• You’ve made no secret of your love of some homegrown Chicago sounds, be it house, ghetto-house, acid, juke and footwork. What would say is/are your favorite Chicago record(s)?
Yea absolutely, along my personal timeline of influential records, more might be from Chicago than even London at this stage. I could never pick just one but I have to shout out the Original Video Clash – it’s kind of an obvious choice but it’s especially important to me / us at Night Slugs because it connects house so neatly with grime, it’s the original rhythm track.

• What three adjectives would you use to describe Night Slugs to someone who was unfamiliar with your label?
Modernist; Shape-shifting; Energetic.

• May’s Signal falls right before Detroit’s Movement Electronic Music Festival, which the Signal crew – along with a lot of Chicago – are really excited about. We’re sure to catch your prime slot on the RBMA stage at Movement, but who’s set are you really hoping to hear in Detroit?
I dunno if its on the same day I’m there but would be great to see Dopplereffekt again. I never heard Lil Louis spin so that’s a must! Hoping to also catch Salva and Actress who are both on the RBMA stage as well.

• A very serious question. If the whole Night Slugs family was dropped into a Battle-Royale-style fight to the last person standing, who would be left when the dust settled and why?
Seriously, we’d probably pool our resources to outwit our captors. NS is tight, I can’t see us turning on each other.

Finally, we’ll be giving away some list spots on the Signal Twitter @SignalChicago! If you pick a number between one and ten, the first person to guess it wins the spots!

Bok Bok plays Signal on Thursday, May 24 with Morri$ and Signal residents Bizzies, Sparkletone, and Guidry; see the SmartBar website for details.

Night Slugs website
Signal Chicago

-Mica

See the full post on Modular People here.
thejuanmaclean.com

-Q

• This mix was recorded just this last weekend; can you tell us more about it and/or the tracks on it?
It was recorded at a monthly party I do here at the Electric Pickle in Miami with the MURK guys. This year marks 20 years of MURK so we really wanted to do something fun at home. The mix itself is my opening set and I just took out a chunk to post up on soundcloud. The track selection is just stuff that has really caught my ear. I believe there’s also a remix of mine in there I just did for my buddy Induce.

• Do you think there’s an audible difference between doing a set in sunny Miami and snowy Chicago? How much does environment play into how you play?
I like to read rooms whenever I play and my sets are more-so dependent on the atmosphere inside the club as opposed to outside. Obviously, a set on a rooftop by the beach will be a bit different but I can’t stress the importance of reading a crowd. Without that awareness it’s easy to get lost pushing your own agenda.

• Tell us about these new releases you have coming up in the next month. How did the collaborations come about?
I have a remix EP coming out feb 28 for this EP I did with vocalist Amy Douglas called Miami Vice (hear it on Soundcloud here) The original came out on Nurvous and now we’re having two remixes from MURK as well as mixes from Manik & Julien Sandre. I have a remix coming out for my buddy Dj Sabo hitting in March as well as a remix I did for Tommie Sunshine. Last but not least, I have a collaboration EP I did with Matt Tolfrey for Culprit which features Nikko Gibler on all 3 tracks too.
All the collaborations just kind of happened on it’s own which is great as nothing felt forced and just came about naturally. They’re all people I’ve known from before so it’s more-so just making some jams with friends.

• What else do you have planned for 2012?
Just continuing work on my label petFood. We have a big compilation hitting with all of our artists in the next month or so. We’re happy with the momentum of the label and want to keep things moving along nicely. I also have some original work I’ve done with Oscar G from MURK that we are calling Cuban Missile Crisis and should really shake things up a bit when they hit. And as usual I am working on my own stuff too and have a nice handful of tracks I’ll be finding some homes for.

• Is there anything you’re particularly excited about doing while you visit Chicago?
I still haven’t been to Hot Doug’s. I’m also pretty positive there’s good Polish food in Chicago. And as usual checking out Grapamaphone is always nice. I was able to pick up some stuff from MURK & Derrick Carter last time.

Lazaro appears at SmartBar on Friday, March 2; see www.smartbarchicago.com for details.
Lazaro Casanova official site

-Q

• You’re one of the artists that has successfully bridged your contributions to classic era Chicago house with great and current work. Tell us how your professional experiences now compare with the golden era of Chicago house.
If you mean the early 90’s as the golden era, then ok. :P Just kidding…
Not much actually has changed, in my professional experience, other than the crowd changes about every ten years, I’ve noticed. And so does the music. But what was good back in the day always comes back…

• What equipment are you using to produce these days?
Logic, Reason, Ableton with plugins up the ying yang, and my Mac.
Hardware, just my Juno 106 and my trusty Avalon 737sp and a Akg solid tube mic .

• Hardware vs. software?
What ever works for you… you can’t tell a painter what kind of brush to use, if the painting is hot!

• Acid Test is vinyl-only event; do you still spin with vinyl a lot?
Nope, not that often at all, thats why I’m excited to play Acid Test. Should be fun! I hope a lot of peeps come out and support!

• Do you find that playing with vinyl changes your set at all?
I’m sure it will. I’m gonna play a lot of classics. I think it will be a Relief Records and Cajual Records tribute! I’m excited to go back and dig out some old jams!

• You’ve played at SmartBar many times over the years; can you share any special memories or stories about the club to share?
Man, there are so many great times I had at Smartbar, I can’t count! One of my most fun memorable moments (that I can tell anyway lol) was playing with Mark Farina and Heather down there – I think it was ‘07 or ‘08, can’t remember – was a really fun night! We all rocked it and everybody was in the building, good times. :)

• What do you have coming up in the future with your own releases and Farris Wheel Recordings?
A lot of goodies. :) I currently have just out with Cajmere “The Black Label EP” on Cajual Records. I think it’s been 6-7 EPs together now, I can’t remember, maybe more. We have been making a lot of great music together these days. Also Farris Wheel was rated in the top 20 Underground House labels in North America for 2011, so thats very good. We also just signed EPs and/or remixes from Sonny Fodera, Gramophonize, Cajmere, Stacy Kidd, Doc Link, Giano, and a lot of other guys for 2012. We plan to do over 20 releases this year. Currently out is the Wally Callerio aka Poncho Warwick “Who’s Provoking Who” EP… very nice record, and a lot more heaters to come.
I <3 Chicago and I <3 House Music..

We’re excited to have Gene Farris headlining Acid Test on Wednesday, February 22 alongside residents Sevron, Blue J, Stephen P, and Julian Pena; see the SmartBar website for details.

Find more about Gene Farris and Farris Wheel at djgenefarris.com

-Q

Scotty Brandon official website

SB MIXTAPES & LIVE SESSIONS by Scotty Brandon