John Tejada

It's not often that we find dance music dons who produce tunes as well as they DJ (and vice versa), but L.A.'s John Tejada is the complete package. His style on the decks is fast and loose, which allows him to move from track to track in the time it takes most jocks to score their next drink.

Along the way, Tejada makes frequent stops to cut between two copies of the same record, bringing out the inherent funkiness of the beat and throwing in a bit of his own rhythmic flair as well. His sets maintain a delicate balance between deep house and glitchy, minimal techno -- a stylistic combination that shows through in his own music, too. Tejada's beats skillfully harvest techno's machine-like precision, but are never cacophonous or overbearing, while his synths twitter and twist about coyly, lending a funky house vibe that never veers into disco decadence. A bevy of deep and colorful tones enhance the mix, infecting the listener with a wide-eyed joie de vivre.

Anyone wise enough to check out Tejada at Shift this week will get a shot of both his talents: He's planning to split time between a laptop-sequenced mix of his own productions and a dexterous set on the turntables.