_{By Michael Luce}

Laughing about bad takes from Fantano, comparing vinyl collections, expressing admiration for everyone from Nardwuar to Charli XCX, all while sipping an experimental Brazilian limeade concoction—this is the good life.

I got a chance to sit down with Chris Spadafora, Zack Halisky, and Ian Gonzalez (known as fora.slc, HALISKI, and PRYVYD respectively) who run the local electronic collective Lost and Found. The collective (although the guys are sometimes a bit squeamish calling it that) focuses on boosting awareness of the incredible talent of electronic musicians right here in Utah, but more than anything, these guys are just here for a good time. Their events typically attract 100-200 people and emphasize artists, performance, and innovation over simply throwing parties. “We’re not trying to appeal to the mainstream but are enjoying the way that electronic music is evolving,” said Zack.

What was originally meant to be a simple interview, one hour tops, turned into almost four hours of laughing, conversation, music recs, and chilling. If there was any doubt that these were my people, it was quickly dispelled.

To really understand the goals of Lost and Found, we have to look back over a decade ago to the very beginning of the story. Growing up here in Provo, Chris said he felt like he was at the center of the world. Between the rooftop concert series, Google Fiber’s aggressive expansion, and an abundance of creative people, he felt like Provo was the coolest place ever. He flaunted his status as a part of the scene, as he would often join his best friend Jon Jon Chen at parties by the “Upstairs Club” in a loft apartment on Center Street where the pair were celebrated for their hip-hop and pop-locking dance moves. He had his paradise.

Upon returning from a two-year mission, Chris found that everything had changed. Most of the things he had loved about growing up here had been warped, cancelled, or were quickly on their way to becoming one of the two. Provo was no longer a badge of honor, and he got a lot of pushback from peers for being so excited about the city.

Feeling like something special had been lost, Chris and Jon Jon set their minds on rebuilding. “We wanted to start something that felt like it was cool to be from Provo again,” Chris explained. It wasn’t easy, and those first few years brought a lot of frustration. The pair played a lot of events where they were simply DJing, not even playing the music they wanted to (although a few times they played EDM anyways, causing event organizers to apologize). As 2018 and 2019 passed, they found some traction, but it wasn’t long before the COVID-19 pandemic came along and halted all progress in its tracks.

At one point, the duo almost called it quits, but decided to recommit to the idea with as much gusto as possible. Chris laughed, commenting that it wasn’t so much throwing things at the wall to see what stuck as it was just desperately throwing everything at the wall until something stuck. Part of the trouble was finding a location. Where bands have Velour, Boardwalk, etc. to play at, Lost and Found was having to constantly sell venue owners on their vision of “bringing that coolness back and into Provo.”

It didn’t help that there were (and even still are) a plethora of negative stereotypes surrounding the electronic scene, especially where it interacts with the strong religious culture in Utah. The trio laughed, commenting that sometimes, “the memes don’t lie.” While there are plenty of truths there, people are more afraid of it than they need to be, they said. The electronic scene as a whole is a friendly, welcoming, and respectful community. That sense of community is what helped Lost and Found eventually find its groove.

As things picked up, the team expanded. Jackie Solis stepped in for about a year and helped with promotion and content creation; Zack had previously been involved with other projects within the scene, such as Operation Brainstorm, and shared that Lost and Found vision; and after a series of mishaps (and one hilariously disappointing show) Ian also ended up jumping aboard. These latter two and Chris then became the core of Lost and Found, as Jon Jon eventually stepped away from the collective due to creative differences and pursuing solo work. (Happy ending though; he still remains friends with the guys to this day and plays shows with them.)

Although the Utah electronic scene is still comparatively underground, all three feel like they’ve found a lot of interest in their efforts. The Lost & Found goal is to create a breeding ground for culture, creation, and community that can help showcase the great work of electronic musicians in the area, and that idea has resonated with others. Zack called their events “a place [for artists] to not just DJ, but also play out [their] own tracks and edits,” explaining that by giving space to people, it allows for great creative expression and expansion.

“We’re looking for… pushing that envelope and expressing ourselves through the things we’ve honed-in on and learned and love,” Chris added.

And that push to help local artists ‘do the thing’ is a large part of the next phase for these guys. Even as they were all fighting about the origins, spelling, and meaning of their now-scrapped name for a mini-label, I could tell these guys were just absolutely jazzed to have made it as far as they have. “From the get-go, what I wanted to build was a scene that will outlive… my participation in it,” Chris said, adding “I think we’ve succeeded.”

And you don’t have to take Chris’s word for it; the group has fostered a thriving Discord server, frequented by producers all across the area, hyping each other up, providing feedback on tracks, and just generally goofing off together.

Lost and Found is in the middle of a complete rebrand and regroup and should be making a big announcement about fall plans sometime before September. That said, the best way to keep up with them is by following their Instagram or by joining the Discord. Be sure to also follow fora.slc, HALISKI, and PRYVYD on Instagram, and check out the track “GEMS” from Chris’s latest EP, PUSH, below!