MUST BE PRETTY BRIGHT IN THE STUDIO. Brad “D.J. Unwind” LaBarbera, shown here about to lay down some super hot tracks, has been collaborating with bigger and bigger artists.

In a town known for jazz, maybe it’s not so surprising that an artist is starting to make a name for himself in what some think of as acid jazz. For Eau Claire native Brad “D.J. Unwind” LaBarbera, it’s no surprise at all because it is the result of years of hard work.

LaBarbera’s career has unwound slowly. He has been a vinyl-hound from an early age and began participating in D.J. battles when he was 16 years old. Despite this early start, it wasn’t until after his junior year studying social work at St. Cloud State that he decided to try to make a living by producing beats. Making a living in the creative fields is an uphill battle for everyone, but Unwind says in hip-hop, his “small-town” roots can make that hill steeper.

“When you tell someone that your from Eau Claire,” Unwind said, “and they’re from Los Angeles, they’re like ‘Where? Wisconsin, oh interesting.’ And then you can tell from the tone of their voice – and this has happened a million times – they’re thinking ‘I can’t wait to hear this.’ ”

LaBarbera said he doesn’t mind because they are usually blown away. Now, D.J. Unwind is a rising Minneapolis-based producer who’s known for a laid-back style. Though rooted in the art of DJing and hip-hop, he has converted from vinyl sampling to playing 90 percent of his backing tracks in the past few years.

By self-teaching himself the piano and combing that with electronics, he opened the door to a changing cast of instrumentation to paint smooth soundscapes. The result: backdrops that are sweet enough to sing over, but beat-centric enough to spit a lyric or two over. Some place his musical style in sub-genres such as trip-hop or acid jazz and influences of r&b and soul percolate throughout his beats.

    Though still holding down a day job, Unwind is getting musical work in a variety of ways. A collection of some his earlier vinyl-sampled instrumentals called The Truth Beyond the Beat was self-released, then internationally distributed by the Japanese label Libyus Music in 2006. Several of his beats have been picked up by music libraries that then license them out and pay him a royalty.

Besides just making beats on his own, Unwind also collaborates with a variety of artists, notably on a single Blueberry Skies featuring rapper M.anifest and singer Kaytee. He also has three tracks on former Minnesota Timberwolf, Troy Hudson’s, forthcoming hip-hop album. His latest work, a single called My Sunshine, featuring Myspace Records artist Mateo, was just released on iTunes and Amazon.com. His latest collaboration is with Californian musician Levophonic. These two soundsmiths have created an  instrumental album entitled Redlight. This self-released effort features a laid-back electronic vibe and will be available in digital form this fall.

D.J. Unwind won’t stop there, though. He says that he keeps trying to get work with bigger and bigger artists as he builds his own name. But that doesn’t mean he is looking to sell out.

“If making music is just something that I’m able to do to make some money on the side, that’s OK. I just want to be known for making good music. That’s what it comes down to at the end of the day. I don’t sit down and think how can I write a track that is going to make me a lot of money. I sit down and say I want to make something that is really sentimental to me.”

    Read more about DJ Unwind, or listen to his music, at www.velvetmusicgroup.com or www.djunwind.com.