::: RealDEEP Recordings | Eargasmic Recordings | Soul Foundation :::

The energy of Chicago’s loft party scene inspired a great many musicians and DJs.  Brian J.A. Cullen a.k.a. “Bjak” is no stranger to the sound of deep house, a signature element at the time.  He is a long-standing member of the renowned group of Chicago house DJs known as Soul Foundation Kollective. This alliance, and their control over several Chicago venues and a number of tours, helped cut his teeth as a DJ, and ever since he has been moving dance floors worldwide with sets of percussive, soulful house music.

Throughout his career, Bjak’s sets have been diverse and the trend continues unabated. Never fitting a particular mold, he seamlessly incorporates disparate elements of classic dance music—even the occasional dub or Pixies tune—with a sound that’s unmistakably deep, vocal-fused house. With a range that includes Latin grooves to percussion-laden warehouse stompers, a Bjak set works the dancefloor by taking listeners far outside the box.

Bjak’s attention to the deeper side of these genres helped him craft a vision that culminated into WAXaddict Records, a Chicago-based, online record store that specialized in known TOP-CHOICE house music and cutting-edge techno, alongside ultra-rare disco and classic electronica. A physical store in Chicago’s Bucktown neighborhood matched the diversity of online offerings. Years on the business side of the music industry led Bjak to renew his focus on production efforts, and he channeled this energy into studio work, resulting in oft-praised vinyl-only releases on Eargasmic Recordings including, Thoughts from Chicago, Vol. 2, in 2008 and RealDEEP EP, in 2009.

Bjak tracks employ atmospheric grooves, dubbed-out vocals, and bouncing basslines, layered over relentless percussion. His music has been discussed in the same breath as legends like Larry Heard and Kerri Chandler, with strong ties to the sounds of Prescription and Strictly Rhythm, but Bjak feels his approach is a subtle update to the loft party vibe he has cultivated for well over a decade.

During this cultivation, he recognized the lack of deep house offerings and knew that creating such an outlet was the logical next step. In 2008, with fellow Foundation member, Julio Bishop, Bjak launched RealDEEP Recordings, which provides him and his growing roster with a platform for the loft party sound they champion. The label’s releases have seen much acclaim, and Bjak is encouraged about upcoming projects.

Beyond RealDEEP, Bjak has been adding new and interesting layers to his already diverse sound. His recent involvement with the band, Velophone, infuses indie and traditional rock elements with downtempo grooves and sultry vocals. Singer Janet Cruz and Bjak share songwriting duties for the group, and the pair provides live guitar, bass, and keyboard accompaniment atop digital percussion, resulting in a neo-soul-meets-house-music jam band aesthetic.

After sowing the seeds of success through Soul Foundation DJ gigs and WAXaddict, Bjak has fused his influential histories, finding a musical and spiritual home at RealDEEP Recordings.

Every DJ knows that capturing a crowd is difficult, but Chicago’s Julio Bishop makes it seem effortless. For almost 2 decades, Bishop has worked dancefloors at home and around the world, blending quality house music with relative ease.

It’s no wonder it comes easy to Bishop—he grew up playing piano and violin in a house that saw world-renowned musicians visiting often. His father was instrumental in bringing diverse sounds, like the Buena Vista Social Club, to Chicago as a committee member for the Pan-American Festival. As long as he can remember, the Bishop household in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood was filled with records ranging from Afro-Cuban jazz and salsa to American standards and disco.

By 8^th grade, Julio knew these sounds had to combined, and drew inspiration from the sounds coming out of Chicago’s WBMX and WGCI. Turntables were a logical next step and Bishop was soon developing his penchant for deep, rhythmic house music. His skills and attention to the dancefloor helped him thrive during the deep house heyday of the 80s and 90s in Chicago and led him to the Soul Foundation Kollective, a group of like-minded DJs that pushed the sound of loft-party deep house at every event. With this infamous Chicago DJ crew, Bishop has held residencies at some of Chicago’s hottest clubs and lounges while touring the U.S., Europe, and Latin America.

Over the years, his ability to blur the lines between the influential sounds of Chicago, Detroit, and New York, has persevered.  Bishop’s DJ outings are often fueled by stompy kicks, sexy vocals, and vibrant basslines, taking the listener deeper with an array of strings, horns, and warm pads before turning up the heat on the crowd.

The Soul Foundation history continues to influence Bishop and was a catalyst to the creation of RealDEEP Recordings with fellow member, Brian ‘Bjak’ Cullen.  The label is the platform that Bishop and Cullen will use to revive the elements of 90s era loft party house music they feel has been lost in today’s deep house releases.

The 2009 release schedule for RealDEEP includes Bishop’s first production efforts, expected near end of summer 2009.. After years of training on the piano and violin as well as a history behind the decks, he is poised to play a key role in RealDEEP’s updated approach to the loft party house sound. Bishop’s production mirrors his deck control, presenting an urgent sound of eerie, jack-your-body tech-house before a backdrop of jazz-inspired instrumentation.

At the moment, he and Bjak plan to release digitally on a monthly basis before delving into vinyl output. In the works are a European tour featuring Bishop, Bjak, and Eargasmic Records honcho, Daryl Cura, and rotating residencies in Chicago and Los Angeles. Bishop currently splits his time between the studio and his current residency at Sushi Samba, a well-known downtown hotspot.

