Jesse Saunders and Vince Lawrence are among the interviewees featured in the 90-minute film A new documentary digging into the queer Black origins of house premiered at Sundance Film Festival last month. Directed by filmmaker Elegance Bratton, Move Ya Body: The Birth Of House looks at the infamous 1979 Disco Demolition night and its bearing on the [...]
Four decades on from a record that changed the world of dance music forever, Meena Sears speaks to house music scholars, including Jesse Saunders, and traces the evolution of the culture 2024 marks 40 years since the release of Jesse Saunders’ seminal track ‘On & On’. While there is some debate around it, ‘On & On’ is widely considered [...]
Known as The Godfather of House Music, Frankie Knuckles helped revolutionize electronic music in the '80s. - The Frankie Knuckles Foundation If the grandeur of disco reigned supreme in the '70s, the following decade belonged to the homespun productions of rogue DJs. "In the '80s, you got the introduction of relatively affordable music-making equipment," says World [...]
Desiree Taylor, 47, from Baltimore, came to Chicago for the first time with eight friends who go to house music festivals every year for the “funkier” and “more soulful” approach of house music. The Chosen Few picnic got off to a rainy start Saturday, but the rain couldn’t dampen the good vibes that brought thousands [...]
Chicagoans rarely suffer from a shortage of music festivals, but few such events make me feel like I’m participating in the city’s cultural fabric like the Chosen Few Picnic. The long-running house-music celebration began informally in 1990, and its roots extend even further back. Wayne Williams founded the Chosen Few DJ collective in 1977 [...]
By Asiya Ali For this Black History Month US and LGBT History Month, we're celebrating the rich roots of house music and the Black and Queer DJs who helped create it. There's a strong impression that House music has become synonymous with whiteness. This is obviously due to the genre being spearheaded by mostly white, [...]
MITCH DODGE. FEBRUARY 12, 2023 Jesse Saunders · Jesse Saunders – MLK I Have A Dream Mix With Black history month upon us, it was a must we reflected and educated ourselves on a very important subject in particular, Black history in House Music. House music was created by various DJ’s and producers in the mid-80’s from [...]
Author : 6AM February 10, 2023 Celebrating Black History Month With House & Techno The contribution of Black artists in house and techno are undeniable and pervasive. In fact, the bedrock of electronic music owes much of its legacy to Black artists. From Chicago and Detroit, the cities that started it all, its local pioneers wove dance music culture’s fabric that now stretches [...]
Gene Farris/Facebook These seminal producers played instrumental roles in developing the early sounds of electronic music and bringing it to the masses. RACHEL KUPFER FEB 1, 2021 More than 40 years ago in Chicago's underground club scene, the foundational wave of modern dance music was just starting to hit its stride. It was the [...]
A trip through the timeline of dance music HARRISON WILLIAMS, 21 FEBRUARY 2017 Dance music was built on love, unity, respect, and inclusivity. Mixmag is celebrating Black History Month by honoring electronic music's most cherished and revered artists who embraced these founding values. Last week we showcased the women who shaped dance music and [...]
