Making his debut at Control this week is James Egbert, up and coming DJ/producer who called calls Denver, Colorado his home. We got the scoop from James on how his passion for music started, what the hardest part of trying to make it in the scene is, and what we can expect from him this year. And don't forget to check out his latest release, "Legion," available on Beatport!

WL: How did you first get introduced to electronic music? JE: I remember when I was probably 6 years old, I heard a synth riff while my dad was listening to The Moody Blues and was totally just infatuated with the concept.  I later became re-introduced to electronic by the Blade and Matrix movie soundtracks.  I specifically remember loving the energy in "Ultrasonic Sound" by Hive and that really made me dive a bit deeper to search out similar stuff.  I went to my first rave (EDC) in 2005 as a result of listening to lots of drum and bass mix tapes from people like Noisia and Dieselboy and I've been exploring this vast thing we call EDM since.

WL: You currently live in Colorado. What is the dance music scene like there? Do you think it's continuing to grow? JE: I love the scene here, it's really amazing.  It's very tight knit, but it's also one of the best dance scenes I've experienced.  Beta is kind of the spot now, but The Church and Club Vinyl are both legendary US clubs as well, so there's always something interesting going on.  Also, Boulder is really close, and I believe college has proven to be and will continue to prove itself to be a breeding ground for new art, so the scene up there is really great as well.  I think Denver will continue to grow, just because of the exposure it already has as being a leader in US electronic music.

WL:  If you weren't DJing, what would you be doing? JE: Probably producing :) Not to say that I don't love DJing, but it seems like most of the reason I am DJing is because of my productions.  My heart is really in my music, and as a result, my heart is really into sharing my music with people in a live setting, and DJing is what makes that sharing experience happen.

WL: What has been the biggest struggle in your experience of DJing/producing? JE: I think the biggest struggle of any artist is to set themselves apart from the other people communicating the same general art.  I feel like I squeezed into the scene as a producer right before it really exploded, but it's still really difficult now that it seems that everybody can own a laptop and hack software and try to be a music producer.  I think in 2012, it's been really hard to sift through the VAST amount of new musicians and find the quality in there, so being a relatively new producer, it's a struggle to separate myself from the gimmicks etc (since there are other ways of being successful than simply having good music)

WL: Where do you think the future of dance music is headed? JE: I think we'll see a little implosion at some point soon.  I think people appreciate being unique, so now that the mass appeal has shifted so heavily towards dance music, some people will continue to dig for the new "underground".  I think whatever happens will happen, and it will be good for the scene if we choose to look at things through the correct lens.

WL: Who would be your dream collaboration? JE: I've been listening to Dave Matthews Live at Radio City A TON lately, and I just have to say the guy is a genius.  As a producer, I'm always criticizing production quality, and there's something about his full-band-studio albums that I've always shy'ed away from.  Becoming acquainted to any artist on an acoustic level is great, because it shows a window into the true heart of the song and the musician.  And that's where I've concluded Dave Matthews is a musical genius.  If it weren't him though, the basic criteria of a dream collab for me is to work with somebody who thinks on a different plane than I do.

WL: You've already have multiple releases this year, including your 6 song EP "In The Beginning," released on Fuzion Muzik. What else can we expect from you in 2012? JE: You'll probably see around a dozen more new songs.  I've got I believe 8 new tracks up my sleeves at the moment, so hopefully for the rest of the year, I can get out of the studio a bit and travel, and share my music in person with the people who are already listening to it in their bedrooms, cars, etc.