This Saturday, The Shelter hosts local techno/house DJs/promoters VOID and their show with Chicago house veteran Traxx. Traxx is known for constructing the "jakbeat" sound -- "a turbo-charged take on old school acid and Chicago house for the '00s put together with the unmistakeable tones of classic analogue gear such as the TR-909, TR-808, and, of course, the TB-303," quoth the promoters.

All this is far, far from my realm of purview, so instead of me trying to fake it, locally-based DJ/VOID member Nat Alexander stepped up to talk to Traxx about dance music in Chicago back in the 1980s (the location of the genesis of the house sound), the roots of 4/4 dance music today, and the quest for "unsafe" dance music.

Traxx performs this Saturday at The Shelter for four hours non-stop, going on at midnight. Cover is 50rmb.


Traxx: My relationship to Chicago music is I was born and bred there. As far as "house" music is concerned, I was very lucky to have witnessed the era of The Loft, Sauers and The McCormick Place -- three-day marathons where music of all sorts was played. I was also fortunate to experience the days of Medusa's where most of the industrial scene began, with groups and labels like Front 242, Ministry, Wax Trax, Nitzer Ebb, Psyche, Yellow, Chris & Cosey, and others.

When it came to The Warehouse, where Frankie Knuckles played, it flourished because gays didn't have a lot of places to go back then.

The selection of sound was more unknown in Chicago at that time. Frankie was more refined and focused on taking you to a certain destination with the music. He used to spin the occasional house track but he mostly played disco...

Then there was Ron Hardy at Den One and later, The Music Box. He was a spontaneous ball of fire that could explode and go in any direction. He'd play Eurythmics, he'd play Man Parrish, he'd play rare Sylvester, Blondie, right along with the disco, and the crowd was delirious... it was very hot, very sweaty, and very wild.

You can't put into words the energy that he'd put into you. He'd work the hell out of the EQ; he'd create tape decks loops that'd just repeat crazily. He'd take a one-minute break and extend it to 8 minutes on the tape deck.

The important thing was the element of surprise -- with Ron there was just no telling what you were going to hear.

On the west side of Chicago was Lil Louis. Farley Jackmaster Funk held a residency at The Playground.

In 1985, house music dominated the clubs of Chicago, in part due to the radio play the music received on 102.7 FM WBMX, and their resident DJ Team, the HOT MIX 5 which included Farley.

Pierre, Adonis, and Phuture were major influences to me for sure...

That's how I came up with my musical identity.


Traxx: They are rarely heard because the wax isn't available. Some of it depends on who's interested and has the finances to repress. Clone has been re-issuing material from Chicago.

Yet, there are artists and labels that also hit the pop charts on a few occasions besides the ones you mentioned like House, Future Sound, House Nation, Kool Kat with hits from LnR, "Work It To The Bone," Mark Imperial "The Love I Lost," and Chip E "Time To Jack" and "It's House"... these songs are played very rarely...

There was a time when people started to play the old tracks again but some thought it was too old-sounding. It depends on who you are speaking to.


Traxx: I would agree that Detroit Techno and Chicago House are still the blueprints for most modern 4/4 based music today, but also house music is strongly influenced by elements of the late 1970s soul-and funk-infused disco. House music takes disco's use of a prominent bass drum on every beat and developed a new style by mixing in a heavy electronic synthesizer bass line, electronic drums, electronic effects, funk and pop samples, and reverb- or delay-enhanced vocals.


Traxx: How I was brought up... I didn't know about a relationship between Chicago House and Techno back in the late '80s.

Maybe others did... but I was too crazed on radio and parties.

There was The Warehouse where Frankie played his brand of garage sounds from NY and Philly. There was the Music Box where Ron Hardy played his style of everything, including his edits and tracks from Phuture, Jeanette Thomas, Derrick May, Fingers Inc, and Marshall Jefferson.

In the present, people use the word "techno" for many different things but I don't think they have a clear understanding.

