"The context:
I am alone. I am found. I died alone. I never thought I’d be found. I am overwhelmed by memories of a dystopian existence on a collapsing planet where evil took over and subsumed good. All of the kindness evaporated and was swallowed by greed. Memories of my past life occlude my consciousness causing confusion between modes of time like a mirage. Is it the past, present, or future? I can no longer tell.

A journey through being:
Confronted by the pain of knowing but trying to exist and embrace being in the world. Did I give up too quickly? Did I fail to change reality? What did I sacrifice in order to function and live a worldly existence like everyone around me? Blinded by hedonism, the collapsing of the mind and soul into the throws of desire left me empty. I gave up. I lost myself. I returned to the comfort of despair. It’s throbbing. To live without hope is to live in despair. Was there a reprieve from it all? Distractions, pleasure, and attachments turned into a vicious cycle of yearning and loss. Accepting impermanence with a half-open heart. It never got better. It just got worse. Functioning with an ever-growing sense of doom. And now I’m here. Alone. All I have are my memories. But existing in confusion from when these memories took place. Introspection with escapism outside of time. The vicious interplay between existence and non-existence. I am left with nothing."

Opening for Rrose at Smartbar, Chicago in June utilizing 4 CDJs and a V10 mixer.

@shantievanti
IG: @shantiism
https://ra.co/dj/shanti
https://youtu.be/QqfMYAyS8bM?si=iwapv-7i2LFIPNlG

Shanti has made textured waves in Chicago’s techno scene with her curation of dark, sinister, and ethereal soundscapes. Music has always been a means of coping with the otherness and hybridity Shanti experienced throughout her life. She has been deeply moved by the transcendent ability of music to express concepts, states of consciousness, and conflicting emotions. Shanti’s sets weave a story of the simultaneous despair and yearning that are intertwined with the human condition and illustrate an intentional trajectory through combining and cultivating surreal, atmospheric, and haunting sounds.

Enamored by the liminal dynamics of sound, she cohosts Otherworldly Ambiguity with Scum.ee –an experience that is centered around the phenomenon of existing in between and outside of pre-existing concepts and rigid categories. She is also a member of techno collective Research & Development and hosts a monthly radio show, “Liminal Radio” on WIIT 88.9 FM featuring thoughtful artists at the core of Chicago’s underground music scene. Shanti has had the privilege of warming up and closing out dancefloors for incredibly inspirational artists such as Rrose, DJ Nobu, Ø [Phase], Aurora Halal, Mozhgan, Lady Starlight, Black Light Smoke, Esther Dune, Zenker Brothers, Noncompliant, Xtin, and more. She has had the immense pleasure of conjuring spirits at Chicago’s most beloved clubs such as Smartbar, Smoke & Mirrors, Podlasie Club, and several underground gatherings.

Experiencing music outside of the confines of a club or the underground is extremely important to Shanti as she had initially discovered her favorite artists through online podcasts and radio. The universalizability of podcasts and radio enable music to be experienced by more humans situated in different contexts. This is why she has contributed to many notable online mix series and radio channels. Her mixes have been featured on The Black Lodge Radio, SutroFM, Mutant Radio, PPRZ, Death Decay & Magic, Braid Records, Low Visibility, Dance All Day, and m50’s etc radio among other podcasts and shows. This past year, Shanti has expanded her surreal storytelling beyond Chicago by playing in Amsterdam, LA, Detroit and notable Midwest festivals such as Minnesota’s The Great Beyond and Madison’s Musique Électronique. This Halloween, she will be playing at Chicago’s notoriously dark music festival, Sanctum.

Distant Signals 084: Shanti

Received transmissions from the outer reaches of an exquisite corpse universe

Producer/DJ/Promoter/Organizer/bonehead/etc - [Bounce House] -  they/them - PHL @bounce-house-phl
///
For booking, production, remix work, promos, or any other inquiries, please write to: furtivetrax@gmail.com
///
Upcoming Dates:
8/23 - System Activate, VT
9/19 - Making Time, PHL
9/27 - TBA, PHL
10/10 - TBA, PHL
10/11 - TBA, PHL
--
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Furtive is a full-gonzo rave conjurer and relentless creative tinkerer, intractably committed to the rave as a Philadelphia-based producer, DJ, underground event organizer, and dancer. A shifting sonic chameleon, Furtive brings a scintillating, sentimental, and psychedelic touch to their artistry, rooted in wormhole-traversing technoid propulsion and dependably delivering riotous, slack-jawed whiplash moments of the delightfully unexpected. Their many polished and focused genre-spanning productions are informed by over thirteen years of experience in the studio, yielding a rich selection of tracks across their self-released discography, vinyl pressings, and contributions to compilations. A veritable product of the contemporary American underground, Furtive cut their teeth as a DJ and DIY event organizer in Washington, DC’s warehouses, where they once played a variety of turnkey roles in putting on some of the District’s more proper techno parties. Furtive co-founded and co-runs Bounce House, an intimate, blossoming off-the-books venue in Philly where they regularly hold court as a resident. Furtive is on broadcast monthly through Ashen Vanity, a radio residency at Philadelphia’s indispensable cultural mainstay Great Circles. As a DJ, Furtive has played hallowed halls (recently rampaging at Nowadays and Basement), dingy holes, roaring renegades, broadcast booths, and festivals (The Great Beyond '23, '24, and headlining in '25, Honcho Campout '24) - always with eclectic selections and a steadfast focus on pacing and dynamics while regularly jumping genres to build moving and impactful sets, often alongside internationally celebrated, no-nonsense acts. Beyond the fog and speaker stacks, Furtive creates art in a variety of mediums. They're as unapologetic in their sincerity and flair as they are in being a die-hard True Believer in the rave.
///
Learn more here: https://www.attackmagazine.com/features/introducing/furtive-the-astronaut-in-a-pool-of-mermaids/
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As a closing note: the journey can be summarized in their own words (or, a cheeky amalgamated existential portmanteau): “I aim for the stars, but sometimes I land in a pool of mermaids.”

