PlayRadioPlay!

Dan Hunter, creator of the electronic pop outfit Playradioplay!, explained to an interviewer that a major-label contract had come his way because "I had already proven that kids want to hear my music before they even came knocking on my door." Island Records offered that deal when the Aledo, TX native was just 17. While still in his first years of high school, Hunter enrolled in a music-technology course that introduced him to computer-based composition; captivated by the process, he assembled a modest home studio centered on his laptop and programs such as FL Studio. Drawing from personal events—the loss of his father, struggles with substance abuse, time in rehabilitation, adoption of the straight-edge ethos alongside Christianity, and his relationship with girlfriend Madison—he crafted tracks that paired these subjects with polished synthetic melodies, then uploaded them to MySpace under the Playradioplay! name. Online interest grew rapidly, making the project one of the platform’s most-streamed acts and generating more than 6.5 million plays; Hunter balanced weekend performances, where he sang and played guitar over preprogrammed tracks, with weekday classes. Several major labels pursued him, yet he chose Island, impressed by its track record with younger bands including Fall Out Boy, the Bravery, and the Killers. After finishing high school early, he largely self-produced the EP The Frequency, issued in April 2007 on the label’s Stolen Transmissions imprint, while enlisting Garrett Lee and Lester Mendez for his debut full-length. That summer he joined the West Coast dates of the 2007 Warped Tour. The resulting album, Texas, appeared in March of the next year.