“The only reason I left [Chicago] to go back to New York in the first place is because I felt I had done everything that I could do here,†Frankie Knuckles told Terry Martin, editor of the Chicago house fanzine Crossfade, in 1993. “And I hate the fact that in Chicago, so many people are stuck in a time warp.†But while the late Godfather of House was holding his residency at New York’s Sound Factory Bar, back in Chicago, a younger generation of DJs and producers were picking up the baton, proving by their actions that Knuckles’s “time warp†claims were wide off the mark.
In fact, it was precisely because prominent figures like Knuckles had relocated that a younger generation was able to thrive in the first place. “Between 1990 and ’94, a lot of Chicago producers actually moved out of Chicago,†DJ Sneak told the Chicago Reader in an interview in 2012. “[They] went to Europe, went to New York, all these places, and were already spreading the word even harder. So in ’93, ’94, ’95, all these younger producers were like, ‘Now is the time.’†And while these producers were raised on the original Chicago house of the mid-to-late ‘80s, the music they made was anything but stuck in the past. With access to more affordable samplers, drum machines, and keyboards, Chicago’s second wave created tracks as identifiable to the mid-’90s as cuts on Trax and DJ International were to the ‘80s, and the movement coalesced at clubs across Chicago, like Foxy’s, Shelter, and Smartbar.
As with all homegrown music scenes, record shops were central to Chicago’s second wave. One of the city’s longest-running stores was Gramaphone Records, where current owner Michael Serafini worked alongside two future legends of Chicago’s second wave: DJ Sneak and Derrick Carter. Equally important as the clubs, Gramaphone became a vital testing ground for the early demos of these young producers.
Since then, Chicago house has continued to evolve—from the ghetto house offspring of the juke/footwork scene of the early ‘00s to Shaun J Wright and Alinka’s label Twirl, which is upholding Chicago’s queer house heritage today. The music of the mid-’90s continues to inspire a new generation. Here are just a few key releases from the second wave of Chicago house.
Cajmere
“Brighter Days†feat. Dajae
Cajmere’s first productions were released on Clubhouse Records, an unsung Chicago house label that was run by producers Hula & K. Fingers. Among those early 12-inches was “Keep Movin,†which featured a vocalist working under the name Nané. Eventually changing her moniker to Dajae, Karen Gordon joined Cajmere again for the record that launched Cajual Records. For many people, “Brighter Days†is the crowning moment of Chicago’s second wave and a foundation record of the deeper end of Cajual. It’s a joyous slice of gospel house, offering a message of hope over much-imitated drum rhythms and organ stabs. Dajae was one of the pre-eminent voices of Chicago house, earning the title “Queen of Cajual†by releasing a long string of 12-inches for the label, all of them produced by Cajmere.
Cajmere
“Percolatorâ€
Arguably the most important figure in Chicago’s second wave, Curtis Jones first debuted under the name Cajmere with The Underground Goodies 12-inches on Clubhouse Records in 1991. Cajmere’s legendary—and hugely influential—â€Percolator†appeared on the third EP in the Goodies series. Initially named “Coffee Pot,†it reworked a squelchy synth hook Cajmere had first used on the “Straight Up Drugs Mix†of “Keep Movin.†With that liquid synth now accompanied by jagged snares and minimal 808 and 909 drum machines—plus Curtis Jones’s nagging vocal hook, “It’s time for the percolatorâ€â€”â€Percolator†became a foundational record in the Ghetto house scene, and the template for juke and footwork. Cajual provided a vital platform for both Cajmere as well as emerging artists like Glenn Underground (then working under the name GU), DJ Sneak, and Gemini. As Cajmere explained to Chicago’s 5mag back in 2012: “Chicago labels had such a negative reputation from the record deals given to artists. We wanted to be fair and have the label stand for that as well as build a place where artists could grow and develop.â€
Boo Williams
Home Town Chicago
Curtis Jones initially set up his label Relief—a subsidiary of Cajual—as a platform for his neon-haired, acid-alien alter ego Green Velvet. But it soon became home to the early releases by future legends of the second wave, including Glenn Underground, DJ Sneak, Paul Johnson, Gemini, and Boo Williams. Mentored by Glenn Underground, Williams released a series of EPs on Relief in 1993 and 1994 including A New Beginning and Lost In Time that, like many 12-inches on the label, bridged the gap between house and techno. After those early EPs, Williams dropped what would be the first full-length to be released on Relief. A tribute to the city he called home, it’s the perfect introduction to one of house music’s most versatile producers, veering from raw, jacking house to melodic techno—all colored by his characteristic analog synths.