::: RealDEEP Recordings | Soul Foundation | Music 101 | WAXaddict :::

Brian Gardner may have discovered his passion for DJing by accident, but his success is far from accidental. As a veteran of the Chicago House music scene for more than 15 years, Gardner has emerged as a versatile DJ and producer who manipulates everything from soulful, jazzy jack to the harder beats of industrial and techno. More recently, Gardner has stepped into the role as one of the booking directors for Chicago’s Music-101.com, where he brings in an array of top-tier House talent while promoting the underground vibrancy that makes the city’s house scene glow.

Gardner’s love for underground House stems back to his childhood days in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago. While the “Hot Mix 5″ DJs on the historic WBMX 102.7 dial sparked his passion for the music, it was involvement in the rave scene of the early 1990’s that first introduced him to the full spectrum of underground, electronic sound. When some friends asked if he could look after a set of turntables for them in 1993, Gardner saw it as an open call to experiment with beat matching and mixing. With his friends never reclaiming the tables, he delved deeper into his newfound passion, buying records and playing numerous house parties across the city.

In the mid 1990s, Gardner elevated his underground status by joining the ranks of Chicago’s Soul Foundation Kollective, where he and fellow House cohorts including Traxx, Jevon Jackson, Frique, Brenda D and John Simmons created an electronic blueprint of house music history. The legendary Soul Foundation parties allowed Gardner to step into his own as both a performer on the decks and promoter of the events. In 1998, he took on the role of House buyer of Chicago’s Hot Jams records while earning playing time at premiere underground venues including Smart Bar, Boom Boom Room and Mad Bar, to name a few. His success on and behind the scenes landed him the position as manager and house buyer for WAXaddict records in 2002.

Gardner currently juggles multiple hats of being DJing, producing, promoting and booking events. In (2000) he joined the ranks of Chicago’s visible Music 101 promotions team where he works as a production manager for bookings, event coordinator and web site administrator. On the DJ tip, he and production partner/wife Brenda D have held their three-year, Friday night house residency, Bootlegged, at Chicago’s Moonshine. Gardner himself commands presence on a weekly basis throughout the city, bringing a fresh flavor to the typical four-by-four beat.

“Acid, deep, jackin’, old school-I’m not limiting myself to any one genre of House,” Gardner says. More recently, his style has taken him the route of “deep boompty house,” which are slower beats characterized by big vocals. “I’m not interested in putting people to sleep,” he says of his performance style. “Good music is just good music.”

Gardner releases his first nationally distributed C.D. in fall 2007 on the San Francisco-based Loveslap! Recordings label. The mix C.D. features his mix of the label’s back-catalogued cuts.

“You always have to recreate yourself-you can’t get stuck in your niche,” Gardner says of his evolving career. “It’s an exciting time for House music in Chicago.”

What began as an electronic interlude on the Rockford, Ill., rave scene turned into a full-time passion for DJ/vocalist, Brenda D. In the mid-1990s, Brenda fell hard for the electronic sounds that were igniting the Midwest at the time. Instead of simply joining the party, Brenda orchestrated it, coming at audiences with her self-styled brand of techno and House. Now with more than eight years of DJing experiencing under her, Brenda has carved herself a unique niche on Chicago’s House music scene, blending her driving house beats with a kind of feminine finesse that makes audiences take notice.

Brenda’s move to Chicago in 1996 saw her joining the ranks the city’s esteemed Soul Foundation Kollective, which included heavy house hitters such as Traxx, Frique, Jevon Jackson, Brian Gardner and John Simmons, to name a few. Brenda quickly absorbed their creative influences and landed her first gig at Chicago’s Mad Bar in 1999. Soon, she earned a monthly residency at the club and began playing at other underground venues, including Smart Bar, Karma & many others.

In 2004 she and production partner/husband Brian Gardner established their Friday night residency, “Bootlegged” at Moonshine. With help from fellow Soul Foundation member Jevon Jackson, the night has become a weekly underground staple of Chicago’s house music scene for the past four years.

“DJing and performing are my passions”, says Brenda, who considers her track selection a brand of “forward-thinking house”. Her rolling, rhythmic beats create a sonic canopy of sound that resounds with hard energy while maintaining a sense of femininity.

Local press has also taken notice of Brenda’s style. “Chicago Scene” magazine featured Brenda D. as one of Chicago’s best female DJs in its April 2007 issue. “I can’t imagine being anywhere else or doing anything else”, she says of her House music craft.

To say that Derek (Smokin’) Jones is a DJ is like saying that a Rolls Royce is “just something to get around in”, or that a nine tier, double chocolate, strawberry glazed filling, lemon butter iced cake is just a piece of pastry.

There are many layers to his personality as well as many facets of his talents.  Derek is a thorough entertainer;  A talk show host on XND radio.com, where he presents an array of distinguished personalities from the entertainment industry and also introduces the audiences to a rare mix of musical stylings that may not be available in many of the commercial media markets.  He is a pillar of endurance in the increasingly popular house music genre.

Derek is a visionary, whose limitations are as vast as the sky, and whose talent is only matched by his zeal, energy and fortitude.  His contribution to the House Music movement has been enormous as a mixologist, a media personality, producer and a constant charismatic voice in the entertainment industry.

To learn more, visit Derek at:  XNDRADIO | MySpace | Facebook