Brandon Avery Perlman (born ), known professionally as Delroy Edwards, is an American

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

producer and DJ based in Los Angeles. According to

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

's Paul Simpson, he produces "gritty, lo-fi house tracks in addition to trippy, abstract mixtapes". He is the owner of the record label L.A. Club Resource and runs the

underground hip-hop Underground hip hop (also known as underground rap or simply underground) traditionally refers to hip hop music that is outside the general mainstream canon or counter-cultural in nature, usually with a heavy emphasis on emotion, lyricism, and/or ...

reissue label Gene's Liquor. Edwards is the son of actor

Ron Perlman Ronald N. Perlman (born April 13, 1950) is an American actor. His credits include the roles of Amoukar in ''Quest for Fire (film), Quest for Fire'' (1981), Salvatore in ''The Name of the Rose (film), The Name of the Rose'' (1986), Vincent in th ...

Early life

Edwards was born to actor

and jewelry designer Opal Stone Perlman. His father is Jewish with roots from

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and his mother is

Afro-Jamaican ''See also'' Mulattos in Jamaica Afro-Jamaicans are Jamaicans of predominantly African descent. They represent the largest ethnic group in the country. The ethnogenesis of the Black Jamaican people stemmed from the Atlantic slave trade of ...

. He has an elder sister, Blake Amanda (b. 1984). Edwards was exposed to different genres of music while growing up, including

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

, industrial,

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

and R&B. Edwards also stated that he frequented

noise Noise is sound, chiefly unwanted, unintentional, or harmful sound considered unpleasant, loud, or disruptive to mental or hearing faculties. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrat ...

concerts and listened to

KROQ-FM KROQ-FM (106.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Pasadena, California, serving Greater Los Angeles. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts an alternative rock format known as "The World Famous KROQ" (pronounced "kay-rock"). The sta ...

artists and acts such as New Order,

Joy Division Joy Division were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Ian Curtis, guitarist and keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris (musici ...

and

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex in 1980. Originally formed with the line-up of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher (musician), Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, the band currently consists ...

throughout this time. His parents were influential in his early musical development and provided him with his first

drum kit A drum kit or drum set (also known as a trap set, or simply drums in popular music and jazz contexts) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and sometimes other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one p ...

; he was trained classically in

jazz drumming Jazz drumming is the art of playing percussion (predominantly the drum kit, which includes a variety of drums and cymbals) in jazz styles ranging from 1910s-style Dixieland jazz to 1970s-era jazz fusion and 1980s-era Latin jazz. The techniques an ...

. His mother, a fan of

gangsta rap Gangsta rap or gangster rap, initially called reality rap, is a subgenre of rap music that conveys the culture, values, and experiences of urban gangs and street hustlers, frequently discussing unpleasant realities of the world in general th ...

and

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots reggae, roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2 ...

, introduced Edwards to

and cassette culture. He was introduced to

house music House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground ...

by a friend of his sister, who taught him how to operate a

drum machine A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns. Drum machines may imitate drum kits or other percussion instruments, or produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones. A d ...

. Edwards briefly attended

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a Private university, private art school in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for ...

to study music.

Career

Moving to New York City in 2010, Edwards worked at A1 Records with Ron Morelli, who founded the label L.I.E.S. His debut 12", ''4 Club Use Only'', was issued on the label in 2012. Releasing a string of EPs on the label, he founded his own imprint, L.A. Club Resource, in 2013. Edwards's

chopped and screwed Chopped and screwed (also called screwed and chopped or slowed and throwed) is a genre of hip-hop music and technique of remixing music that involves slowing down the tempo and DJing. It was pioneered by DJ Screw, and became a staple in the ...

mixtape In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...

series, ''Slowed Down Funk'', was issued on the label for free download. In 2014, The Death of Rave record label issued ''Teenage Tapes'', a compilation of

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs whe ...

tracks that Edwards recorded back in art school. The same year also saw the debut of Edwards's

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

project, DJ Punisher. In 2016, Edwards released the 30-track full-length ''Hangin at the Beach'' on L.A. Club Resource;

Resident Advisor ''Resident Advisor'' (also known as ''RA'') is an online music magazine and community platform established in 2001 and dedicated to showcasing electronic music, artists and events across the globe. Its editorial team provides news, music and ev ...

's Matt McDermott described it as his "most realized album to date." Its follow up, ''Rio Grande'' was issued in 2018. In the same year, he returned to L.I.E.S. with the LP ''Aftershock'', his first with the label since 2013. Edwards also collaborated with

Dean Blunt Roy Chukwuemeka Nnawuchi (born 8 February 1984), better known by his pseudonym Dean Blunt, is an English singer-songwriter, musician, producer and contemporary artist. He is best known for his current solo work as well as his previous work as p ...

on ''Desert Sessions'', a collection of experimental synthesizer tracks. In 2020, L.I.E.S. issued his full-length album, ''Slap Happy''.

