Chicago DJ/producer Jamie 3:26 has compiled A Taste of Chicago, a compilation of personal edits from the late ’80s to early 2000’s he’s produced and played in various Chicago underground venues over the years, including The Basement.
The compendium featuring edits of tracks by the likes of BSTC, Chip-E and Braxton Holmes is set to be released via BBE Music March 27. The release comes after Jamie 3:26 dropped a 12″ preview sampler in 2018. Jamie has called the endeavor “a dream project” and says the two-year process to release it wasn’t easy in lieu of clearance issues and a heavy touring schedule.
Says Jamie 3:26 of the release: “This compilation represents the true unspoken sound of my city. While the House scene was blossoming into what would be a globally recognized phenomenon, we had this whole hidden movement going on. These personal edits that I played back then represent magical moments in time that are still being created in many of my sets today. A huge thank you to my music brothers Marshall Jefferson, Braxton Holmes, Tone B. Nimble, Chip E, Pap Spencer, Doc Brucio, Carl Bias for trusting my ears with your creations.”
The album cover features a photo of his late grandparents “because they always believed and supported me. My late grandmother purchased my first record player and boombox as a kid. She also purchased my first full DJ set and sound system.”
Tracklist:
1. BSTC – Venus & Mars (Jamie 3:26 Edit)
2. Mighty Science – The Lesson (Doc Brucio’s Original Mix – Jamie 3:26 Edit)
3. Jungle Wonz – The Jungle (Jamie’s Jungle Sounds Edit)
4. Quest – Mind Games (Underground Mix – Jamie 3:26 Edit)
5. Braxton Holmes feat. Cabrini-Greens and Cornbread – Stomps & Shouts (Jamie 3:26 Basement Edit)
6. Chip E – It’s House (Jamie’s Basement Edit)
7. Calendar – Comin’ On Strong (Jamie 3:26 Edit)
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How was 2019 for you?
Rocky Valente: It has been the most amazing creative year in my life where I truly understood that we can create our own reality. It was also the most too, with my first release under the name Rocky Valente, my Rebirth EP (Elevate) which was in the top 3 techno releases on Beatport within five days. It was a proper pinch me moment! I played in amazing locations with amazing people for amazing crowds. I learned a lot about myself and my dreams, and more about how I want to prepare my kids for the world. I laughed a lot and cried a bit. It was a very, very special year.
Highlights?
My Rebirth EP. Seeing the work not just of the last months but to be honest the work of my last ten years inspiring people to listen, play and dance. Also not just the big festivals in front of thousands, but the special intimate parties, too. I did with Be-at.Tv in a kitchen in Lisbon that went viral which was amazing, and a live stream I did on a boat in Amsterdam. This year, I wanted to put my soul into everything I was doing, With these streams, people who can’t always go out can still watch a DJ playing in another part of the world and imagine they are there. I believe that the concept of DJing will change; virtual reality will be there soon and I want to be part of it!
Lowlights?
My grandfather passed away a few months ago. He was an amazing person and very important to me. I love him, and I always will. I hope he is proud of me like he always was.
Song of the year?
I’m going to choose something not out of the techno box. I will say Madonna’s “Looking For Mercy.” I grew up listening to Madonna, and this year I’ve been lucky enough to work with one of her guitarists, Portuguese musician Gaspar Varela. I love the lyrics. We are all looking for mercy and Love. Madonna has achieved so much as an artist. I respect her and admire her for how crazy she was, and how she did fight against so much both as an artist and a woman.
What’s your New Year’s resolution?
Learn even more about music, about people, and about how to connect better with my fans. Free my creative soul even more, and be happy with the simple things in life. Oh, and go back to riding horses.
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How was 2019 for you?
Max Durante: It has been a very constructive year. I created many records and I have many productions ready and delivered to the labels, all finished and ready to be released in the 2020!
I performed in many events that left me with great emotions and great confidence for the near future! I created several remixes and reached more fans.
2019 was the year were I performed more frequently at the legendary Berlin Tresor Club – it’s my favorite club with a strong DJ booth!
I signed to another important label, the aufnahme + wiedergabe, where my EP entitled Order and Chaos came out four months ago. In the spring of 2020 my next EP entitled Fear and Desire will come out!
My next LP will be released on the legendary Hands. 2019 was a year where I locked myself up in the studio and where I still am! I need to say a creative and visionary year. For me it was a limbo for the upcoming Future!
