Chicago is indisputably the birth-place of one of the most successful music styles of the past decades - house music. Derived from 70s Disco, House has spread across the planet since its inception in Frankie Knuckles' 'Warehouse' club during the early 80s, arguably becoming the world's most popular style of dance music. While many Chicago artists of the time have become globally recognized stars, much of the Chicago house scene has remained true to its underground roots, developing rougher and less commercially exploitable styles, most commonly summarized as Ghetto House or Chicago Jacks.
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House music superstar Gene Farris belongs to a second generation of Chicago-born artists that remodeled the city's sound from the blueprints of disco and acid house while keeping a firm eye on the popularity of electronic music on the European continent....
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Originating from Chicago' South Side, DJ Deeon made a name for himself with his early releases for the city's legendary Dancemania label: Tracks like "Akceler-8" or "Da Bomb" helped define the ghetto house sound of a new generation of Chicago producers, at a time when former Dancemania artists like Hercules, Lil' Louis or Robert...
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Shadow Huntaz are a 5 piece experimental hip hop group notable for their releases on the highly regarded Skam label and for their use of online file sharing to create their work.
They were originally formed by a trio of MCs, Breaff (a.k.a Shadow 1),...
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One of Chicago's finest producers, Mike Dunn has been around for nearly two decades, providing the dancefloors with classic Acid House cuts like 'Face The Nation' and 'So Let It Be House' that are widely regarded as masterpieces of the genre.
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Formed in 1985 by Larry Heard together with vocalists Robert Owens and Ron Wilson, Fingers Inc. was one of the first Chicago house groups and the first outlet for the production genius of Larry Heard. The year 1986 saw the group's first release 'Mystery Of Love' on DJ International Records that should become an instant club hit and...
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I.B.M. is the joint project of Jamal Moss (a.k.a. Hieroglyphic Being or The Sun God) and Chicago techno legend Steve "Work That Muthafucker" Poindexter.
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As one of the most prominent and influential figures in the history of techno, only few artists in the electronic music business are fit to hold a candle to Jeff Mills. Acclaimed in equal measures for his ground-breaking production work and his inimitable DJing style, Mills has had his gifted hands in the development of many of the...
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Marcus Mixx is a Chicago based house-producer stemming from the genre's first generation. His first releases appeared as early as 1987 on such labels as Missing Records. After many years of silence Marcus resurfaced to the world of house music in 2006,...
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Classically trained musician and world nomad Nick Calingaert a.k.a Common Factor released his first records in 1996, on the now defunct Belgian SSR label. The release was a collaboration between him and house vocalist John Redmond with whom he should collaborate on ensuing records on Carl Craig's Planet E label. After eight releases...
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A true veteran of Chicago's house music scene, Paul Johnson had significant influence on the 'second generation' sound of Chicago house. Producing rough and jacking tracks for famous labels such as Dancemania, Relief or Peacefrog put his name on the map, in 1999 he scored a global hit with 'Get Get Down' and to this day he continues...
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Jamal Moss (a.k.a. Hieroglyphic Being or The Sun God) has appeared on the scene in the early 2000s, immediately creating a buzz around his slow and rough, yet soulful, analogue acid house jams. He has since recorded for well respected labels such as...
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Chicago native Ron Trent became a DJ in the mid eighties, releasing his first record 'The Afterlife' in 1990 at age 17. The single's b-side, 'Altered States' (featuring edits by Chicago house legend Armando), became an instant classic, still regularly...
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Curtis Alan Jones, known to the world as Cajmere and Green Velvet, started out in the early 90s recording for the long-defunct Clubhouse label, his productions oscillating between deep house and the jacking, minimal Chitech style he was to become famous for. In 1992 he founded his first label, Cajual, the first single of which,...
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Producer, DJ, label owner and accomplished illustrator, Alan Oldham a.k.a. DJ T-1000 has been on the forefront of the Detroit techno movement since the beginning of the 90s. Well known for his classic techno labels Generator Records (est. 1992) and Pure...
