Events

the Phuture will survive!!! Proud & Honored to have Chicago's own Traxx come home & carry the torch for our 2nd installment of Phuture!!! 10pm $5 cover cash bar!!! RSVP@tonedsoul@live.com for address!!!

SECRET PASSWERD 2 GET IN PARTY IS "PHUTURE"

*Traxx (Nation) Chicago
Traxx is a lover of music — one with a passion so intense that it overcomes genre divides to weave an altogether original, exciting, and multi-textured musical fabric which envelops both the avid clubber and the home listener, as well as everyone in between. Not content to be labeled as merely a DJ, a producer, or even a DJ/Producer, Traxx is a self-described “artist of sound.” A sound that is distinctive and highly emotional which defies classification and invites analysis and discussion. From eclectic and avant-garde tunes to old school jack tracks and far beyond, Traxx hears and makes it all without discrimination, pretension or elitism.

Traxx has released music on numerous underground labels in the US and Europe including Gigolo, Relief, Muzique, M/O/S, and Crème. His music has come to the world under a bucket load of alias' including Dirty Criminals, XX Art, Mysterio, ViLLan X, Saturn V (with Tadd Mullinix), X2, and more. He's also collaborated with the cream of the underground including acts like James T. Cotton (aka Tadd Mullinix), DJ Hell, Green Velvet, D’marc Cantu, Mount Sims, Legowelt and many more to shape his unique definition of Jakbeat. Now finally Traxx is stepping out into the light with his first full length album under this own name for his own Chicago based imprint Nation.

Traxx's earliest musical memory is his being a young boy spinning 45 records on his toes. His mother has the picture proof. His first instrument was a handmade flute in elementary school, music it seems was just always going to be on the books for Traxx. Like many in Chicago, Traxx was drawn into house music through the legendary WBMX radio shows and two trips to see Ron Hardy at the legendary Music Box. Describing his first experience with house, Traxx recalls "nothing could compare, things were being discovered..this period stays with me because of the intense energy that was applied - it's a feeling, an emotion, a mental state of transcendental connection -a spiritual force with the higher being through the physical vessel of the body."

His first release appeared on DJ Hell's Gigolo label in the early 00's under the collective alias The Dirty Criminals. The Dirty Criminals was a Chicago based collective that featured mainly the work of Melvin working with collaborators like Charles Manier, William Torres, Daryl Cura, Brendan M. Gillen, Matt Nee, Josh Werner, Stephen Hitchell and Tadd Mullinix plus early on work from Jamal Moss aka Hieroglyphic Being. In addition to a number of 12"s Dirty Criminals released two albums very well received in Europe - 2004's "Organized Confuzion" and 2006's “Collision Between Us And The Damned" which featured a cover of an early unreleased version of "Acid Tracks" by Phuture that was played around Chicago. Traxx also contributed vocals to the track "Let No Man Jack" on Hell's "NY Muscle" album.

But it is perhaps on his many mysterious 12"s that Traxx has set the ground work for this his first solo album in the last three years where there's been a constant stream of them burning up dance floors with their wild new jakbeat sound. In an age of digital perfection Traxx is analog, when he DJs he plays vinyl and when he's in the studio he uses hardware. His sound recalls the past but pushes for the future with an overtly emotional and experimental approach. In addition to releasing music for other imprints Traxx also started his own label Nation which has allowed him to develop and recontextualize the various aspects of his sound.

*Alienata (Nation) Berlin
...2000... Then it all started. Since then this martian and honest deejay has been dedicated to learn, analyze, enjoy, and deal in with sound in all of its forms. Jakbeat, deep, dark disco, IDM, dubby, obsessive analogy, microloops coming from any source (even including fridge's plug), endless Miles Davis songs, funky fuk, creamy deep house, or a beautiful aquatic dark electro track.
In this biography you'll find about some of those unforgettable moments this mysterious lady went trough along her life: those timid and young sets at Ocio (Murcia) and many other city clubs, uncountable raves and nights across northern Italy, first contact with german scene trough homoelektrik group in Berlin and Leipzig, Moss club (Murcia), Fusion Festival (Lärz)...
Was in 2006 when trough Overflow Recs. when she came part of Montreal's electronic scene and Mutek festival. There she lived during 2007, as resident deejay at Laïka venue. And participating in different clubbing events, like Piknik Electronik, sharing flyer with many famous European and North American artists.
Once back in Spain (Valencia), she took up her career again as part of Overflow team, where she has been showing her exquisite and authentic musical selection through a plenty of clubs around the country and also abroad. Since 2008, Alienata was also responsible for musical direction of Overflow records label, where she was able to expand her good and expert musical taste .
In late 2011 she decided to move to Berlin.
She is currently working for Nation -Traxx´s label- where she is preparing her first productions to be released this year.
¿Her style? Analogic, atemporal, deep, funny, rhythmic, sexual, dark, experimental, and cosmic.

*Steven Tang (Emphasis) Chicago
A Hong Kong native living in Chicago since 1981 and previously in Bronx, NY from 1976, Tang's humble beginnings in electronic music started with the discovery of House Music during the music's own infancy; spending many weekends recording DJ mixes off radio stations like WBMX, WCGI, shopping for the latest cuts of the day at the famous Imports' Etc, both were his only connection to the music at the time as he was still too young to frequent dance clubs.

As his fascination grew for this new form of music, as did his record collection encompassing other prominent dance genres of the day like 'Italo disco' and 'High energy'. It wasn't until 1988 that he decided to purchase his first pair of turntables and taught himself the "craft". During the 90's he studied Radio Broadcasting at Chicago's Columbia College and sporadically DJed at local events and clubs while persistently working on his next goal, to set up a recording studio and eventually produce his own work.

In 1998, with EP in hand Tang established his own record label, Emphasis Recordings and its first release, the "Windy City EP". It garnered attention from Ewan Jensen of Red Ember Records, Australia and in the following year, he recorded a track entitled "Visions Far Away" for Red Ember's "Deepsounds Vol. 1" various artist 12" compilation.

Memorial Day weekend 2002 saw Tang's international debut at the DEMF (Detroit Electronic Music Festival) and was one of the featured artists on the unofficial DEMF "Generator: Detroit 2002" CD compilation. After a four year hiatus and new distribution, 2006 marked the full return of output from Emphasis...the saga continues.

*Hakim Murphy (Machining Dreams) Chicago
Hakim Murphy is a producer/dj from the Chicagoland area who's musical style ranges from House to Techno. Hakim's journey begin as a dancer in Chicago as a lot of his musical influences come from Larry Heard, Robert Armani, Dance Mania, Relief, and Cajual records. As a Chicago footwork dancer, Hakim gradually became inspired by the music and began playing records in 1996. Since then Hakim has ventured into production work and eventually founded two records labels in 2008: Machining Dreams; and Synapsis Records with Avondale Music Society.