by Jason Birchmeier
Miami Horror is an electro-pop act with a disco-house throwback style produced by Benjamin Vanguarde from Melbourne, Australia. Influenced by dance-pop artists of the 1970s and '80s such as Prince, Supertramp, and ABBA, the young DJ/producer first made a name for himself as Miami Horror with a series of remixes that include Stardust's "Music Sounds Better" and Tegan and Sara's "Walking with a Ghost," along with contemporary acts such as the Midnight Juggernauts and Grafton Primary. Meanwhile, he hooked up with the Melbourne electro-pop group Gameboy/Gamegirl and produced "Sweaty Wet/Dirty Damp," a one-off single that became a left-field hit in the music blogosphere in 2007. A seven-track EP by Gameboy/Gamegirl, Golden Ghetto Sex (2008), was released in the wake of "Sweaty Wet/Dirty Damp." As Miami Horror, Vanguarde made his commercial debut in 2008 with a five-track EP, Bravado, on Virgin Records. The EP features the song "Don't Be on with Her," for which a promotional video was released online.