Highlights?
I have achieved many goals but these are the ones that left me the most enthusiasm without a doubt:
My Order and Chaos EP on aufnahme + wiedergabe: The long stay in the studio gave me the right beat, a great satisfaction! I received tons of emails and messages on social media from fans and DJs from all over the world about it.
The legendary Hands label will release my new LP. That was another great achievement! I still didn’t tell to anyone I have not yet publicly announced the news! But I did it now; it happened around the end of November and it’s a fresh news.
My closing set at The Krake Festival…
Huge moment during Krake Label Market: The presentation of Order and Chaos with my streaming set on BE-AT.TV February 22, 2019 Sonic Groove meet Tresor an unforgettable event. My performance at the Geneva Zoo … where I met UVB.
The event with the Mitchell brothers: Adam X and his bother Frankie Bones! I made the closing set as usually happens to Tresor people they didn’t want to go away after a six-hour long DJ set!
The event with the Renton Crew at the Affekt club in the province of Rome – a nice experience. People who take care of the details means that they love!
When I performed during the 28 years of Tresor Records another evening that didn’t want to end. Tresor is emotional!
The experience on the HÖR radio with my streaming: was one of their first live mix session streaming and it was a success, I am happy to have contributed to their growth, they are an efficient and determined team, I decided that from 2020 I will make a periodic radio show!
The last Sonic Groove we made in Milan a few months ago!
When I met Parrish Smith after we had been writing for months. I went to visit him here in Berlin during his performance at a new club near my house, but I didn’t knew it at the beginning that the club was close to me. But something at beginning went wrong. It was late at nite, I was tired and I was just come out of my studio. I was totally distracted. I went to their organization page I saw the address I traced with my phone without evaluating if it was correct or not, and … I ended up outside Berlin. I wanted to die (ha ha ha), to go there and comeback it took me three hours. I wanted to beat myself.
In the end it seemed like a spell that didn’t want us to meet! The surprise (for what reason I write this) was to have known a brilliant person, a person very similar to me, with a relaxed mood but with a great personality, a tempered character but at the same time a rebel, who listens and is open to reflection, knows no judgment but can bite if necessary. We probably have something in common we can talk but we can also be silent! 2019 = many emotions
Lowlights?
Fortunately none.
Song of the year?
Hard to name just one, but I have a particular track that I’ve played almost always in 2019…
“Eternal Return” by Tymon on Perc Trax
What’s your New Year’s resolution?
Mny surprises, many ideas, including a radio video program in streaming that will be called Dead on Monday. I’ll do it every last Monday of the month starting from January on HÖR in Berlin.
I would love to discovering new nations, new cultures and be able to bring my sound everywhere. I spent almost of the 2019 in the studio creating mines, now it’s time to launch them! I predict that the years 2020 would be a magic year with a magical number. It is the gate of the future. But I’m scared of the climate change, honestly. We need to take care about the health of the Planet Earth, now that we are in the future we must evolve, because we are in bad shape!
Stay true, stay underground
Image by Andreina Sergi
No paywalls, free to all. Help us remain 100% independent and unbiased. Please give to Big Shot by making a secure one-time donation to help us continue covering DJ culture and electronic music like we’ve done since 2003.
How was 2019 for you?
Apparel Wax: 2019 has been a great year for us with the release of our first LP, then the sixth EP and a special Japanese CD issue which have been a great success.
Highlights?
We give credit to our fans and listeners because that’s a massive boost to our confidence. It gives us the strength to look for new material and helps us to find new ideas to complete our vision of what Apparel Wax is.
Lowlights?
High tide and low tide, it’s always like this ut we like to always think positively and find new motivations and learn lessons from a disappointment.
Song of the year?
My pick is the whole Flying Lotus LP Flamagra. It’s an example of perfect narrative technique which actually matches with what Apparel Wax is trying to do in terms of storytelling. Every track of the album is functional to the next one in the track list but they doesn’t necessarily have to be similar one another, they’re just little stories that, brought together, tell the whole story. That is essentially what we tried to achieve with Apparel Wax’s first LP, and I hope we succeeded.
What’s your New Year’s resolution?
We’re excited to welcome 2020 with our seventh EP, but this year’s highlight is going to be Apparel Music’s tenth birthday. We’re preparing something special to celebrate this milestone. We’re also setting up our first world tour to be able to bring our vibe, an inclusive vibe, to our fans even in the remotest places.
