Treasure Fingers

Ashley Jones is best known for the phrase, "Hey Boy! Watch me move it, shake it, 'cross the dance floor," from his debut track Cross the Dance Floor. This call to action summarizes most of what you need to know about Jones, aka Treasure Fingers, from Atlanta, Ga. His music demands that listeners go straight to the dance floor and dare them to leave anytime soon—at least without marking a few scuff marks with their neon-laced tennis shoes.

Jones, now based in New York, got his start with the Atlanta dub-step crew Evol Intent, known for its "drum mechanics, razor sharp edits, sawtooth synths» and for curating dance parties across the globe. He eventually jumped out on his own to start creating a new sound that builds on that the Evol Intent style. Jones makes bass-heavy dance music that includes remixes of popular bands such as Chromeo, Little Boots, The Death Set, Miami Horror, Kid Sister, and Empire of the Sun. Combining elements of disco, house, funk, dub-step and jungle, the resulting Disco-Step gets a bit dirty with synth grooves that sound as if the late 70s and early 80s were smashed together in a space ship. 

Jones' extensive list of remixes drive long, sweat-filled mixtapes, including 40 Minutes in the Champagne Room, which swings from the nü-rave of the Klaxons to floor bangers by M.I.A., Busta Rhymes, Miami Horror and Justice, with a little Architecture in Helsinki pop thrown in for character. These mixes caught the ears of A-Trak (Kanye West's former DJ) and Nick Catchdubs' (known for his mix of Wale's album Back to the Feature), and Jones was signed to their label, Fool's Gold, home to Kid Sister, Kavinsky, Donnis and Crookers. Jones also maintains a Web site that allows anyone to drag and drop an mp3 of their own song to potentially be used in one of his mixes or get the official Treasure Fingers remix treatment.  Now that's open-source movement. —Jedidiah Gant