Cajmere
“Dream States†feat. Derrick Carter
After joining the staff of Gramaphone Records, Derrick Carter (who had previously worked at Importes, etc.) made his name as a DJ at the few Chicago venues that were still open to house as hip-hop was coming to prominence. This included Shelter, Foxy’s, and Smartbar—where he still spins today. Carter’s first productions dropped in the late ‘80s, but he really found his sound on deep and fierce Chicago house records like “Dream States†from 1991’s Dreaming EP. Co-written with producer Cajmere, “Dream States†appeared on Carter’s The Many Shades of Cajual from 1996, that is well worth tracking down for its unreleased mixes.
Chris Nazuka
Experience
Derrick Carter’s regular production and writing partner through the ‘90s was Chris Nazuka—also of Symbols & Instrumentals—with whom he worked under the name Red Nail and Red Nail Kidz. After moving to London, Carter founded the Classic Music Company with Luke Solomon. The label provided a vital link between the UK and Chicago during the second wave, releasing pivotal records like DJ Sneak’s disco house anthem “You Can’t Hide from Your Bud†and Gemini’s “In My Head,†alongside many Carter and Solomon projects. Classic also dropped this lesser-known Red Nail Kidz-produced two-track EP as a limited release in 1997, revived when the label was reborn in 2011.
Gemini
The Beginning
DJs in the UK became big champions of the new sounds coming from Chicago in the mid-’90s. At clubs like Luke Solomon and Kenny Hawkes’ Space in London, Bugged Out in Manchester, and Back to Basics in Leeds, the more wigged-out end of Chicago house found a sweaty and hedonistic home. One of those second-wave producers who was revered in the UK was Gemini, aka Spencer Kincy. Something of a cult figure whose mystery was matched by his genius, Gemini was there at the start of Relief Records, dropping tracks like the aptly named “The Beginning,†the opening track of his 1994 Relief Records EP. As Chicago house magazine 5mag wrote, “As gritty, as grimy, as jarring and noisy as his productions could be, he could also make them sing. Gentle, almost delicate Deep House tracks.†This is the perfect place to start exploring his many releases on labels like Peacefrog in the UK, and Chicago’s famous Guidance Recordings.
Glenn Underground
Atmosfear
Boo Williams’s mentor had himself learned to DJ from an uncle who also taught him production. In addition to being schooled in-house, Glenn Underground was also deep into jazz, fusion, and disco from an early age, and no other second-wave producer straddled the genres quite like him. As our profile of Glenn Underground explained, “his skill at incorporating live instrumentation and ‘70s jazz fusion influences alongside programmed beats is virtually unparalleled.†Working under the moniker GU, he dropped a raft of releases in the mid-’90s on both Relief and Cajual while also setting up his long-running project Strictly Jazz Unit. Released on Peacefrog label in 1996, as the UK interest in the second wave peaked, the aptly titled Atmosfear is a great entry point into his vast catalog, crossing from deeper-than-deep jazz house to ambient techno.
Paul Johnson
Feel The Music
2 x Vinyl LP
Raised on the music of the Hot Mix 5 and inspired by DJ Ron Hardy at the Music Box, the ex-breakdancer Paul Johnson began producing after being paralyzed from the waist down when he was struck by a bullet in 1987. Following a trajectory similar to his friend Glenn Underground, Johnson was releasing records on labels like Relief, Cajual, and Warehouse before being picked up by Peacefrog. He was also a pioneering producer of ghetto house, releasing a host of 12-inches for the label Dance Mania alongside the likes of DJ Funk and DJ Deeon. But his Peacefrog album of 1996 was firmly rooted in the deep and soulful side of Chicago house, with uplifting second-wave classics like “A Little Suntin Suntin†and the jazz house of “Summer Heat.†Johnson passed away in 2021 after contracting Covid-19 and is warmly remembered as a mentor to young Chicago producers.
Ron Trent
Word, Sound & Power
Vinyl LP
Ron Trent grew up listening to jazz and started out as a percussionist before shifting to DJing in 1982. He made “Altered States†when he was just 17, with the drum machines and small keyboard he bought in the mid-’80s. Released on acid house hero Armando’s Warehouse Records in 1990, it became a global hit in both house and techno circles. Trent eventually moved into label ownership, launching Prescription Records with his production partner Chez Damier and inking a distribution deal with Cajual Records. As Trent explained in the liners for this 2017 anthology, “We had the idea to take a certain level of fidelity and bring that fidelity to what people call tracks—tracks being drum-orientated Chicago rhythm tracks with a minimalistic melody. We were playing with that idea, expounding a point of that minimalistic aspect and making it more complex.†This is as deep as deep house gets.