Musical style

While Edwards is known to employ different genres for his different releases, including

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

Memphis rap Memphis rap, also known as Memphis hip hop, or Memphis horrorcore, is a regional subgenre of hip hop music that originated in Memphis, Tennessee in the mid-late 1980s. Characteristics Memphis rap has been has been characterized as being low bu ...

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

and obscure American

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock music that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is ...

, his music is generally characterized by

lo-fi Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate stylistic ch ...

production and

tape hiss Tape hiss is the high frequency noise present on analogue magnetic tape recordings caused by the size of the magnetic particles used to make the tape. Effectively it is the noise floor of the recording medium. It can be reduced by the use of fine ...

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

critic Marc Masters thought that Edwards combines "the faded '80s vibe of

Ariel Pink Ariel Marcus Rosenberg ( ; born June 24, 1978), professionally known as Ariel Pink, is an American musician, singer, and songwriter whose work draws heavily from the popular music of the 1960s–1980s. His lo-fi aesthetic and home-recorded al ...

and

John Maus John Maus (born February 23, 1980) is an American musician, composer, singer, and songwriter known for his baritone singing style and his use of vintage synthesizer sounds and Medieval church modes, a combination that often draws comparisons to ...

with a sharp eye toward what moves bodies on dance floors today," while Kevin Ritchie of ''

Now Now most commonly refers to the present time. Now, NOW, or The Now may also refer to: Organizations * Natal Organisation of Women, a South African women's organization * National Organization for Women, an American feminist organization * Na ...

'' regarded his work as "avowedly anti-pop, anti-digital and anti-glam in its

minimalism In visual arts, music, and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in the post-war era in western art. The movement is often interpreted as a reaction to abstract expressionism and modernism; it anticipated contemporary post-mi ...

." His work is often associated with the "

outsider house Outsider house (originally spawned as outsider dance, also known as raw house) is a subgenre of house music, combining elements of deep house, techno, noise, and ambient, with artists embracing lo-fi techniques rather than the polished cleanline ...

" scene, with his EP ''4 Club Use Only'' being regarded as a defining release of the genre. His ''Slowed Down Funk'' mixtape series were heavily influenced by

DJ Screw Robert Earl Davis Jr. (July 20, 1971 – November 16, 2000), better known by his stage name DJ Screw, was an American hip hop DJ based in Houston, Texas, and best known as the creator of the chopped and screwed DJ technique. He was a centra ...

and featured "edits of laid-back

Southern rap Southern hip-hop, also known as Southern rap, South Coast hip-hop, or dirty south, is a blanket term for a regional genre of American hip-hop music that emerged in the Southern United States, especially in Georgia, Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee, ...

and '80s R&B grooves filtered through his hazy, lo-fi sensibilities," while ''Hangin at the Beach'' was characterized by "racing new wave-inspired electronic drums and occasional post-punk basslines" that permeated through the record. According to Shawn Reynaldo of ''Pitchfork'', Edwards's aesthetics are informed by "classic

Chicago house Chicago house refers to house music produced during the mid to late 1980s within Chicago. The term is generally used to refer to the original house music of DJs and producers from the area, such as Ron Hardy and Phuture History and origins D ...

and vintage rap tropes."

Discography

;Studio albums * ''Teenage Tapes'' (2014) * ''Hangin at the Beach'' (2016) * ''Rio Grande'' (2018) * ''Aftershock'' (2018) * ''Desert Sessions'' (2018; with

) * ''Slap Happy'' (2020) ;EPs * ''4 Club Use Only'' (2012) * ''White Owl'' (2013) * ''Untitled'' (2013) * ''Kickin Butts!!'' (2015) * ''Wagon Wheels'' (2019) * ''Dubonnet'' (2019) ;Mixtapes * ''Slowed Down Funk Vol. I'' (2014) * ''Slowed Down Funk Volume II: Hate Is Beneath Me'' (2014) * ''Slowed Down Funk Vol III: Pure Evil'' (2014) ;Singles * "Heart and Soul" / "Sprk tha Dust" (2012) * "Untitled" (2013; with FunkinEven) * "Can U Get With" / "Always (Edit)" / "Untitled" (2014) * "Heart of Gold (Take 2) Raw Jam" (2015) * "Stop It Baby" (2017) * "When I Think" (2018)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Delroy Year of birth uncertain Date of birth missing (living people) 21st-century African-American musicians 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American male musicians African-American DJs African-American Jews African-American record producers American electronic dance music DJs American experimental musicians American hip-hop DJs American hip-hop record producers American house musicians American musicians of Jamaican descent American people of Jamaican descent American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent American people of Polish-Jewish descent American techno musicians California Institute of the Arts alumni DJs from Los Angeles House DJs Jewish American musicians Living people Lo-fi musicians Mixtape DJs Musicians from Los Angeles Outsider house musicians Record producers from Los Angeles Rock DJs