JACUZZIHIDIVE

No one brings '80s dance rock into the 21st century like guitarist Aram Blassingame and singer Aily Iglesias, and they get some help from their vast array of vintage keyboards and drum machines, plus their recent addition of drummer, Cameron Isham. - VEGAS RATED

Cool-local-band alert! Las Vegas’ own Jacuzzihidive takes me all the way back to my pre-teen ’80s Tampa Bay roller-skating rink days with an unabashed synth-bubblegum sound—guileless and a total guilty pleasure. Case in point: “Turn You On” possesses that whole early Madonna-era, echo-laden, boogie-funk style. Vocalist Aily Iglesias even has a sober, icy tone that recalls Ms. Ciccone, while band mastermind Aram Luc’s songwriting and production is at once effortless and perfectly realized. The dirty, searing keyboard line of the EP’s title track is the purest evil, especially as it provides a nice counterpoint to Iglesias’ ethereal, atmospheric singing. Bassist Kyler Hutchings, meanwhile, has his electro-rawk grooves down pat, especially on the killer jam “Crowded City.” But it’s the arty, fractured, indie-rock of “XO Skeleton” that suggests Jacuzzihidive has an expansive palette it doesn’t want to completely reveal just yet. I can’t wait to lace up again. ????? - SEVEN Magazine

After weeding through a ton of great submissions, FILTER is excited to present the Sonicbid’s Culture Collide contest winner, Jacuzzi Hi-Dive. The band essentially came to existence in 2007. Back then, it’s core consisted of two east-coast expats, Aily Iglesias and Aram Blassingame. They set out on a mission to synthesize past, present, and future, creating something that aims on not only transcending the 21st century, but also raising the bar for the current state of our generation’s creativity. - Filter Magazine

Jacuzzihidive embodies the underground dance version of Nicki Minaj Syndrome: gaining national attention before most people even have time to ask, "Who the fuck is this, and why can't I stop listening?" JHD hadn't even released any tangible material before it got lauded by a big-name glossy. Now, with the late 2010 release of its E.P. Night Creatures, we predict 2011 is the year of the Jacuzzi.

What sets it apart from every other dance outfit is Jacuzzi's knack for creating original music while staying extra catchy: It's high-energy, two-steppable, and the band isn't just tracks on a computer. You get Aram Blassingame's synth lines that fall in the hip/ironic '80s wheelhouse ("Not Too Cool" could have been on Chromeo's Fancy Footwork) and sit flush with drummer Cameron Isham's ridiculously seamless transitions between Afrobeat and disco funk. But the next song (such as "Turn You On") could completely change feet, when singer Aily Iglesias adds a sultry voice that could have belonged to Blondie if her producers had told her to sex it up a little bit.

With the recent departure of bassist Kyler Hutchings, we'll be interested to see if they replace him to maintain that organic sound or outsource his lines to a MacBook. (www.jacuzzihidive.com) - Las Vegas CITYLIFE

And, on a more local note, Jacuzzihidive played a triumphant CD release gig Dec. 28 at Beauty Bar, drawing about 100 or so people late on a Tuesday night and moving them with its techno-centric but unmistakably live electro-pop. It's hard to imagine a better merging of indie rock and electronic dance music than what the trio played last Tuesday. With gigs like these -- not to mention the attention it's garnering outside of Las Vegas -- Jacuzzihidive easily earns the title of Band To Watch for the start of the new year. - Las Vegas CITYLIFE

#ohmygodthatsthefunkyshit

Picture a space ship. Now picture Blondie having a sing-off with M.I.A. in the cockpit, The Ting Tings backing them up from the armory and Parliament rehearsing in the mess hall. Then launch the whole thing into the ionosphere. That's pretty much what you'll experience Dec. 28 at Beauty Bar. Jacuzzihidive, a local electro/dance/indie rock/kitchen sink quartet led by the captivating Aily Iglesias, Aram Blassingame, Kyler Hutchings and Cameron Isham, is hosting the release party for its debut E.P, Night Creatures.

"We're very excited about it because it was a lot of work just compiling the music we wanted to put on it, but also I think it sums up our whole experience as a band and making music up until now," Blassingame says. "We're proud of what we have, and we want people to be as stoked about it as we are."

And you will be as stoked because the album hits. Hard. You'll get disco-funk (see "Turn You On"), indie (see "XO Skeleton") and so much dance music you'll need to replace your shoes. Blassingame says the band originally had enough content to put out a full length, but the amount of work (contrasting their repertoire of remixes, Creatures is all original, sample-less tracks) that it required to hit its desired release date would have been a crunch. Instead, it's aiming to release a full-length in summer 2011.

This is one of those opportunities to watch a band rise. Jacuzzihidive has garnered attention on a national scale, grabbing stage time with The Klaxons, Tokyo Police Club and The Twelves. Catch it before it shows up on all the music-snob radars. MAX PLENKE - Las Vegas CITYLIFE

Watching Cameron, the drummer for Vegas' Jacuzzi Hi-Dive, get his Alex Van Halen on at the Beauty Bar on Saturday night. The dude was peppering the group's bright, keyboard-driven funk with some seriously gnarly fills toward the conclusion of the band's set. "This next song is for everyone who thinks they're too cool to dance," singer/keyboardist Ally announced at one point, getting the crowd primed for the full-on dance party that would follow.. - Las Vegas Review-Journal

"Jacuzzi Hi-Dive’s version of B. Rich’s “Make Me Dance” is so utterly surprising and pleasant.. Tambourine and sultry melodies with pads backing it all up prove the perfect counterpoint to the vocals which ebb in and out with perfection. Well done." - D Squared