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Bernard's DJ career began in 1986 on WKKC 89.3 FM in Chicago as a radio hot mixer and on air personality. Since 1990 he has written, produced, and remixed for labels such as Alleviated Records, Cajual, Trax Records, Black Market, and has released a full-length album on France's respected Distance label. He has remixed and...
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Alex and Adam of Chicago's Kill Memory Crash have been developing their own blend of dark electronic music over the past 10 years, crossing over industrial techno, EBM, pop and rock influences. So far they have released two albums and a number of 12",...
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Chicago-based Kate Simko is a classical pianist turned left field house and techno producer. Releasing music on labels such as Spectral Sound and Traum, Simko draws from a wide range of influences, combining her sense of melody and structure with her...
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Raised on disco classics and freeform jazz in Chicago's Southside, a career in house music was never an unusual path to take for Glenn Underground. Starting out recording for legendary imprints like Dance Mania, Djax-Up and Relief, he went on to produce some of the most well respected deep house music in the last two decades with...
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Tevo Howard started playing with his brothers turntables when a skateboard accident confined him to his home. The pastime became a passion, and during high-school and college, where he studied bass playing, Howard's vinyl collection grew. After a few more...
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A hugely influential group in the development of house music, Phuture are commonly credited for inventing the 'acid house' style with their first recording, 'Acid Tracks' in 1987. Founded by Earl 'Spanky' Smith, Damon 'Proffessor Traxx' Neloms, and...
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Virgo are Merwyn Sanders and Eric Lewis, who only recorded a handful of seminal 12"s for legendary Chicago house imprint Trax Records during the 1980. While not the most prolific producers of their era, their releases are widely recognised as classics of the genre. Virgo's recordings have recently been reissued by the Dutch Rush Hour...
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The sounds of Chicago ghetto house once again make their way acroos the ocean, represented by 20-year-old Nathan Clark a.k.a. DJ Nate. Putting a unique spin on Chicago's recent 'Juke' style, Nate records 'Footwurk tracks', high-speed, largely instrumental...
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Gene Hunt has been part of Chicago's house music scene since the late 1980s, when he started collaborating on productions with artists like Ron Hardy, Armando, and Phuture. Having released his solo work on influential labels like Djax-Up and Moods & Grooves, Hunt is without a doubt a true innovator of the Chicago house sound.
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Hailing from the industrial quarter of Northwest Indiana, confirmed drum brainiac Decimal, also known as David Spacek, began his love affair with electronic music at 15. In the years that followed, Decimal was inspired to produce his own tracks. Following a move to Chicago in 2007, the producer and DJ began to refine his sound. Today...
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Raised on Chicago's infamous South Side, Thomas Kendricks a.k.a. DJ Slugo signed to influential Dance Mania imprint in the mid-1990s, representing the label's new generation of house music artists alongside people like DJ Deeon, DJ Funk, and veterans like...
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For the past few years DJ Rashad has been instrumental to the creation and evolution of Chicago Juke music and has been lifelong friends with other key players on the scene, such as Paul Johnson, DJ Gant-Man, DJ Spinn, and DJ Godfather. Starting his production career with releases for Juke Trax and Databass Online, his sparse and...
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Armando Gallop was one of Chicago's early house music artists and most notable contributors to the development of acid house. His raw and stripped down productions, including classics like 'Land Of Confusion' and '100% Of Disin' U' set the tone for Chicago's second wave of 'ghetto house' artists like Paul Johnson and Robert Armani....
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Legendary house music producer Farley 'Jackmaster' Funk got his start in the music industry in 1981 as a one of the original members of Chicago's DJ Team Hot Mix 5, alongside Kenny Jason, Mickey Oliver, Scott Silz, and Ralphi Rosario. Getting into the production side of music, Farley recorded his debut single 'Aw Shucks' in 1983,...
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One of the world's most celebrated DJs, Derrick Carter has played an integral role in the development of second generation Chicago house. His early collaborations with Cajmere and Mark Farina have also established Carter as a versatile producer, a reputation he built upon up with his highly regarded remix and production work over the...
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