by John Bush
Though he didn't found the label, Miguel Migs' productions (under the Petalpusher and L'isha aliases as well as his own name) gained the most fame for Naked Music, the house label formed by producer Jay Denes (aka Naked Music NYC). The template for Naked Music -- audible since its first release, Petalpusher's "Breaking It Down" -- is smooth, polished, organic house music, much more chilled than mainstream house and surprisingly song- and musician-oriented for the norm in the dance world. (Also a contributor to building the Naked Music brand was Stuart Patterson's exotic artwork; the most immediately identifiable marriage of audio and visual since Designers Republic first designed a Warp sleeve.)
Migs, born Miguel Steward, grew up in Santa Cruz and was playing guitar in a local reggae band named Zion Sounds when he began producing on his own. He released his first record (the Mercury Lounge EP) in 1998 on La Casa, and his mellow house tracks began showing up in DJ sets on the West Coast; a bastion of chilled house thanks to pioneering mixers like Mark Farina. Jay Denes, who had already produced a full-length as Naked Music NYC (distributed through the like-minds at San Francisco's OM), invited Migs to contribute the first release to his new Naked Music label (formed with Dave Boonshoft) and the results earned notice throughout the dance community. While Naked Music began work on a series of well-received compilations (Nude Dimensions, Carte Blanche), Migs produced for labels including Yoshitoshi, Large Music, and NRK, occasionally in tandem with DJ Rasoul (as Nite Source). He also mixed a few Naked Music compilations, including 2000's Nude Dimensions: Petalpusher Sessions and 2002's Nude Tempo One. His first full production album, Colorful You, appeared late in 2002 as part of a distribution deal with Astralwerks.