The ghosts of Chicago’s past as house music’s birthplace cast long shadows over the Windy City, focusing many minds on what once happened here instead of what’s to come. Hakim Murphy is one of few newer Chicago producers whose many talents and ambitions shine through historical preoccupations. The Chicago native began his musical career back in 1996 by DJing around town while boning up on the fundamentals of production, opting to refine his skills until 2005 rather than rush to release. Listening to his records for Planet Detroit, Metamorphic Recordings and his own Machining Dreams and Synapsis Records labels, it’s clear this was time well spent. The rawness of his tracks barely belie the sophistication and certainty in his songwriting that’s much more than a new take on old Chicago house. Murphy’s ear for talent should not go unmentioned either, having scooped up tracks from relative unknowns like Avondale Music Society, Mauser and G. Marcell that are too good to remain unsung. He was kind enough to join me for a chat about his origins, inspirations, and future plans, and has also contributed LWE’s 60th exclusive podcast, more than an hour of sweat-inducing house and techno marbled with exceptional unreleased material from his labels.

LWE Podcast 60: Hakim Murphy (74:24)

Tracklist

01. Mauser, “Blackman” [Synapsis Records]
02. Harmony Funk, “Can’t Let you Go” (Ovatow Reshape)
[Clone Jack For Daze Series]
03. Daryl Cura, “Waiting Room” [Eargasmic Recordings]
04. Kyle Hall, “Dances With A Sun Goddess” [Wild Oats]
05. Floating Points, “Shark Chase” [Eglo Records]
06. Solid Gold Playaz, “Black Music” [DNH Recordings]
07. M. Pittman, “Ease The Pain” [Fit]
08. Obsolete Music Technology, “Drum Relapse” [Machining Dreams]
09. Avondale Music Society, “What Is” (War is Peace Mix) [Synapsis Records*]
10. Jus Ed, “I’m Comin’” (Aybee Remix) [Underground Quality]
11. Chicago Skyway, “Purgatory” [Eargasmic Digital]
12. Hakim Murphy, “Magda C2″ [Synapsis Records]
13. DJ Qu, “Circuit” [Strength Music]
14. Tyree Cooper, “T.C.X.” [Cosmic Records]
15. The PJ Project, “Nice-N-Fast” [Power Records]
16. Space Dimension Controller, “J2COTUS” (Kyle Hall’s I’m Only Breathing Remix) [Royal Oak]
17. Franck Roger, “Re-Scape” [Planet E, Guilty Pleasures]
18. Franco Cangelli, “Search More” [Machining Dreams]
19. Intrinsic, “Dream Express” [Emphasis Recordings]
20. Chicago Skyway & DCook, “Cortex” [white*]
21. Obsolete Music Technology, “Latency” [Machining Dreams*]
22. Hakim Murphy, “Essential” [Synapsis Records*]
23. Hakim Muprhy, “Rebcubx” [Machining Dreams]
24. Hakim Murphy, “EMPB” [Synapsis Records*]
* denotes tracks which, as of the time of publishing, are unreleased

The best I can tell, you started DJing in 1996 and your first record came out in 2005. I’m curious when during the intervening years you started doing production
and when you decided to release your music?

Hakim Murphy: I started working on my productions with Fast Eddie. He had an MPC and a keyboard, and he taught me how to use them. Then I bought an MPC and practiced for a long time; it took me until 2005 to get good enough to put out a record.

But you actually started in ’96?

Yeah.

I imagine, then, you’re pretty strict on quality control — you weren’t about to just release anything.

I won’t release just anything, but usually when I make something I want to release it these days. I’ve got some old tracks I might release some day. Maybe I’d rework it now, add a little bit more to it. Either way I’d add more — it’s always missing something. Now I’ve got the skills to make it fuller.

What told you in 2005 that you were ready to start releasing stuff?

Well when I started making tracks that, subconsciously, I started repeating in my head, that’s when I knew. That’s actually my test to see if something’s good or not. If something’s looping in my head subconsciously, that’s something I like.

You’ve been making music for years now but it seems that in the last 12 months or so your profile has blown up a bit. What’s that been like for you?

I don’t really see a difference. I just do what I do, I do it for fun. I want to get to Europe some day to play, but apparently I’m going to have to pay for it myself. Once I get over there I can play parties, but getting over there…. Anyway, that’s something I’m looking forward to.

