Detroit Swindle: Boxed Out
Hype is an interesting thing. I'm engaged in a never ending battle with it where my allegiance is always shifting. So much of the music industry is based on hype and my gut reaction...
AFFKT: Sincopat 21 (We Are Safe/Therapy)
One of things I love about being a DJ is the constant evolution of my sound. It's not something I consciously look to do as part of some strategy because I'll always be true...
Giorgio Luceri’s Liger EP (SAFT)
If my record collection is any guide, Giorgio Luceri isn't just going places - he's already arrived. In the wake of another EP on Chicago's Mathematics (A Love Supremacy) that has been getting a...
Amir Alexander’s Stardust Kisses on Vanguard Sound
Vanguard Sound has been going since 2006; I believe we reviewed a one of or two of the early records from Amir Alexander's home base but none lately since he's been "discovered" abroad. There's...
The Meaning Is In The Title: Rick Wade: Defining Deep (Harmonie Park)
When Rick Wade keeps a record to himself and sets it aside for the Harmonie Park catalog, you know it's gonna be dangerous. The meaning is in the title alone: Defining Deep is a...
Pittsburgh, Again: Detour 001 Featuring Pittsburgh Track Authority, Mirko, Gusto, Naeem
As a Chicagoan, it's scandalous to see a Pittsburgh scene powered by such relatively few resources but grinding away such a feverish pace. With barely 10% of Chicago's population and nearly always in the...
John Morales Remixes Marc Evans: The Supernatural Communication EP (M+M Mixes)
Never pass up a record with a John Morales remix. That rule should have been carved into your crate or sewn into the inseam of your record bag three decades ago. Every time I've...
JT Donaldson’s 88 Days EP for Nu Jax
There was a time not that long ago that JT Donaldson was a staple on the "circuit" - an informal group of about two dozen or so DJs that seemed to play every city...
Praising the Frique: The Disco Never Dies EP from Farris Wheel
If I had to nominate just one DJ to represent everything Chicago stands for as a city, a people and a musical sanctuary, that DJ would be Frique. Let me explain for those from...
Moodymann: Moodymann (album) LP
This is likely the least influential sentence I'm ever going to write, except for the next one. This entire paragraph won't sell a single record, and this entire page probably won't influence a single...
Eddie Flashin Fowlkes: Special EP (Detroit Wax)
Everything written about Eddie Fowlkes these days has the feeling of a pamphlet or a petition seeking redress for some awful historical travesty. I assume this is by design, but it doesn't jibe with...
Various People EP from Plastik People Recordings
This is probably the only "various artists" EP you need concern yourself with for the next few months. Louie "Balo" Guzman's "Don't Shut Me Out" is one of those records that deserves a shelf...
DJ Skull: The Dark Knight EP (Sect)
You could hear this one coming all summer long - like a lumbering giant stalking the nation, I think everyone heard the footfalls. And DJ Skull came through with one of the most unexpected...
Gari Romalis and Barce: The Web (Melodymathics)
Melodymathics is a new-ish label with a mission to "showcase newcomers" alongside established artists. Mission accomplished. I've heard at least four records from Gari Romalis this year, and though his EPs on Hizou and...
Specter: The Gooch (Sound Signature)
This is like reading the back of a pack of Chinese firecrackers: light quickly and run away. Drop the needle anywhere, at any point on any of the three tracks of Specter's new EP...
DJ Shiva: And Thanks For All The Fish
If we're gonna keep going apeshit for the '90s Deep House and Garage sound, can we bring back real fucking techno too, please? I think I've had about all I can take of minimal...
Will Azada: Proper Traxx EP
Will Azada has a touch, a style distinctive enough that you can differentiate his tracks from the stack by ear alone.
The first clue: they're really, really good.
The Proper Traxx EP is something of an...
Kid Enigma: The Evocator EP
Whatever part of this industry you're in, if you take this shit with the slightest degree of seriousness, you're a masochist. We fight and claw our ways through the highs and lows year after...
Dungeon Meat / SE62: The Fuck Off Track / True Force
This is where it's at, the kind of shit that gets me excited. There's music you hear and you just want to put on infinite play on a celestial jukebox so the whole world...
Spirit of the Black 808: Guerilla Shit EP (Synapsis Records)
On Chicago native Spirit of the Black 808's new EP we are treated to the producer's penchant for a deep, moody and layered sound. The A side contains "King Kong" and "Guerilla Shit". "King...
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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.
