

Antonio Santamaria
Born in De Leon Springs, Florida, Antonio Santamaria unearthed his passion for Electronic Dance Music during childhood. Santamaria was motivated by multiple Electronic Dance Music legends such as Skrillex, Nero, and Martin Solveig. Powerful industry leaders such as San Holo's Artist Manager Jeffrey Yau, Insomniac CEO Pasquale Rotella, and Sunset Event's Talent Buyer Alex Schamback all are equally influential to his current pursuit in the Electronic Dance Music business. Santamaria centers his heart to leave a positive legacy for everyone to remember as he coordinates events. Currently, Santamaria is taking a break after curating two dozen unforgettable events with Defiant Presents.
My Story
Santamaria caught a glimpse of Electronic Dance Music in 2007 during Daft Punk's Alive Tour. The transcending production and exquisite technology of the tour allured Santamaria to attend festivals or shows as soon as he reached the legal age limit of 18 years old. Inspired by the exhilarating synchronized production, Santamaria made it his purpose to pursue a career in Electronic Dance Music briefly after high school. His journey started in college.
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Santamaria began attending Daytona State College's Music Production Technology program in 2016. His purpose to attend was to learn and obtain information on how the music business operates on a day-to-day basis. Unfortunately, at the time, the music business class offered wasn't readily available to incoming freshmen. The class was only offered to seniors in the program. Until then, Santamaria began exploring the realms of Electronic Music including the diverse culture and the production to construct and execute the world's largest festivals. Additionally, Santamaria evolved his familiarity with Electronic Dance Music by diversifying his palette in bass music, progressive house, and trance music. The emergence of Electronic Trap in 2017, notably led by San Holo, has enhanced his desire to pursue his dream further. Before 2020, Santamaria attended annual festivals such as EDC Orlando and attended artist tours like San Holo's Album 1 Tour. The striking pyrotechnics and revolutionary production have mesmerized Santamaria to achieve his goals.
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Eager to learn, Santamaria enrolled in Daytona State's Music Business class in his final semester during the Spring of 2020. Although the pandemic derailed his plans to graduate, he acquired substantial information to elevate his understanding of the music business from Dr. Randy Guidry and encountered his then-future business partner, Anton Karunungan. In early 2021, Santamaria was granted an opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals in the trance music space and clarified how the music business works. Skip forward to January 1, 2022, Santamaria unveiled a project with Anton Karunungan named Defiant Presents. Santamaria's No.1 goal with Defiant Presents is to duplicate the euphoric feelings that Santamaria senses when attending as a fan.
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Contact Me!
Send me your demo submission! We are always searching for new and unique artists in Florida, especially in Tampa!