Chicago's Nate Manic has made a habit of giving bad advice to dance music producers across the Midwest and beyond. Since launching the Bad Advice Music imprint in 2007, the DJ/producer/label head has managed to coax top-notch producers into spiraling down toward the dark, dirty trenches of his tech-influenced label. Some of his most recent converts include Derrick Carter, Cheap as Chimps and HeavyFeet, to name a few. Since July 2007, Bad Advice has built its reputation as both a digital and vinyl label with an open-door policy that welcomes a range of...

Parisian DJ/producer Don Rimini is serious when he calls his latest release "a goddamn wedding." Between the filth and froth of his track list, the Kick'n Run EP (Mental Groove/Delicious Gutter) features everything from the chaotic fuzz of "Rave On" to the naughty O-la-la of "Oh Ow." Rimini even followed up the EP with a steroid-induced remix of Young M.C.'s "Bust a Move." During his live sets, Rimini may pull out the predictable card of fidget twitch 'n' glitch, but he still mixes it up with enough ease to create electro pop swells of saw tooth synths...

KiNK's (aka Strahil Velchev) innovation and natural production ability have made him a magnetic force in almost all of dance music's divided factions. Full-on underground house music people, techno heads, hipster blog-housers, fidget bandwagon riders, huge-name disc-jockeying institutions, deep house nerds and jocky douche bags who just came to the party to get drunk and dance with a few girls have all emerged as fans of his music. The Bulgarian-born DJ/live performer has emerged as one of the most...

Ken Christensen keeps his musical secrets closely guarded. Since moving to Chicago from Washington, D.C., in early 2008, the producer and DJ has balanced his time crafting beats, running a record label and opening for high-profile artists like Chicago rapper Common. "Chicago seems to churn out talent in all realms," Christensen said during an interview earlier this year. "[That is] something I have always admired about this city and I am happy to be a part of it now." Not that Christensen needed much of a boost. He began...

The promoters behind the successful Projekt events at Six Degrees (518 N. Water St.) say they didn't spook themselves into shutting down their night too soon. The move to pull the plug on their EDM monthly this coming Halloween weekend simply presented a prime opportunity for the three-man collective to bow out while the monthly still attracts solid attendance. "As Projekt promoters, we don't do shows just to do them-we're too old and not interested in that these days," says co-promoter Brad Valerine, who organized the night with Justin Grall and Nate York...

The last time I heard Donald Glaude I was at Mighty, a San Francisco venue tucked away in the shaded alleys of the Mission District. The year was 2006; it was late September and I had traveled to the Bay Area alone to dance away the weekend at the U.S. version of The Love Parade.

Midwest Dance label Communiqué Records has come a long way since the early 90's. Founded by the Midwest's own DJ legend ESP Woody McBride, the label has been home to underground dance giants including Josh Wink, Derrick Carter, Mystic Bill and DJ Hyperactive. More than 15 years later, the imprint has evolved with the times, launching its new Communiquemusic.com site that incorporates a fresh interface with direct sales links. Today, the label that built its reputation on...

Before he was a DJ, Bad Boy Bill was another just Windy City house fan, mixing records in his bedroom at 4 a.m. and priming for a shot on the decks. Like many players of the day, Bill let his beats speak for themselves-until they piqued the legendary ear of Farley "Jackmaster" Funk of WBMX's Hot Mix Five team. While Funk gave him his first radio broadcast, the rest of Chicago would soon go on to embrace big room sound with every nasty rub of vinyl. From his rise as a turntablist in the late 1980s to the launch of his own . . .

Cuban producer Maetrik will be passing around plenty of "Space Chronic" this coming weekend. The latest EP on Claude VonStroke's new Mothership Music label has the backing of one of the Bay area's most exciting techno and tech-house producers. Maetrik's Aug. 22 Space Chronic record release party at San Francisco's seminal party palace, The Endup, solidified his dark, seductive sound as a primal force on one of electronic music's hottest scenes. Now a resident of Dallas, Texas . . .

In a dance-music age when how much an artist tours is almost always synonymous with how many records they've produced, there are a rare (and lucky) few who are busy trotting the globe based purely on their merits as disc jockeys. Mark Farina is one such anomaly, as is his female counterpart, the legendary dance floor damager DJ Heather. It may be her incredibly humble and inviting demeanor when interacting with fans, or her no-nonsense-no-frills personality behind the decks that keeps the punters coming back again and again, but more likely than anything, it's the fact that everyone who catches a set from Heather live-from the uninitiated dabbler to the seasoned house music vet-can always agree that "she destroyed it . . .