Dubstep hits Chicago

Dubstep hits Chicago

5 July, 2007 | 2.06AM

• Written by: Terry Church
• Filed under: Music News: juju, narcohz

As solely a British underground sound, it was implausible back in 2004 that dubstep would actually ever make it out of the grimy basement raves of London. But just as Europe has started to wake up to the bass-heavy sound, America’s dance scene is starting to be infected by the dark side.

The city of Chicago, which is traditionally a house haven, now has its own dubstep night run by local DJs Tim Arendt and Mike Brunner.

After a trip to London in 2004 Brunner was inspired to start his own dubstep night in Chicago after attending London’s Forward club night.

At first, the BassGoesBoom events at Café Lula in Logan Square weren’t well attended, but due to dubstep’s far-reaching roots - the sound is a mixture of garage, minimal techno, drum & bass and grime - the night has started to attract an audience that includes techno heads and some of Chicago’s drum & bass fans.

After a successful event at the city’s Sonotheque club where Baltimore producer Joe Nice headlined, BassGoesBoom is expanding into a monthly night at the recently reopened Lava in Wicker Park.

The club is usually a haven for drum & bass, therefore its booming soundsystem is a natural home for a dubstep night.

The opening night on July 6th will see San Francisco DJ and producer Juju (pictured) play a set of dub reggae inspired dubstep, alongside local talents Jeekoos and DJ Four4.

“There’s always been some kind of electronic music emerging in Chicago,” Brunner told NewCityChicago.com. “Dubstep will be the same kind of thing.”

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