The dawn of our entire world began in 1996 with a vision and a contact with the legendary Chicago House producer Paul Johnson. Who knew then what would happen? We hoped. We dreamed. We achieved. A sampler with tracks by Frankie Bones, Robert Armani, James Christian and Paul was the DTX 000 release and the one that started it all. The Chicago Filtered Disco House sound that started with Cajual and Relief worldwide, continued with Dust Traxx Chicago. 10 years and 50 releases later, DTX Chicago now hosts a catalog that features the talents of:
Angel Alanis, Bear Who ?, Brother 2 Brother , Candi Crawford, Candi Staton, Craig Alexander, Crump Daddy, Curtis Mathewson, DJ Rhythm, Deaf 'n' Dumb Crew, Derek Conyer, East Coast Boogiemen, Eric Davenport & Gabriel D. Vine, Fab G, G.U., Gant Garrard, Gene Hunt, Glenn Underground, Harrison Crump, James Christian, Johnny Fiasco, K-Alexi, Keith Henderson, Lamont Lambert, LawnChair Generals, Lego, Mandrake, Martin Venetjoki feat. Derek Conyer, Michael Airhart , Miles Maeda, Mr. A.L.I., Nehpets Giddens, Pat Nice, Paul Johnson, Raya Beam, Robert Armani, Ron Carroll, Sebastien Leger, Sista Stroke, Smitty, Smitty & Eric Davenport, Stacy Kidd, T Spencer, Tim Hatfield, Trackhead Steve , Various Artists, Willie Snickers, Yo Se', and Yonkapin.
These artists have made a worldwide stir over the years and have made Dust Traxx Chicago the channel for their commotion. A name brand in the world Electronic Music market, our music has reached the farthest corners of the planet Earth. Such worldwide appreciation has earned us a place in the media, the record boxes of the big-time jocks and the hearts of House Music fans everywhere. This is prime time, big room, no nonsense House Music with obvious roots in 70’s Funk, Disco and 80’s R&B. The Dust Traxx Chicago sound will continue to set trends and make waves throughout the world.
Influences
Sounds Like
By Dani Deahl
Despite its humble beginnings decades ago, Chicago house now permeates every layer of international popular culture, from Collette’s “Feelin’ Hypnotized” colliding with Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada to The Greenskeepers’ viral “Lotion” music video. Bonus: Chicago is the only city to have a street named after a DJ (Frankie Knuckles Way, anyone?). But within the past five years, Chicago’s house orientation has been challenged. As electro and blog-centric artists burst onto the scene and make superstars out of bedroom producers, classic local house is taking a backseat. Caught in the middle of the auditory war is Dust Traxx Records. One of the city’s most influential imprints, founded in 1997, the label’s bread ’n’ butter has been Chicago house from the likes of Paul Johnson and Glenn Underground. As label head Radek Hawryszczuk watches the industry change around him, the last bastion of Chicago house is making a startling announcement: If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.
Hawryszczuk’s been running Dust Traxx for 11 years, and for most of that time, operations have been out of the basement of his house on the Northwest Side. It wasn’t unusual to see Harrison Crump snacking in the kitchen or Angel Alanis playing guitar next to mountains of yet-to-be-shelved vinyl. As notoriety and sales blossomed, the business rapidly expanded to include handling 45 additional labels, GrooveMedia—a digital-rights management company—the distribution company Sole Unlimited, Sweat parties at Red Dog and a proper warehouse.
Despite the boom, Hawryszczuk watched a metamorphosis outside company walls warily. With vinyl sales on the decline and the music industry buffeted by file sharing, Dust Traxx could no longer rest on its laurels. “Joe from Gramaphone once told me, ‘It’s not your job to have an opinion’ and pointed to the bins of records that filled his store,” Hawryszczuk says. “You know what he called them? Broken dreams. I care too much about this to be selling broken dreams.”
Revamping the company included hiring Marea Stamper as managing director of GrooveMedia and introducing a Digi White Label program to gather feedback from DJs on promotional downloads. Most important, however, it meant changing its sound.
The public was none the wiser until Miami’s Winter Music Conference 2008, when the label hosted two parties featuring electro blog darlings Ocelot and Le Castle Vania alongside Chicago upstarts Jason Tyler and Hollywood Holt. If people weren’t aware of Dust Traxx’s changing direction before, the showcase made it clear. “The new Dust Traxx is more diverse,” Hawryszczuk says. “Instead of being categorized as strictly Chicago house, we’re ranging from techy influences to more banging, edgy stuff. It’s not just going to be for house heads anymore.”