https://furtivetrax.bandcamp.com/
https://soundcloud.com/furtivetrax
https://www.instagram.com/furtive.sasha/
https://ra.co/dj/furtive

Research & Development
Podlasie
Chicago

JS Alvarez is a shape shifting lizard that succumbs to no one genre and can be found exploring the depths of mutant techno and unruly bass music alike. He is the founding member of Research & Development. ﻿What started as a monthly event series at Smartbar took on a new path with a biweekly mix series focused on nurturing new sounds, experiences and atmospheres while exploring the music and culture it was born or mutated from. Find him at Podlasie Club or sweaty basements and warehouses in Chicago and beyond.

Based in Chicago, R&D is a music event/mix series focused on nurturing new sounds, experiences and atmospheres while exploring the music and culture it was born or mutated from. Techno, electro, EBM, bass, breaks, club and beyond.
Current personnel
Jeremy Alvarez - JS Alvarez
Eric Fernandez - Makeen
Shanti Chu - Shanti
Dan Hood - Dan B Hood
Kona Mazariegos - Zona Cinco

*Bookings: shantievantimusic@gmail.com
*Otherworldly Ambiguity* (Evanti)
"Liminal Radio" WIIT.FM second Mondays, 1-3pm CST
*Research & Development

Shanti is a Chicago-based DJ who explores philosophical themes of existential angst and ambiguity through surreal, foreboding, apocalyptic techno, angsty EBM, and squishy acid soundscapes. Her sets weave a story of the simultaneous despair and yearning that are intertwined with the human condition.

Shanti also hosts a monthly radio show "Liminal Radio" on WIIT 88.9FM Chicago every second Monday of the month, 1-3pm CST featuring inspiring guest DJs.

Upcoming Sets:
10/10: Polygonia, Smartbar (FORMAT, R&D), Chicago
10/11: Senders, Life on Marz, Chicago
10/23: Research & Development, The Whistler, Chicago
11/1: Sanctum Fest, Chicago 
11/1: Sanctum Afters, Chicago

2025:
9/20: DJ Nobu, Smoke & Mirrors (R&D), Chicago
9/6: Life on Marz, NFC Records, Chicago
8/24: Sinister, Chicago
7/27: The Great Beyond, Franklin, MN  
7/17: Otherworldly Ambiguity, Podlasie
7/11: Musique Électronique, Madison, WI 
6/27: FreshCorp, Spot Lite, Detroit
6/26: Research & Development, The Whistler
6/20: Rrose, Flowers of Romance, Smartbar
5/29: Bordello Aperitivo, Amsterdam , NE
5/24: Ø [Phase] , NERV, Smoke & Mirrors
5/9: Aurora Halal, Smoke & Mirrors
4/26: BLOODLUST, TBA
3/15: Mictlan Underworld, TBA 
3/4: H.O.T.H., California Clipper 
2/22: Flowers of Romance, Smartbar 
1/30: Otherworldly Ambiguity, Podlasie (Evanti)
1/25: VELVET, Los Angeles, TBA 

2024:
12/13: Zenker Brothers, Smoke & Mirrors 
11/27: Research & Development, Podlasie 
11/2: Protocol & Dimibowie
10/25: Braid Records, Podlasie 
10/12: Usual Suspects and Temple, Montrose Beach 
9/1: NEW BLOOD, Research & Development, The Whistler 
8/31: Dark Forest, TBA 
8/29: Otherworldly Ambiguity, Podlasie (Evanti)
8/3: INFERNO, Mictlan, TBA 
7/14: Green Machine, Techno BBQ
7/6: Beloved Radio Night, California Clipper 
6/27: The Goods, Swig (Evanti)
6/22: YardJamz
6/14: Errancy, Hyde Park 
6/1: Wisteria, The Whistler 
5/23: entropic, Smartbar 
5/18: Lumina by HzM 
4/20: Vampire's Ball 
4/18: Otherworldly Ambiguity, Podlasie
4/5: Smoke & Mirrors 
3/23: Vamplified, Surround Chicago 
3/17: Otherworldly Ambiguity, The Whistler (Evanti)
3/7: Stankbugz Radio 
2/13: Wisteria, The Whistler (Evanti)

Distant Signals 084: Shanti

DISTANT SIGNALS