The Chicago House scene spawned many new artists, most of them former DJs, and forged a new sound that evolved into different house music variations over the years. A classic example of the classic Chicago House sound was one of my personal favorites - "Jack Your Body" by Steve "Silk" Hurley. Though the jury is out on what exactly it means to "jack" your body, you can't ignore the addictive nature of the 1987 classic to make you move your body.
One of the driving forces in early hip hop and Electrofunk was DJ / producer Arther Baker. Starting as a club DJ in the early 70s, he began experimenting with the new electronic sounds of the day and began producing remixes on analog tape. Long before digital took over, to create a quality mix required skill and patience since most of what you were doing was pretty much live. You needed mad skillz back in the day not like these days were software downloaded for free can create a remix on a whim. Though you may not have heard of him, you certainly have heard his work since his collaborations include artists like Afrika Bambaataa and the Soul Sonic Force, Pet Shop Boys, Cyndi Lauper, Hall and Oats, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie, ABC, Nenah Cherry and New Order to name a few. He was actually responsible for taking an obscure, instrumental piece from a 1984 New Order album "Lies, Power and Corruption" and churning it into the now classic Blue Monday. His style was easil...
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