BIOGRAPHY

Cooltown is a place, an idea, a dream brought to life through Progressive Rave.

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Blending the emotional storytelling of progressive house, the hypnotic drive of melodic techno, the euphoria of trance, and the raw energy of rave music, Cooltown creates a psychedelic world of cinematic atmosphere, euphoric melody, and deep, driving grooves. On the dance floor, that world unfolds through patient builds, emotional release, and moments of shared escape.

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Progressive Rave gives a name to the sound at the center of Cooltown. Rather than belonging completely to one corner of electronic music, it follows a simple idea: progressive emotion, rave energy. It is music built as a journey, drawing freely from the sounds that shaped the project while remaining unmistakably Cooltown.

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Since the first release in 2014, Cooltown’s catalog has grown to more than 150 original productions, over 30 signed releases, and two full length albums, with records signed to G-Mafia, Plasmapool, and Suicide Robot. Live experience includes two official Anjunabeats events, a Weekender warm up party in Seattle and a show hosted in Portland, alongside years spent performing, producing events, and bringing people together through underground music.

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Cooltown first existed as a club imagined in middle school. Between Pokémon, Magic the Gathering, and Yu-Gi-Oh, it became a miniature society complete with presidents, vice presidents, a mayor, and even a security guard. Long before the records and dance floors, there was a name, a shared world, and a reason to gather. That instinct remains at the heart of the project.

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Born in Glendale, California, and raised in Portland, the artist behind Cooltown grew up competing in Counter Strike 1.6 and exploring Diablo II, Dota, and World of Warcraft. Trance, Eurodance, and euphoric electronic music soundtracked those years, connecting melody with the immersion and escape of gaming. The Legend of Zelda and Final Fantasy deepened a fascination with atmosphere, adventure, and the ability of music to make an imagined place feel real.

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A later move back to Los Angeles led to a defining experience at a first underground rave. Peace, love, unity, and respect were at its epicenter, lived and shared by the people on the dance floor. That encounter with PLUR gave physical form to something already familiar: the feeling of belonging to a world created together.

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In Portland, that passion grew through promoting for Play > Saturdays before founding Team Yellow Events. Years spent promoting and producing hundreds of club nights, concerts, and electronic music events created spaces for emerging talent, established artists, and ravers to connect. The experience brought an understanding of the dance floor from every angle: fan, promoter, host, and performer.

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Creating those experiences eventually brought a deeper artistic purpose into focus. Cooltown’s vision would be most fully realized on stage and in the studio. Team Yellow remains an essential chapter of that story, its spirit carried forward through original music and the community surrounding it.

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The catalog gives the dreamworld its soundtrack. Two full length albums, the self titled debut and Love Override, sit alongside releases exploring imagined landscapes, memory, and emotion. Video game influences, futuristic cityscapes, and rave nostalgia shape music that moves between warmth, tension, and euphoria. From the environments suggested by the New Worlds EP to the meeting of human feeling and digital life in Love Override, each release adds another dimension to Cooltown. The project’s music has also received coverage from EDM Army.

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Discovery offers another entrance into the world. Playlists dating back to 2014 preserve years of listening, collecting, and sharing. PFB Radio continues that dedication across more than 250 episodes of underground selections, original records, guest mixes, and live recordings, with a broadcast history that includes Australia’s StarterFM. Its recurring Key to the City selection celebrates records that capture the spirit of Cooltown, inviting Citizens to discover the music that keeps the project moving.

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The radio archive also preserves experiences beyond the studio, including a 3 AM hard dance set beneath a Portland bridge. At Above & Beyond’s Weekender, bringing a DJ setup became an annual tradition of campsite parties hosting mainstage talent. From intimate gatherings to club stages, these moments carry the spontaneous, communal energy that forms the rave half of Progressive Rave.

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Yellow runs through the entire story. An all yellow rave outfit worn years before the music project took shape became an unmistakable signature. Still a frequent presence in the crowd as well as behind the decks, Cooltown is recognizable in head to toe yellow. The yellow heart 💛 carries its warmth, optimism, nostalgia, and connection, a beacon within the dreamworld.

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Cooltown’s fans are its Citizens. From a middle school club to records, broadcasts, campsite gatherings, and late night dance floors, the impulse has remained the same: imagine a place, give it life, and invite people to make it their own.

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Progressive emotion. Rave energy.

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Welcome home, Citizens. Welcome to Cooltown. 💛