The label’s branding face-lift completes a long-standing connection with electro. Earlier this decade, Dust Traxx performed manufacturing and distribution for Tommie Sunshine’s Xylophone Jones label and Felix Da Housecat’s Rude Photo imprint. “We were early, not late,” Stamper says. “We carried Tommie and Felix’s labels at a time when many house label groups wouldn’t touch electro.”
Before accusing Dust Traxx of selling out to hipster trends, consider that the label recently brought house ace Diz on board to do A&R and has house icon Bear Who? on its upcoming release schedule. Dust Traxx isn’t abandoning its roots, just welcoming what’s evolved from them. “News flash: French house is Chicago house. Fidget house is Chicago house. A lot of these genres wouldn’t exist without [Chicago house’s] influence,” Stamper says.
Hawryszczuk’s gamble seems to be paying off with releases from Junior Sanchez and Jake Childs, plus side projects from the Noise Floor Crew and Tittsworth coming soon. Dust Traxx’s fundamentals aren’t shifting. As Hawryszczuk notes, “You’re only as good as your last record.”
Boom Boom Room 2/2(Monday)Terry Hunter, Maurice Joshua, Craig Alexander, John Simmons, DJ Diz, Michael Serafini & Uncle Milty At Green Dolphin St|2200 North Ashland Ave.|+21|10PM|Free w/ RSVP till 12Am
2/5-US- Lego, John Simmons & Chuck Bleu 2/6-Fo Sho!- Biz Markie (NY), Dj Cool V (NY), Hollywood Holt, Kaboom!, Gant-Man, Vyle, Zebo, Noise Floor Crew (Local Hero & Angel Alanis) 2/12-US(Pre-Party)- bigSEXY, DJ FLX, Monna, Julius the Mad Thinker & Priti Gandhi 2/12-Little Louie Vega(After Party) @ Club Crescendo- Little Louie Vega, Andre Harris & Dj Just Joey 2/19-US- Mark Grant, Just Joey & Craig Alexander 2/26-US- Diz and Iz, Brian Heath & Steve Melvage 3/2-Boom Boom Room- Dj Rush, Luis Baro, Adonis Childs, Paul Anthony, DJ Diz, Michael Serafini & Uncle Milty For more info check out www.DustTraxx.com
Power of The Groove
Gant Garrard - You Gotta Get Up
Yonkapin - 1
Paul Johnson - Simple Beats With Sweet
Samples
Paul Johnson and Gant Garrard - Brother 2
Brother
Gant Garrard - Hot Momma
Michael Airhart - Scream
Yonkapin - 2
Logic of Sound - Expand Your Mind
Craig Alexander - Buckwild in
Bucktown
Stacy Kidd - Jazzy Dayz
Deaf N' Dumb Crew - Une Fois de Plus
Paul Johnson and Gant Garrard - I Need
House
Craig Alexander - Groove Mission
Paul Johnson - It's House
.. Various Artists - Dust Traxx: Past,
Present, Future 3
Bear Who? - The Beatbox Remix
Contest Part 2
Yo Se - Me Gente
Bear Who? - The Beatbox
Gene Hunt - Gene Hunt Classics
Various Artists - Dust Traxx: Past,
Present, Future 2
Bear Who? - The Beatbox Remix Contest Part
1
Nephets Giddens - Muzikibation
Various Artists - Dust Traxx: Past,
Present, Future 3
TRACK LISTING Rees Urban - Jump Up Rees urban - Corrupt Mind
DJ SUPPORT J.Caprice / High Maintenance - Juiced Music Dudu Palandre - Maracuja Sean Biddle - Bid Muzik Louis Hughes - 6th Sense Jeff Haze - Minority Music DJ Ray C - Street Beat Radio Andy Riley - Inland Knights/Toka Project JC Disko - Soul Fuel Jangatha - Uma 4peace/High Maintenance - Juiced Music
Here are some upcoming LDP events, it's going to be a great fall for Electronic Music, so keep posted to Locked Down Productions. All fliers can be clicked on and viewed in there original size. Thanks!
Also a couple live mixes I recorded at the last couple shows, enjoy!
