The industry cliché says that artists should stick to one sub-genre or sound. After all, branding becomes simpler when something can be streamlined in 140 characters or BPMs. Plenty of producers are known for one signature tic, but the ones we remember are the musically curious, those constantly unlocking new doors. It’s in this complex design where you’ll find Salva, rocking the party in permanent possession of a creative skeleton key.

Let’s start with the new: Salva is a DJ on the BBC’s prestigious, “In New DJs We Trust” program. The leader of the Friends of Friends movement frequently throws down jump-off mixes that electrify the weekend airwaves on LA urban radio behemoth, Power 106. His most recent EP, Odd Furniture—released on Friends of Friends—found his production hailed by Pitchfork for a “virtuosity and restlessness…like few of his peers.” His previous full-length, 2011’s Complex Housing was declared by Fact to be “an excellent record…darting between ornate hip-hop, miniature pop and wide-legged funk.”

“I’ve experimented with every single sound I came across while coming up. I didn’t know what I wanted because I loved everything,” Salva says. “I fell in love with sampling and synthesizer based music. I was always told not to be a jack-of-all trades and only focus on one sound. But I always knew that’s how I wanted to leave my mark—by making contradictory genres of music and conquering all these styles.