You’ve listed hip-hop, R&B and jazz among your influences, but many of your tracks tend to be a bit more spare, a bit more linear, more austere. How do those other musical styles inform the way you write your tracks?

The first things I used to DJ were ghetto house tracks, and those have always been more minimal. One day when I was a freshman this dude gave me a tape of Cajmere, Larry Heard and stuff, and it was like all that put into one [mix] with ghetto tracks like by DJ Funk. That was more like the tracks I was making at first. And later, when I went to school, I started learning how to play chords. So basically I do a little chord progression usually, using jazz principles — it’s all subtle. It’s also in the movement of the drums, it’s subtle and almost subliminal how it moves forward.

So we won’t find any big vocals or MCs over your stuff any time soon.

Nah; maybe one day, but not now. I need to get my studio better before I start recording people.

What’s your studio like now?

My studio today is Reason and Cubase together, and then I mix it down and add a VST or my Korg Prophecy. I also have a Roland SB-60 and an MPC, but I don’t use those as much. I had a Micro Korg for a while but that was my friend’s, so I made a couple tracks with that. But usually the two softwares and then I add one or two hardwares, which are gonna expand my sound.

What would you most want to add to your set-up?

I would probably get a better sound card with at least four ins and outs, and probably a MIDI box and a mixing board so I could record two things simultaneously.

I know you’re a big fan of anime, and I wondered if the visuals and soundtracks of those films ever inspires your own productions?

Maybe not the soundtracks but definitely the visuals. I like the Japanese style of stories, they’re very thought provoking. Usually when I start something I think about a concept, so after reading a Naruto comic or watching a cartoon, it makes an emotional feeling for me. I guess I’ve gotten more sensitive over the years to different things. For instance, the last few tracks I’ve made have been like, happy chords and all nice sounding. But now I think I’m going to change that and make some more grimy stuff.

Outside of music and media, what inspires the moods and movements in your music?

Relationships. How I feel. Working as a librarian is cool so I usually have good feelings, so that’s good. But I’ve been in a rut for the last four months with music, so just now I got back into making music. My sound card was broken and I was all pissed off and sad, and I didn’t do too much. It came back and now I’m back to doing like four or five tracks. It usually goes in spurts of like four or five tracks a month and then I won’t do anything for like two months. So yeah, I think it’s just my relationships, so whatever else is going on in my life.

In addition to being a librarian you run both the Synapsis Records and Machining Dreams labels. Does the librarian mindset of archiving the past and documenting what’s going on around you, if that ever plays into how you run your labels?

Being a librarian helps me organize everything in general. I organize all my Reason folders if I need to find something. So that’s one thing about my librarianship. But as far as the concept of the labels, Synapsis was me and Inbum Cho, and one day we decided we were going to do a record. Because I worked at Groove, we had distribution. So we put the money together and we did it and moved forward from there.

Is the label still a joint effort now?

Well, I kind of took it over. Synapsis was me and Inbum, and he does the artwork for most of them. Machining Dreams is just me. We work together, though.

What’s the difference between the two for you, besides how they started?

Yeah. They’re both for whatever, but Synapsis has more colorful and professional artwork. Machining Dreams is underground, hand stamped. Sometimes you might know who it is, you might not and have to go on the Internet to find out. I tried promoting it but that’s what it is — one of the underground labels you might discover one day.

How did you meet Inbum?

That’s a good question. I always forget. It was in the ’90s. When I started DJing there saw this guy named Flip who said, ‘You should meet my friend, Inbum. He’s totally underground, you would dig it.’ One day I went to a party he was throwing on Milwaukee at a place called the Big Horse Lounge, which had a Mexican place in the front and they used to throw parties in the back. So that’s how we met, and then I started going over to his house and listening to music — I give him music, he gives me music, playing records and making mixes at his house. He gave me some tracks a long, long time ago. The first thing he did was on a Mark Farina compilation, so that’s how he got, not his start in making music but his start being out there.

People have a fairly specific set of sounds in mind when they think of Chicago house. Growing up with access to the Chicago scene it’s inevitable that you’ve been influenced by Chicago house. Do you think much about how much you want to feature that in your own music?

I just do what I want to do. It’s like, everyone started out making jacking tracks, usually, but then all of a sudden they start changing into Afro-Carribbean or Latin jazz. All that was there, you had from disco to house, everything. So anything you can make — basically if you from Chicago and you making music, then you making Chicago music. That’s how I feel about it.