Just letting ya know that ALL OF OUR NEW ALBUM can now be played on our MySpace page! "All We Have" and "Inside" are the new tracks, so at least check those out! :) If you like what you hear, feel free to purchase "The EP" on iTunes or at our online merch store if you'd like to have a physical copy! Keep in touch!! - Landen
https://www.stompy.com/EP/134006 Jason Hodges: Favourite track- JR From Dallas - Funkthead (Original mix) dance flo,fo sho! Manuel Sahagun: Favourite track- JR From Dallas - Jack'n Jazz (Matthew Random Remix) Tovar: JR From Dallas - Favourite track- Jack'n Jazz (Matthew Random Remix)Good release thanks! Charl Chaka (Radio 1, Dubai / Alpha,Chi,360): Favourite track- JR From Dallas - Funkthead (Original mix)","This EP is wicked. Full support and also radio play, Nice one Axel (Kolour Recordings): Favourite track- JR From Dallas - Funkthead (Tom Special Interest Remix) dig TSI remix on this lot, thanks guys The Littlemen (Gav): Favourite track- JR From Dallas - Funkthead (Tom Special Interest Remix) phobic is always a solid label all tracks here have been useful, esp tom's remix....cheers Lawnchair Generals (Peter): Favourite track- JR From Dallas - Funkthead (Original mix) Miles Maeda: Favourite track- JR From Dallas - Jack'n Jazz (Original mix) Jack 'n' Jazz has that swingin' vibe of Chicago back in the mid 90's. Very nice! Inland Knights (Laurence): Favourite track- JR From Dallas - Funkthead (Original mix) jacking in a grooovy way, cheers Raoul Belmans: Favourite track- JR From Dallas - Funkthead (Tom Special Interest Remix) will play Jack'n Jazz and the Tom Special Interest Remix! Phil Weeks: Favourite track- JR From Dallas - Jack'n Jazz (Original mix) all good Hector Moralez: Favourite track- JR From Dallas - Jack'n Jazz (Original mix) digging original mix of "Jack'n Jazz def be banging this one out. full support!... Support also from DJ Mes, Giom, Jazzy Eyewear, Lady
THE KITCHEN!!! CANDICE ELLIOT!!! NO COVER!!! NO DRESS CODE!!! LA STRADA!!! THE BEST HOUSE MUSIC PARTY IN TEXAS!!! HOUSTON!!! THIS FRIDAY!!! START OFF THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND WITH THE BEST HOUSE MUSIC!!!
THIS IS AN INVITE TO ALL DANCEMANIA ARTISTS WHO EVER HAD THE HONOR AND PRIVILEDGE TO GRACE THE MOST INFLUENTIAL DANCE LABEL IN THE WORLD!WE ARE OFTEN IMITATED BUT NEVER DUPLICATED!I AM ASKING FOR YOUR SUPPORT TO MAKE THESE THURSDAY NITES ONCE A MONTH TO SHOW THE WORLD THAT WE RUN THIS SHIT!
Mes: Love toms programming track and the Damien's remix....whooot!Nice wun fellas! Your on a roll:)
Andy Toka Project/Inland Knights: yeah really cool!.....loving sun city hustlers track...and programming is wicked......definately gonna get plays from me
Giom: Loving the original mix and also Tom's new original tune, programming! Paaaaaaarty!
Gav Littlemen: Love the original and Programming
Ben (Brown/Unpopular) i like all the tracks. my favourites of real thang are the original and toms mix - especially like the rudebwoy b-line and old style beats of the TSI mix.my favourite of the whole release is programming - i think mostly cos of the samples and the way they are arranged. its good fun.
Mike (Kolour): sch's original broke new ground for these guy's sound. it has a nice disco vibe that works really well in the mix. i've been playing it since john sent it moons ago. the mastering on it came out perfect too. really brings the tune to life.damien's remix features more of the vocal and that's never a bad thing as far as i'm concerned. he churned out yet another remix where he takes the original tune and makes it his own. this is definitely something i'll play tom's remix is definitely a departure from the other two versions. he adds a level of filth to it that contrasts the dynamic of the EP just enough to give it that 'something for everyone' feel.
Quell: I LOVED Damien's old/new school remix and the original version of that track and i really like Toms 'programming' track.
Strakes (Lost My Dog): Original mix of Real Thang is sounding good – r
Hi Dust Traxx Chicago Just giving you the heads up on our new release out TODAY beatport exclusive House , Breaks + Electronica mix's Have a good weekend Angel & Trudi x (preview on our player)
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Online Now!
