a stunning slab of sweaty electro, with skittering hi-hats and tons of swag.

For Dev, the look is as important as the sound. “Visuals are almost as important as music for me,” says Dev. She continues, “Growing up, that was always my favorite thing about my favorite artists.”

When watching the hypnotic video for “Booty Bounce” you get the impression that you are watching the next great pop star blossom right before your eyes. With hyper-speed cuts and countless costume changes you can barely keep your eyes on her. The clip gives the illusion that you are seeing a thousand versions of the same artist. Dev’s visual sensibility is accentuated by her collaboration with the leading female street wear brand Hellz-Bellz, who sponsor Dev and have a hand in her current look.

This now-you-see-her-now-your-don’t quality exists in Dev’s music as well. On songs like “Booty Bounce” and “Fireball,” she rap-sings over pulsating R&B-electro beats, imploring the listener to party with her, while maintaining an enigmatic distance. It's like she's the ultimate girl-next-door—über cool, but totally out-of-this-world.

She’s also taking her act out on the road, touring clubs and playing tastemaker gigs, such as Perez Hilton’s “One Night In New Jersey”, alongside the likes of Kelis and La Roux.

With a new major label deal from Universal Republic Records, and guidance provided by Indie-Pop (home of The Cataracs) and RPM MSC (the management company that counts LMFAO, Gilbere Forte and Hyper Crush as members of their stable), Dev is being primed for greatness.