What helps you to get out of creative ruts?

Usually I can make acid tracks like all day, but what I do with Reason is switch up the instrument combinations I use and I’ll start something different. Usually I play a chord progression, lay down a bass line, and then I do drums. Sometimes I’ll build a drum loop first, live, and then I go back and edit, but lately I place the instruments out first. That helps, that switches it up. Plus if I add the Korg ER1, the synth, that will be a different sound, too. Using the outboard gear into the software, it will definitely change up your sound. Or, I don’t use Ableton Live, I just learned how to use it the other day, but you make a track in Reason, then next time making a track in Logic, then next time making a track in Live. That way you won’t get burnt out and your sound will vary because the machines do.

What’s coming up from you and from your labels?

Right now I’ve got Franco Cangelli’s Embrace EP, that’s coming out. And once I get back the money from those two, the two Machining Dreams releases, I’ll start with Obsolete Music Technology, that’s Steven Tang who just had a record on Aesthetic Audio. And then it’s going to be me or one of my friends on Machining Dreams. On Synapsis, a whole release from Avondale Music Society and maybe a release from me.

LWE Podcast 60: Hakim Murphy (74:24)

Chicago, have we got a treat for you: On Thursday, April 22nd, Little White Earbuds, Abstract Science and Fresh Kid will welcome supreme DJ, producer and Hotflush impresario Alex Incyde for the latest edition of Subfix at Smart Bar. With outstanding support from Timid, Jeff Pietro and Olin, this is a night of bass music to be felt and remembered. It goes down at Smart Bar (3730 N Clark Ave) from 10pm-4am and costs $8 or $5 if you sign up for Smart Bar’s text message alerts. Hope to see you there!

One of the positive aspects of living in a reissue culture is that people who didn’t get their props first time round do so on the rebound. Merwyn Sanders and Eric Lewis are two such guys. They released only three records in their short-lived career, but those first two (under the names M.E. and Virgo Four, released on Chicago’s legendary Trax label), were compiled into their eponymous album Virgo. Not to be confused with the other Virgo, the house supergroup of Adonis, Marshall Jefferson and Vince Lawrence, the album is regularly described as “the greatest house album you’ve never heard.” You can, however, knock the “n” off that description now with Rush Hour’s re-release of the album, as part of their Trax reissue program. Seminal tracks from the album, such as “In A Vision” and “Take Me Higher,” have been included on compilations such as Warp 10+1 Influences or Soul Jazz’s Acid: Can U Jack? but the CD version of the album still commands hefty prices on the second-hand market. Pressed for the first time on DJ friendly double vinyl (the original was on a single LP), Rush Hour’s reissue means Virgo‘s dreamy and deeply emotional music has never sounded so good. It also means that the limelight is now shone on Merwyn and Eric, two humble men who freely admit in the liner notes to this edition that their lack of profile in the history of house music is due to the fact that they were “horrible at networking.” They were kind enough to give us their thoughts on the reissue, how a dog was responsible for their record deal, and why their school discos were considerably cooler than yours. (Our thanks to Koko Sorger and Clara Prettenhofer at Zero” and Christiaan Macdonald at Rush Hour for making this interview a reality.)

First things first. How did M.E./Virgo Four start? How and where did you meet, and at what point did you decide to start making music?

Merwyn Sanders: Well, we were grammar school buddies along with a couple of other guys in around third or fourth grade. We started a lil’ band together called Quadrophonics: Eric on guitar, Calvin on bass, Edgwick on guitar and me on drums.

Eric Lewis: Merl and I continued into high school. In the early 80′s we were introduced to dance/house music. We listened to it so often we figured we could create it ourselves. We bought a few pieces of equipment and started to record onto a Tascam four track.

Who were your influences early on? Tracks like “In A Vision” and “Do You Know Who You Are?” sound very unique (still). Who did you view as your contemporaries, or peers?

E: Our influences were vast. From Kraftwerk to Parliament, we enjoyed all types of music. Our sound is obviously unique to us. We never tried to copy anyone for the sake of selling albums, we purposely stayed true to ourselves. Our philosophy was to express ourselves through the music, to let people hear how we felt at the time. We always wanted people to, not just hear the music but to feel the music. In a sense escape through the music, hence the space you may hear in our songs. We always felt we were a little different then the average Southside kids and I think that distance comes out in our music.

