The Indy club scene gets a shot in the arm tonight as one of dance music's most unique producers, Treasure Fingers, headlines the Bodywork party at BLU nightclub. Treasure Fingers, who's given name is Ashley Jones, has a pedigree in electronic music that spans genres. As a member of the drum and bass crew Evol Intent, he's put out dozens of singles on some of the genre's most respected labels (Renegade Hardware, Barcode, Human Imprint). Ashley's prowess as a writer, remixer and producer doesn't end with drum and bass, and in 2007 he coined the Treasure Fingers moniker and began releasing material that sounded like deep cuts from an all-80s funk radio station. His Treasure Fingers material has been released on the influential Fools Gold and Defected labels. Accolades soon followed, and a rigorous production, remixing and touring schedule ensued. His reputation as an entertainer has placed him at the largest festivals and club events in the world. In anticipation of the show tonight, Ashley took some time out of his travel schedule to chat about his views on the past, present and future of indie-dance music and a host of other topics.

RUDY: It's interesting that the Treasure Fingers material is so different from what you've done with Evol Intent. What pushed you to create the Treasure Fingers sound and do the things you've been doing as a solo artist?

ASHLEY: I've been making the Treasure Fingers material for quite a while, but without a name, and yeah - it's completely opposite of Evol Intent. So, I don't know if it was a kind of, maybe therapy or something, I don't know, (laughs) but I would always kind of make this stuff on the side... I guess it was 2007 that (I did) some tracks, and I did a couple of remixes, that leaked to blogs. I came up with the Treasure Fingers name and kind of had a place for it all. It's something that I've always been interested in but never pursued it because of Evol Intent, because it took up all my time.

RUDY: Now you're out on your own and touring, performing, DJing, remixing. What are the differences between performing on your own as Treasure Fingers versus doing the stuff you've been doing with Evol Intent?

ASHLEY: I think with Treasure Fingers, I like playing those shows a little better. The drum and bass kids are probably going to hate me for this but (laughs) the shows are just way more fun. There's a much higher percentage of girls there...

RUDY: (laughs) Right!

ASHLEY: It's, like, a better atmosphere there, you know? I still LOVE those dirty drum and bass parties. It's just a different vibe overall. As far as traveling and playing the shows, I kind of prefer it with Evol Intent, because someone's with me and we're just having fun the whole time, whereas when I'm out on the road as Treasure Fingers, it's just me in a hotel room, pretty much (laughs).

RUDY: That's got to drag on you after a while. Do you do any production on the road to pass the time? What kinds of things do you do on the road to keep busy?

ASHLEY: I'll do some production. I tend to try to keep most of my production and writing in my studio at home - there's deadlines (to meet), I've got to finish remixes and stuff like that. Definitely do a lot of production. Usually I sleep, honestly (laughs). I'm traveling several hours a day, you're sound-checking, then you have dinner, then you're at the club until...

RUDY: The wee hours of the morning (laughs)

ASHLEY: Yeah, 3 or 4 in the morning. So I value sleep highly when I'm on the road.

RUDY: You're based out of New York City right now, but Atlanta, Georgia has played a big part in your career and coming up through the music industry. What was it like coming up through the Atlanta music scene, which has been described by some as kind of cutthroat at times?

ASHLEY: I think it was cool. Everyone was friendly and there (Atlanta), it's a big city but it's so small that everyone kind of knows each other from different genres... The indie bands hang out with techno DJs. It's just a small music community. I think that helped a lot because... if you're doing something good it's pretty easy to start booking some gigs around town and make some connections, network. That's really what happened with me. I started working with Snowden and did a remix for them. I've known Le Castle Vania for a long time - me and him started a night together and from there it all just kind of took off. I think it's small enough that it's like a small family community vibe to the music scene there.

RUDY: Do you think that the coziness of that music scene with the indie bands and the DJs and the break-dancer and all of those crews cross-pollinating, do you think that's had an impact on the sound of what's been tagged as "indie-dance" that's started to take off amongst the college kids as well as the greater club community?

ASHLEY: yeah, for sure. I would say 2006, 2007, 2008 was very integral to that as well as a big mash of influences and different types of merging and becoming this new thing, which was really cool.

RUDY: It's amazing that it's cool to be a DJ again, because for a long time that wasn't the case. For you, the record that kind of launched you into the greater public eye was "Cross The Dancefloor", which distilled a lot of what was great about late-80s R-and-B and dance music into four minutes. Can you name some of the specific musical influences that speak to the Treasure Fingers sound?

ASHLEY: Zapp and Roger, Midnight Star, Starpoint - there's a million of those mid-80s funk bands that were killing it with synthesizers and talk boxes and all of that. Just really funky but still up-front dance music. That's definitely a big influence, and that lead directly into the early days of house music and techno. There's big influence of that (sound) as well as 90s house music.

RUDY: Outside of Evol Intent, you personally as Treasure Fingers have developed a pretty extensive remix discography in just a few short years. You've remixed bands like Groove Armada, Little Boots, Chromeo, as well as newcomers like Hey Champ, Esser, and Ocelot. Do you have to lobby to work on some of these projects, or have people sought you out as your star continues to rise under the Treasure Fingers alias?

ASHLEY: Most of them just put in offers for remix work - some of them I may be friends with and they just ask me personally, but a lot of times my management comes to me and they say "this label or this artist or manager is interested in you doing a remix for them". So, I'll get the song and if it sounds like I can work with it I definitely take it on. It got really crazy for a while with remix work. There's still a lot of offers, which I'm very thankful for, but I'm trying to hold them off a bit and work on my own material for a while (laughs).

