Do312 - What to do in Chicago

Feed Me
Dub step artist Feed Me sprung into the public eye with an 12" signed to Deadmau5's label Mau5trap, making him the first external artist to feature on the imprint. With releases 'The Spell' and 'Raw Chicken', the hard-hitting electro combined with his trademark wide grin caught the eyes and ears. of DJs around the world. An additional release with Noisia's label 'Division' saw the repertoire - and the hype - grow. Jon Gooch, the creator of drum and bass giant Spor, ventured into the unforgiving genre of house, and the creature, fondly known of as Feed Me was born. "Joining the wundurful weeeerld of housse muzik. Hellews." were his first words only just over 12 months ago, and now with an album in the works, his frantic productions are making more noise than ever. Feed Me has been chopping and injecting huge sound into a whole basket full of pop tracks with his remixes; namely Muse, Wale & Lady Gaga, Timbaland, Nero, Chase & Status and Gorillaz. Set to release his first EP on his very own label 'Big Mouth' and lining up this year with a flurry of support slots with Deadmau5, the sharp-teethed monster is coming of age, and looking to make a big noise in 2011.

Skream & Benga
SKREAM Ollie Jones had the good fortune to be working at the Big Apple record store when he first started making beats at age 15 and armed with a cracked copy of the Fruity Loops music-making software. Big Apple was at the center of the early development of U.K. garage's dark, half-speed offshoot dubstep before it was even called dubstep, and it was at Big Apple that Jones, who recorded as Skream, met fellow beatsmiths Benga and Hatcha. Hatcha was a DJ at the seminal club Forward and was only too happy to debut the dubplates of both Skream and Benga's early recordings. Their music took the tension and release formula of dance music, removed the release and layered in more tension instead. With slow and pounding basslines and wobbly treble they were creating a kind of music that summoned and summed up feelings of urban paranoia, but in an enjoyable way. Emphasizing the sub-bass made them popular with clubbers, but they were also popular with bloggers. Championed and spread by word of mouth on the Internet Skream went straight from being a name in Croydon to being known around the world. When the owner of Big Apple founded a label to give a home to the albums of dubstep artists, Skream was one of those who released material on it, including his breakout classic track "Midnight Request Line." His first full-length album, Skream!, was released in 2006 on the Tempa label. http://www.myspace.com/skreamuk https://www.facebook.com/skream BENGA One of the major names in the world of dubstep, producer Benga was born Beni Uthman in East London. His parents eventually moved to the suburb of Croydon, where a young Benga would fiddle with his radio every night, looking for pirate radio stations and taking in all sorts of fringe music. He first began making tracks on his PlayStation game system, then graduated to digital audio workstation Fruity Loops when his parents bought him a computer. Hearing the dark work of 2-step producer Wookie inspired him to join part of the grime/garage scene that would eventually evolve into dubstep. Hanging out at the Big Apple Records store in Croydon introduced him to fellow dubstep producer Skream. When the store began its own label, Benga released his debut 12", "Skank," in late 2002. A co-production with Skream called "The Judgement" appeared on Big Apple in early 2003, and then Benga began his own label -- Benga Beats -- and released the three-track 12" Benga Beats, Vol. 1 in 2004. A couple 12"s for the Planet Mu label landed before Benga Beats released his full-length debut, Newstep, in 2006. By now radio DJs and tastemakers like Mary Anne Hobbs and François K were singing his praises, putting Benga in the company of dubstep's favorite, Burial. In 2007 he moved to the Tempa label and issued the singles "Crunked Up" and "Night," the latter a collaboration with Coki. Both tracks ended up on his 2008 album, Diary of an Afro Warrior. http://www.myspace.com/bengabeats https://www.facebook.com/iambenga

Plastician
Chris Reed, also known as Plastician, is a grime and dubstep DJ and producer from Thornton Heath in the London borough of Croydon. Plastician has played a role in the popularity of the genre thanks to his participation in the Rephlex Grime compilations, his primetime pirate radio shows and his recent BBC Radio 1 Residency slot. In addition to his worldwide DJ schedule, Plastician has released records on labels such as Rephlex Records, Soulja, ROAD, Slimzos, A.R.M.Y. and Southside Dubstars. His musical style connects east London grime to the south London dubstep scenes. Plastician also runs his own label; Terrorythm Recordings.

Jackmaster
Congratulations to Jackmaster who won DJ Magazine's "Best breakthrough DJ award" 2010.

Team Bayside High
Chicago-based DJ/Producer/Promoters Team Bayside High are two larger than life personalities whose award winning parties, infamous on and off stage antics and encyclopedic knowledge of danceable party rock are transforming the indie nightlife scene one dance floor at at time.