M: I guess the peers we thought were really cool were Fingers [Larry Heard] and Jamie Principle.

What were you producing music on, in terms of drum machines, synths etc?

M: Over a period of time, we had the Roland 505 drum machine, an Alesis HR 606 or somethin’ like that, and a Linn drum. The first keyboard was this old Moog Eric got that was very old school when we didn’t even use the term old school. Then we got the Roland Juno keyboards, we had the 1 and 2, and that’s what most of the Trax stuff was done on.

E: We greatly altered the sounds on the Juno. It’s a great board.

Initially Larry Sherman at Trax rejected your songs; why do you think he changed his mind a few years later?

M: I think at the time he also didn’t have any thing else goin’ on, nothin’ else to release, so in a sense, our timing was just better the second time around. When we first came to him he had really hot records, so he didn’t really need anybody new and he wasn’t gonna take a chance.

E: We worked on/improved a few things and maybe we gave him better songs.

M: He said he signed us the second time around because besides liking what we had, his dog Rowdy like us.

E: We heard so many negative things about Larry that we didn’t want to give him what we considered our better songs. Even the songs that were released were not our best stuff. We would like to soon release the songs we really enjoyed.

How did the Trax deal work?

E: Great question. We got “advances” on record sales. I’m sure it didn’t work to our advantage, but Larry would help us out financially.

I understand you recorded a lot of music in other styles aside from house music. Why do you think the house stuff was picked up by labels, and the more R&B or funk-influenced stuff wasn’t?

E: During that time Chicago was all about house. It wasn’t just a style of music, it was a culture. Also, we didn’t really push our other type of music.

M: We never tried to or approached record labels back then for any of the R&B or other stuff. Only thing I can think of is that we saw what other people were going through to try to get a deal with some label, and we just wasn’t about to do all of that. We really just enjoyed doin’ the music, even just for ourselves. I think we figured maybe one day somethin’ would happen.

Which clubs were you frequenting in Chicago around that time? Were you inspired by the Warehouse, Ron Hardy etc, or were you hanging out elsewhere?

E: At first we frequented Mendel Catholic H.S. parties, where I attended. This was the hub of house music. Anyone that went to parties went to Mendel.

M: Mendel parties probably the most. A lot of the parties if not most we got in free, and would get a ride home by one of Eric’s teachers.

E: Later we began to go the Box, where Ron Hardy was the DJ. That was an experience. And yes we were inspired by some of the things Ron would do with music. We thought he was great. Later we got to know him, personally. He was a nice guy.

Were you DJing at any of these spots, or were you more interested in producing music?

M: I would DJ a lot. Makin’ tapes for friends etc., but not at any of the clubs or anything. Yeah, the producing is what Eric and I was more interested in doing.

Did you ever talk to Marshall Jefferson and co. about their Virgo project?

M: No. I have never talked to Marshall or any of those guys, except Adonis.

The self-titled album is regularly called the “greatest house album ever made.” Why has it never been reissued before, and how did the hook-up with Rush Hour happen?

E: Wow! The “greatest house album ever made”? What a compliment, for that to even be suggested. Trax doesn’t exist anymore thus reissues are apparently difficult. Christiaan Macdonald from Rush Hour contacted Merl through Facebook and we built a relationship from there.

Your music didn’t really achieve the commercial success that others enjoyed — why do you think this is?

E: I’m not sure. We didn’t sound like everyone else at the time. We thought it was a good representation of who we were at the time. Also it wasn’t promoted at all, but again I’m not sure. After a while, we just figured the music had run its course.

M: I think it’s because you’re hearin’ what was comin’ out of us emotionally, even though it was very simple. Sometimes when music comes from that, it’s not successful in that sense. We weren’t tryin’ to make a big club hit, you’re simply hearin’ what was comin’ out of us.

Do you keep tabs on the current house music scene? Is there anybody that excites you, particularly in Chicago?

M: Only keepin’ up a lil’. Nobody I can think of to mention actually. I should though, geesh!

E: I really enjoy house/dance music but I could not tell you the name of any artists.

What are your day jobs? I understand Merwyn has been doing some theatrical set design stuff, and Eric, you’re a maths teacher?

E: That’s correct, Merl is designing sets and shows but I am currently an Assistant Principal at a middle school.

M: I’ve done everything from playing blues legend Robert Johnson in a play to being one of the scenic artist for huge opera sets.