RUDY: Is there anybody working in the business today that you would absolutely die to work with?

ASHLEY: Honestly I would like to do some crazy collaboration with Bootsy Collins or someone like that. Someone truly classic - just make a unique, weird record with them and see what happens.

RUDY: Claude Von Stroke had the same idea. He said "dude, I get to make a record with Bootsy Collins. How cool is that?" For a lot of folks who are taking cues from the late 70s and early 80s, and to hear references to guys like Bootsy Collins... in reverential tones is really cool. A lot of folks that have been grouped with you in that indie-dance genre seem to think the same way. Who are some of the people that you see as rising stars in that indie-dance/space disco genre?

ASHLEY: There's actually a ton of new names. There's Bitfunk who's killing it, Zebra, Moonchild from Australia. I could name probably a hundred names of new artists that are making really good disco house. Really funky stuff. It's exciting.

RUDY: If you had to pick one to say, "this is the guy you need to listen to", who would you say they need to look out for?

ASHLEY: I would say Dcup, if they don't know him already. I think he's already blasting into superstardom.

RUDY: That "No Speak Americano" record exploded around here, which was something that I didn't expect due to the very gypsy-house sound to it. But people really connected with that. I guess that's where the next generation of producers is going. It's really cool to see that.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

RUDY: You, personally, are no stranger to the festival scene... What are some of your favorite places to play and favorite kinds of venues to play? Because that often has a very tangible effect on the artist, and DJs as well, in their ability to perform and fill a room with energy. Are there any particular places that stick out in your mind as favorites?

ASHLEY: Yeah - it's weird because they're all very different but have their own charm. In LA, I typically do the big rave scene, or I do Avalon, this big Friday night called "Control" there. I don't know how big the venue is; it's something like 1500-2000, maybe. That night is INSANE and super-fun to play. On the other hand, I like playing Voyeur in San Diego, which holds maybe 200, 300 capacity? It's super-small but an amazing sound system, amazing lights, one of the best DJ booths. It's kind of any atmosphere, I guess, being thrown into it is cool. Even the big festivals in Australia - those are crazy.

RUDY: I continually hear and read about those.

ASHLEY: Their festival circuit is the most ridiculous I've ever seen. You definitely have to change your style up for each type of event, which is kind of fun and took a bit of learning to do, but hopefully I work them all well now (laughs).

RUDY: I discovered your material after listening to the programs on BBC in 2006/2007, and it seems that the European crowds have really responded to what you’re doing in both sales and attendance at gigs. What would you say is the major difference between playing for a European crowd versus playing for a crowd here in the States?

ASHLEY: I thing the biggest difference is that here in the States, we were raised on rock and hip hop, and when you go to shows a lot of people want to just watch the DJ like they're going to a show, whereas in Europe, people just show up and start dancing. A lot of times, I don't think they even know where the DJ booth is. They're just there to party and dance. They don't care about watching you. That's the biggest difference I've noticed. In the States, there's a bunch of people gathered around the front of the DJ booth kind of watching you, which is a little awkward because all I'm doing is mixing records (laughs). I'm not doing anything special - no dance routine or anything.

Treasure Fingers is appearing tonight at BLU for “Bodywork”, with support from Slater Hogan and Action Jackson. Doors open at 9pm, and cover is $10.

Rudy Kizer is the host and producer of "Hit The Decks" on X103.

Remember when we tipped you off to this event that was conceived and birthed by the collaborative efforts of IndyMojo.com and G9 Collective in August? Well, three months later, the bi-weekly gathering of dubstep fans is still going strong. What began as a showcase for local talent in the EDM subgenre has seen steady growth since its initiation and recently began reaching out to DJ’s from other cities. As of late, Altered Thurzday has proudly hosted distinguished artists such as Kaiten (Cincinnati, OH), Attak (Columbus, OH), and Dr. Higgens (Seattle, WA) in addition to resident dubsteppers Psynapse and Kodama. Next Thurzday is certain to be a historic night for the recurring event, as Indy Mojo and G9 present the biggest and most prominent name yet.

LA dubstep producer Cyberoptix (who was recently signed to Play Me Records) will make his third appearance in the circle city for next week’s installment of Altered Thurzday. Regulars in the local EDM scene will remember his staggering performance at The Red Room for the Bassnectar After Party in April and at Tru for Patchwork in May. As a Tennessee native, Cyberoptix’s work is greatly influenced by southern rap (as well as the many facets of electronic music), resulting in a unique style of different themes, deep sludge bass, and heavy sub. Event organizers have made special arrangements for reinforced sound and are bringing extra bass for this special night. The combination of Altered’s ever-increasing attendance levels and Cyberoptix’s undeniable local fan base is sure to leave The Mousetrap swarming with dubsteppers until the wee hours of the morning.

Don’t know what dubstep music is? Afraid you might not like it? Altered Thurzday is the best way to satisfy your curiosity; The Mousetrap offers a variety of amenities to provide alternative entertainment in the event that you don’t enjoy “the wobbles”. From poi spinners and hoopers in the parking lot to board games and pool in the side room, there’s something for everyone on Thurzdays at The Trap. Killer drink specials ($2 Domestic Pints & $3 Import/Craft Pints), a friendly and diverse crowd, and no cover make this event a no brainer.

For a preview of what to expect next Thurzday, check out the Cyberoptix tracks below.