3 producers crafting ATL sounds

Justin Padron

For much of his career, engineer and hip-hop/EDM producer Justin Padron has enjoyed a life of relative obscurity. That was before he mixed and mastered the debut EP for a local upstart named Trinidad Jame$, a project that included the astronomically popular single “All Gold Everything.” Since the success of Don’t Be S.A.F.E., the disciple of Bryan Michael Cox and Drumma Boy carved out a niche producing everyone from Rich Homie Quan and Jarren Benton to Tom P and Nappy Roots. A reader’s pick for “Best Local Producer” in 2013, Padron is also the man behind the Notes Music Group and co-founder/manager of Castle Hill Studios.

Go Dreamer

Just breaking into his early 30s, Go Dreamer is an OG of Atlanta’s rap scene. He spearheaded the “weerdo” movement (think Prince and the Revolution meets Southern trap) with his hip-hop collective Hollyweerd, released his exceptional and mostly self-produced EP Friend Zone, and along with producers Jeron Ward, Spree Wilson, and Rick Wallkk formed the Grammy-nominated production unit the Flush. The ATL native works predominantly out of Stankonia, and his latest single, “Take on the Globe,” just landed on an episode of HBO’s “Silicon Valley.”

Alex Tumay

There’s a reason we’re able to make musical sense of and marvel at the warped minds of artists such as Young Thug and Travi$ Scott — Alex Tumay. Though the engineer’s client roster reads like a laundry list of prominent “it” boys in hip-hop (Drake, Future) and beyond (Jamie xx), Tumay seems to work under the notion that most listeners forget, which is though he’s not technically the producer or the voice on the track, he’s an artist. Never was that more clear than when Tumay, via social media, voiced his frustrations over leaks of unfinished Young Thug and Rich Gang material. It felt as though the sentiment was coming from anyone that’s ever built something from scratch. “I don’t do this for money. I do it because I care greatly about making something new and unique. ... Making quality sounding music in a genre that change/experimentation/sonics often become an afterthought in.”