You’re still making music together — do you have any plans to release stuff soon?

E: We are always making music, together and separately. Yes, we would love to release some of the old stuff. The problem is that we have over 200 hours of music to listen to. We have tapes and tapes. It’s fun to listen to, but taxing as well.

M: We really plan on releasin’ some new material as soon as we can. Get a website goin’ and anything else we can think to do!

Chicago, we’ll bring the music if you bring the dance. James Kartsaklis, Thunderous Olympian and LWE editor-in-chief, Steve Mizek, will be rocking our own Polish paradise, Cafe Lura (3184 N Milwaukee), this Thursday from 9pm until 2am. It’s only $5 to get in; $5 Redbull/vodkas, $4 Okocim bottles and $3 domestic biers. Hope to see you there!

Chicago’s City Council votes this Wednesday, May 14th on a proposed ordinance which would require promoters of live events to hold a promoter’s license. The city asserts the ordinance is a five years too late response to the stampede which killed 21 people at the nightclub, E2, holding promoters accountable for their events and making sure they have the insurance in the event of any incidents.

The actual text of the ordinance

But the city’s logic is tragically flawed. The ordinance would require already established clubs including Sonotheque, the Empty Bottle, Schubas, the Hideout, Subterranean and many others to purchase the licenses (which cost upwards of $2,000) and $300,000 worth of insurance. The ordinance also applies to everyday folks who want to put on an event at a venue with a capacity smaller than 1,000, as well. That means all the small promoters who book the various house/techno nights around Chicago will also have to pony up to play.

Background and details of the ordinance

Instead of preventing more disasters like E2, this will force more promoters underground and extort promoters who feel they have no choice but to stay legit. It will also make it more expensive to go to venues as promoters have no choice but to pass on the cost of licenses and insurance to audiences. Chicago is notorious for its high taxes and politicians who bankroll lavish wages and endless patronage with their constituents’ cash and this is just one more example. However, this one hits a lot closer to home, threatening to ruin any semblance of a techno/house scene this city has.

DeRogatis’ interview with a City Council sponsor of the ordinance

If you value live music in Chicago of any sort, please take the time to contact your alderman to strongly encourage them to vote against the ordinance. The City Council is rushing this bill through in hopes promoters and enthusiasts won’t have time to organize an opposition. I’ve provided some resources below to help you to find your alderman and be informed about the issue. My thanks to Chicago Sun Times columnist Jim DeRogatis for bringing this pressing issue into the spotlight.

Find your alderman

DeRogatis’ interview with the acting director of the Department of Business Affairs & Licensing

Having survived its tumultuous birth, The Body Politic returns this Wednesday (9 p.m.) for its second attempt to upend the underground techno/house scene in Chicago (it’s closer to Lilliputians lighting matches between a clubbers’ toes, but one step at a time). This month we’re fortunate enough to have excellent DJ/producer/our friend Tyrel Williams spinning with us. Williams collaborates with two others as The Electric Doors (who are rumored to be touring Europe this summer, keep your peepers peeled), produces solo goods and has earned his stripes at Chicago’s legendary house of vinyl, Gramaphone. We hope to see you out on Wednesday. It’s free and the beer is cheaper than usual!

We aim to have more guests in the coming months, so if you’re a quality DJ rolling through Chicago on the first Wednesday of a month, give us a shout.

Manuel, my friend James and I are starting a new house/techno night at a brand new bar called Tumbao. We’re excited to have the opportunity to give this a try and DJ for some folks — hopefully people who like to dance. And did I mention it’s FREE? I encourage you to stop by, say hello, share a drink or two and jack your body.

For some people Christmas music is traditionally infectious, others it’s as appealing as infections. Hall & Oates are most definitely in the first category, as exhibited in their Home for Christmas tour which kicked off in Chicago’s UIC Pavilion. Being in the best selling pop duo in musical history ought to be enough gravitas for Daryl Hall, but just to be sure, there was a small fan positioned at a perfect angle to gently whip at his hair, music video style.Thankfully their pop mastery translated into unoffensive Christmas tunes and some fantastic renditions of old favorites.

Tonight Hall & Oates take their holiday tour to the web with a live streaming event billed “Live from Daryl’s House” that will also feature longtime band guitarist T Bone Wolk. Check out the gig starting at 8PM Eastern time at www.livefromdarylshouse.com.

Here are a few more photos from their concert a few weeks ago in Chicago.