Label founders Mad Mats and Tooli sit down with MusicTech to talk about the triumphs and challenges of running an independent imprint Being a tastemaker in music sounds easy enough, right? We can all make carefully-curated playlists that are primed for myriad moods and parties. But when you start a record label, you’re truly committing to the [...]
The City of Chicago has announced the full line-up for the 2023 Chicago House Music Festival and Conference taking place on June 23 and June 24, 2023. The city previously announced that this year’s festival will be taking place on the Humboldt Park Boathouse lawn on June 24, 2023 from 11am to 9pm. The initial line-up [...]
From banging cuts for the ballroom to surprisingly tasteful early big room house, these tracks expose the genre's roots in queer American club cultures. House music is gay music. The sound emerged from the queer black and latinx club cultures of New York and Chicago in the ’80s. Strangely, these roots of the culture are not very well [...]
First stop and hit play on the GRAMMY-nominated DJ Disciple‘s ‘Whole World Party’ as you continue to read into the vetted Producer’s eye-opening perspective of the house music culture in conjunction with, Henry Kronk, the Co-Author of the book, The Beat, the Scene, the Sound : A DJ’s Journey through the Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of House Music in New [...]
Beyond Heaven is a series of books that serve as one of the best historical references to the early days of Chicago House Music that we have. Collecting flyers dating back as far as 1981, the books are stuffed with the names of DJ both prominent and obscure and forgotten, and venues that no [...]
With a close-knit community of DJs playing everything from heavyweight techno to deconstructed club and Mandopop, and a healthy selection of intimate venues to host them, Taipei’s club scene is booming with creative, futuristic purpose. James Gui travels to the Taiwanese capital to learn more It seems that almost every DJ you meet in [...]
Josh Wink, the prodigious son of Philly, a pioneer of techno, house, and other kindred genres, effortlessly defies their limits. Whether he’s riding the wave or creating a new one, Josh Wink’s music is always experimental and influential. His sound is the epitome of cool, fearlessly exploring the boundaries of musical conventions and never [...]
We asked DJs, label owners and record shops whether vinyl EPs and singles have become overpriced and outdated, or if it's simply a case of weathering the storm. The 12-inch has been a cornerstone of dance music culture since the beginning, but could we be witnessing its demise? With roots [...]
Three generations of dance music DJs, producers & fans have been enlightened and inspired by the funky, souled’up testament of Victor Simonelli. A new collection focuses attention on his deeply influential early ’90s house tracks. It’s happened a million times, it’s happened every day for more than 30 years and it’s probably also happened [...]
In New York City, the side hustle is a right of passage- a bridge to a paid utility bill, new social circles or eventual career pivots. Landing a side job often traces back to one ubiquitous website: Craigslist. Anyone who skimmed the New York City “gigs” and “talent” section between 2005–2021 might recall the [...]