Brooklyn-based beatmaker, vocalist and live performance artist, Vanese Smith aka Pursuit Grooves has been steadily building ever since she featured on the Dutch compilation Beat Dimensions and released two albums on her own What Rules label. Red Bull Music Academy's Barcelona edition beckoned, resulting in her track Renew featuring the legendary Motown guitarist Dennis Coffey being featured on the RBMA compilation.
In 2009 she dropped a collection of environmentally themed beats, Sustainable Movements For A New Age, which caught nothing but love from all the right places.
But this year really saw her rep dovetail with the release of her fourth LP Fox Trot Mannerisms on Pinch's Tectonic label, introducing a whole new audience of dubby techno lovers to her skewed machine-soul music. The older Pursuit Grooves productions are slower, more downtempo, but as a result of doing more live performances the past year recent productions have sped up.
The album flows through cosmic soul, smooth tropical house, hip-hop and dubstep, with Smith herself contributing vocals throughout.
DJ Magazine named Fox Trot Mannerisms as one of the Recommended Albums for May 2010 and BBC Radio's Gilles Peterson names her as one of the Top 10 Breakout Artists of 2010 thus far. Receiving fanfare from numerous DJs and magazines, Pursuit Grooves delivers a seamless mix of soulful electronic bass that is a breath of fresh air to the eclectic dance music scene. Recently back from a four city Japan tour and a European tour, including breakout performances at Fabric and Sonar Festival, her live show is a mix of Flying Lotus craft, energetic beats, and MC vocals that no one else on the scene delivers.
Vanese aims to push herself with each new project, exploring the depths and moods of sound. Continuing her highly subscribed monthly podcast Nodding Grand, working on new collaborations and taking the live stage by storm, Pursuit Grooves is a musical force to be enjoyed for a very long time.