The sound was developed in the houses, garages, and clubs of Chicago and Detroit, and it was produced for local club-goers in the "underground" club scenes, rather than for widespread commercial release.

As a result, the recordings were much more conceptual and longer than the music usually played on commercial radio. It can be relevant today but that depends...


Traxx: Jakbeat is the renaissance of what early producers from Chicago, Detroit, London, New York, Germany, and the world created.

It's a truly separate genre in its own right... the reason is because jakbeat is influenced from not just by techno and house, it derives from elektronic body music, freestyle, disco not disco, punk-goth, synth pop music, minimal wave (meaning rare tapes) and italo...

Our sound cannot be created at random... it's a state of mind and different level of musical consciousness: hypnotic patterns and melodies to push the envelope of comprehensible dance music.

The main problem in music is the will of everybody and especially journalists and professionals to categorize points and put things in boxes.

Once you give a name to a genre -- whatever it is -- you also give content.

Then when you do something that sounds new, people will say that you try to break the borders of that music genre in which you were classified...

But in the end there is no border and there were never any.


Traxx: Everything that I've done is somehow connected to the growth of my life over the experiences of what I've seen and witness in Chicago.

Lots of what I do either by myself or as an alias when I work with my partners is relevant to the beginnings of house and tracks in the '80s... NOT TECHNO!

The style was called "Tracks" meaning beats and keyboards or a 303 or a Sh101.

If you've heard any of my projects then you will understand what I mean: Saturn V -You Mind [alt. version] (Creme Jak); Saturn V -H Sync (Musique); Traxx - Interzone (Musique); Traxx - Identity Crisis (Creme Organization); X2 - Time Elevation Rhythm (Relief); X2 - Barely A Track (Creme Jak); Saturn V -101 Jax (Gigolo); Traxx ¨C Solara (M>O>S).

These are evident examples of production which influenced me from then till now to produce the sound that I hear a lot of people say how they wish they could bring back.

As for today, our sounds are not as appreciated but there is still a longing for it, I believe, because the sound was too important.

In last year of February 2007, I started a project with the head of Creme Organization called "Creme Jak"... this was a joint effort between my family of Nation and The Creme Crew.

We released a series of rare 12 inches to bring back the madness and craziness to the dance scene featuring all of my artists mostly.

It was fun while it lasted -- the label is now defunct as of March 2008.


Traxx: Nation is a dance beyond dance label... giving like minded individuals a chance to experience something new, fresh, and different than what¡¯s available to you at the touch of a button. I put out material that's only analogue... limited edition of 500 pressings each time with No-Repress... No Mp3s.

Style Concept: Very deep, hypnotic, dreamy and conceptual. Epic, descriptive, carefully arranged, attention to details, a bit hidden, not very blatant. In your face!

Plans for the future of the label: a full-length album from Charles Manier who records for Ghostly/Spectral; the long awaited Creep Acid Full-Length Album from JTC (for 2009); D'marc Cantu Ep + The Theme for Nation; The Poetic Painter M release; Traxx (Dirty Criminal) third album for Nation (for 2009).


Traxx: Shanghai is a dream to me... never thought I would have the chance to even see it... especially since the Olympic games were just there and in Beijing.

Musically... to be honest I don't think anyone will even really pay attention... yet, I could be wrong.

Nowadays the dance music scene just makes me upset.

I don't like what a lot of people are playing/producing these days and it's rare to ever get to hear something I actually like, although a few years ago I think the state of things was very exciting...

Plus promoters in the dance scene have their heads up their asses.

Seems like people are afraid to play "unsafe" music -- anything that stirs up darker emotions, or challenges the listener -- anything that might scare the girls out of the club.


Traxx: "Unsafe" music -- anything/everything that stirs up darker emotions and challenges the listener.

There will be lots of material that will played only on this evening: rare tracks from Ron Hardy and Lil Louis that have never surfaced before.

Velodrome if you know of them, rare New Order, some exclusive minimal wave tracks, obscure disco not disco, retro-neo EBM, maybe some punk..

I choose music at random...so that's the best answer I can say.

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