SXSWORLD

Chicago Music Thrives on Being Headstrong and Homegrown by Patrick Sisson trum of the Windy City, it is a sense of independence, cross-pollination and collaboration between artists. "The scene is every genre under the sun," says Nan Warshaw, co-founder and co-owner of Bloodshot, a local label focused on alternative country and modern American roots music. "Chicago is SXSW year-round. There's an openness and willingness to experience different combos of sound." Warshaw points to one of her artists, multi-disciplinary firebrand E ncapsulating the music scene of any large city, much less one with the eclecticism and history of Chicago, is a fool's errand. But if there is any unifying theme running across the sonic spec- Jon Langford, as a prime example. But she also feels there is plenty worth listening to in Chicago, from the retro-soul of J.C. Brooks and the Uptown sound to White Mystery (a sibling duo of influential garage rockers Miss Alex and Francis White). According to Matt Rucins, a talent buyer at local rock clubs Schubas and Lincoln Hall, there is a trend in local Chicago music towards spacey, beat-oriented, Animal Collective-style music (he points to acts like Gemini Club, Netherfriends and Yawn) as well as indie folk. He points to the emergence of Whistler Records, a label started by a local cocktail bar/venue that has released music by mash-up duo Hood Internet and In Tall Buildings, and the streak of amazing garage rock being put out by Hozac Records, as more evidence of the city's strong music infrastructure, one that has always been buoyed by strong local indie labels like Thrill Jockey. Another established element of Chicago's unique musical culture is the fertile jazz and improvised music scene, which is showcased at venues such as the Hungry Brain, Hideout and Empty Bottle and promoted by organizations like Umbrella Music. Regular col- laborations between local and European performers have been more of an expectation than an exception, and recent releases from art- ists like vibraphonist and composer Jason Adasiewicz (whose Sun Rooms release made the 2010 Village Voice Jazz Critic's Poll), and People, Places and Things, a trio that includes drummer Mike Reed, have been well received and serve as examples of the city's progressive sound. "With jazz in the old days, you'd get into somebody's band, then get your own thing happening and move up the ladder, so to speak," says Reed. "You don't really have that here. You have to do your own thing." Hip-hop in Chicago has its share of nationally known quantities such as Kanye West, Twista, Lupe Fiasco and Common. But according to Andrew Barber, who runs the Chicago-centric blog Fake Shore Drive, it is a little tougher for artists in Chicago because there has not been a citywide stylistic movement similar to the ones in places like Memphis, Houston and New Orleans. But that splintered scene just means there is more individuality and personality, and as artists like Kid Sister, the Cool Kids and Million Dollar Mano have moved on to bigger things, others have stepped in, including the L.E.P. Bogus Boys, whose mixtape was heralded by MTV as one of the best of 2010; Mikkey Halsted, a former Kanye protégé and Cash Money signee; and Rockie Fresh. One of Chicago's most lasting contributions to music has been house, the propulsive four-on-the-floor club music that is an inte- gral part of modern music's DNA. Over the last decade, the style 54 SXSW ORLD / F EBRUAR Y 2011 Chicago's popular exports at SXSW 2010. Above: Kid Sister performs with Flosstradamus. Below: The Cool Kids. has evolved within city limits into juke and footwork, two up-tempo strains of dance music beginning to bubble up and break out. "Juke became a name for ghetto house in the late '90s when the music got faster, but it's a way to describe a good party, as in 'This party is juking,'" says Dave Quam, a local DJ and writer who covers juke and footwork. Clocking in at 150-160 beats per minute, juke and footwork (designed as the soundtrack to a kinetic form of dancing) have exploded, with a constant stream of new tracks from scene heavy- weights like DJ Rashad, DJ Nate and DJ Spin fueling epic dance battles. Expect a lot more juke releases in the early part of 2011, including tracks from local labels like Loose Squares, as well as the second volume of the Bangs & Works compilation on forward- thinking British label Planet Mu. Like much of the musical output of Chicago, these styles are prime examples of locals giving established styles a singular spin. n Stay tuned to sxsw.com/music for artist and showcase information, as well as panel and speaker schedules. SANTIAGO FORERO MICHAEL ANTARES

• Cover