Terry Matthew
Managing Editor of 5 Magazine, Terry Matthew's first record was "Circus Bells." His first mixtape was from Armando Gallop. Aside from writing for 5 Mag, Terry has authored the liner notes for Jeff Mills' "Metropolis Metropolis" and the 20th anniversary reissue of Hardkiss' "Delusions of Grandeur." He lives in Chicago. You can reach Terry by email.
Some of the best Chicago House Music of the '90s was released on what have essentially become "ghost labels", existing in some limbo between a lost youth and legal opportunism (watch, for instance, the flood of Romanthony "tributes" that...
Well damn, I wasn't expecting disco from Johnny Fiasco, but disco is what you get in a single that looks back to the big chorus of a 1980 hit by Mystic Merlin. After listening for a couple of minutes,...
In which we get to know Garrett David, resident DJ at Queen! every Sunday at SmartBar. The twenty-two year old wunderkind has just released what may be the best slab of wax cut by a Chicago label this year...
This is an interesting project from a new label out of Denver called The Playground: vinyl only, limited edition and (I think) hand-stamped, with a run limited to 200. I suspect they'll be hard pressed to hold to the...
This is a neat limited release package: a 200 issue pressing of a pair of brilliant remixes from Andy Vaz's Straight Vacationing LP. Patrice Scott's remix is stunning: it opens with a fuzzy 303 cloud pierced by stunningly sharp...
This is being billed as "some of Kon's first original House productions". That might be technically true, and you might be able to go into a court of law and plead that with your belly up to the bench,...
Yikes, I had no idea this was Victor Simonelli when I first heard it - actually, not an inkling until getting ready to write this up. NY's Finest is one of Simonelli's many aliases (most well-worn from the seven...
There's been a serious buzz around this record for months now, most notably because it marks Mark Farina and Great Lakes Audio's return to vinyl. I'm going to spoiler this by saying that yes, there really is an Anonymous;...
Glasgow Underground is releasing a double 12" and digital set of remixes this summer featuring the late Romanthony's classic "Ministry of Love" remixed by Andrés, Ejeca, Andre Crom, Mirrors and Kevin McKay.
There's an inevitable spike of interest in an...
Remember Judy Cheeks? The preacher's daughter and supremely underrated vocalist can make a fair claim to having been one the most versatile and enduring dance music vocalist of the last 30 years.
Example: Judy released her debut album in 1973,...
Good God is it a grim date in the halls of hell sifting through the thousands of faceless, tuneless tracks that do such damage to the Tech House genre that few self-respecting producers really want the association anymore.
James Johnston's...
Through yet another internet slip-up, the people behind the controversial ghostwriting site ProducerFactory have outed themselves, leaking a signed contract and several other documents onto the internet which we've obtained and are posting here.
ProducerFactory - aka "the WalMart of...
This is the second installment of 5 Magazine's DJ Masters series, featuring interviews & companion mixes from influential and legendary figures whose contributions were crucial to the development of the North American House Music scene.
The first installment featured a...
Update: We obtained contracts pointing to the ownership of ProducerFactory, and have published them here.
This is what rock bottom looks like.
Meet ProducerFactory.com, a site which turns the black magic of music fakery into something as simple as buying...
Our friend and fearless ally I-Robots (aka Gianluca Pandullo) has announced the release of his forthcoming The Detroit People Mover EP, featuring I-Robots "reconstructions" of classic material from Derrick May, Juan Atkins and Orlando Voorn.
I-Robots' "reconstructions" are essentially re-edits...
Hakim Murphy turned me on to a ton of great records in the year he was writing for 5 Magazine. His review of Jenifa Mayanja's full length Walking In The Shadows LP was such a revelation - a synthesis...
Photo by Ken Paul
SmartBar is celebrating their 30th anniversary this year, and despite the scrapbook documentaries and other forms of Chicago mythology, the club has a legacy of residents that is second to none. I mean that sincerely -...
Three original tracks of absolutely perfect Deep House from Chicago Skyway, with a remix from Altered Moods' Malcolm Moore rounding out a stellar release. What's perfect? Probably that you can listen to these soaring chords and emotive strings while...
Gaga never did this. Madonna looks sad even trying, orbiting around hashtag-EDM pretty boys and trying to stoke tired controversies to recapture her heat. No, they broke the mold when they made Liz Torres, a Chicago icon that captured...
For 5 Magazine's monthly feature on musical machines and the men & women who love them, we talk with Detroit electronic music pioneer and Frictional Recordings owner Anthony "Shake" Shakir. Mr. Shakir's work as "Da Sampla" was recently highlighted...
MUST READ!
Library of Congress adds Jamie Principle’s “Your Love” to National Recording Registry
The classic of classic Chicago house tracks was selected for preservation as one of "the defining sounds of history and culture." Here's how it was made.
