Hunter Siegel shares the artists who influenced him most

Toronto's Hunter Siegel has had an impressive launch to his career, shaking things up in the dance music world with his outlook on the state of things called "Dark PLUR." Essentially, he just wants "to make you feel something," and isn't that what music is all about?

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With his latest release this week with Todd Terry via Size Records, the track-titled EP features two singles with groovy dark edges that challenge your standard electro tracks. Both "New School Renegade" and "Time to Blackout" are great symbols that dance music like this is absolutely not dying, and doesn't all sound the same. To celebrate this release, Hunter has given us the top five artists that have influenced him the most – Dark PLUR or not. Check it out below, in his own words:

Here's a list of producers that have influenced me over the years but are not directly influential over my current sound. They're producers that I love and have in some way helped shape my musical taste.

#1 Dillinja

This is the track that started it all for me and made me want to produce. At the time (and even still by today's standards) he was way ahead of everyone and had the best drum work and such a specific sound. The second a song started you knew it was him. I find myself going back and listening to his music a lot and trying to understand the feeling he was able to build, he had the most chill breakdowns and heaviest drops.

Here's a little bonus from him His work on this remix is still amazing.

#2 Liam Howlett (of The Prodigy)

"The Fat of the Land" is one of the most classic albums of all time in my opinion. Its the album that got me into dance music and I remember seeing the videos on tv when I was a kid and not really understanding it but loving the music. The production on that album still holds up as being some of the best ever in Dance Music.

#3 Daft Punk

I think I've listened to homework about 1,000,000 times. Before I ever wanted to produce, something about it grabbed me. They had the catchiest melodies and hooks to their music, big basslines, and really really tough drums. The had their brand so on point and they we're really able to explode into the mainstream on their own terms which is pretty special.

#4 Todd Terry

To say that a current house producer hasn't drawn influence from Todd Terry (knowingly or not) is an understatement. I'm honoured to have worked with him in any capacity what so ever, its a definite "dream achievement unlocked" kinda thing. Instead of going on about him in detail I'll just say that you should jump down the wikipedia rabbit hole on this guy for a bit. The song included was from his brief journey into Drum and Bass, he showed such range to be able to also make such a big tune in another genre outside what he was known for.