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Insistent, hypnotic, and sensual, yet breathtakingly clean, Kate Simko's beats incorporate elements of Detroit techno and Chicago house while charting their own path. Minimalism and majesty collide in the classically trained pianist's compositions, which have earned her a devoted following in the electronic music scene. Born in Chicago, Simko immersed herself in the underground dance scene as a teen, becoming a regular on local college radio station WNUR, where she ascended to the level of dance music director by the late-'90s, while studying music theory at Northwestern University. In 2001, Simko traveled to Santiago, Chile, where she met fellow techno trailblazer Andres Bucci, with whom she formed Detalles. Her music continued to evolve through the '00s, and by the latter half of the decade, Simko had found a home with Ghostly Records, a happy haven for electronica inventors. Her 2009 full-length, Music from the Atom Smashers, a soundtrack to the physics documentary of the same name, earned positive reviews beyond the underground. ~ Jason Thurston