"It was so difficult to become someone." The house hero talks about Chicago's competitive scene, developing a sound and letting go of his ego. 

Theo Parrish is one of dance music's most influential DJs and producers. Raised in Chicago, he's become synonymous with slow-burning, immersive grooves and sets that mix classics with obscurities. He began DJing in 1986 aged 13, eventually earning a degree in sculpture and moving to Detroit, where he hit his stride as an artist and became a member of the collective Three Chairs alongside Moodymann, Rick Wilhite and Marcellus Pittman. He also started the label Sound Signature, which uses the language of soul, jazz, disco, Chicago house and Detroit techno.

A few months ago, Resident Advisor teamed up with London institution fabric to host Parrish for an eight-hour set—his first time playing the club. While he was in town, he also spoke with CDR's Tony Nwachukwu. In the Exchange, Parrish talks about the intensely competitive scene he grew up in. He DJ'd for 13 years before he was ever paid or had his name billed on a lineup. It took years of passion and hard work to break out of his local scene and build the career he's become known for. 

"At five years, you're dealing with the technical part [of DJing], at ten it's finding your sound and at 15 it's dealing with the ego of it all," he says. "It's not until much later that you actually start to play for and with people."

Parrish also reflects on the ongoing dearth of diversity in the dance music industry and posits whether some of the most popular music in the US—such as trap—reinforces counterproductive racial stereotypes. He asks: did house music ultimately survive because it left where it originally came from? Listen to the episode in full. -Chloe Lula

EX.763 Theo Parrish

Berlin-based DJ Maze takes over this week's Crack Mix with a house summer warmer for bleary-eyed mornings locked in on the dance floor. 

If you’re a fan, become a Supporter: crackm.ag/subscriptions

Crack Mix 605: Maze

Sunday evening, April 20th, 2025 – Sisyphos was packed, the Wintergarten buzzing with friends, family, and a dance floor full of familiar faces. To celebrate my 50th Birthday, Frazer Campbell, Scuba, George Fitzgerald, and I took turns behind the decks, keeping the room moving from start to finish. It was one of those nights where the music did all the talking – raw, hypnotic, and unfiltered. Moments blurred into hours as we dug deep into our record bags, each drop landing just right, each track a nod to those endless, hazy nights that only Berlin seems to get away with.

This recording is a snapshot of that night – a little slice of chaos, a lot of groove, and a room that never once stood still. Play it loud.

John Osborn - Berlin, Wintergarten April 20th

Zijne Koninklijke Hoogheid Prins Thomas in The Beat, als voorproefje op zijn show bij Rainbow Disco Club in Lofi op 23 mei. 

@prinsthomas 
@rainbowdiscoclub
@lofi-amsterdam

The Beat is het elektronische muziek programma op NPO 3FM. Gepresenteerd door Justin Verkijk elke vrijdagavond tussen 22:00 en 01:00.

The Beat Mix: Prins Thomas

IKKE Sant with SUCHI invites Tomoki Tamura - 17 May 2025

Dee Diggs joins us for Phonica mix 132, a 90-minute session that traces a fluid line through U.S, deep house and disco. Based in Brooklyn, Diggs is a DJ, producer and curator whose work foregrounds the Black and queer roots of dance music. Her sets balance emotional depth and rhythmic precision, drawing from a wide palette while maintaining a strong sense of narrative. First emerging through New York’s queer party circuit, she’s since built an international profile through thoughtful mixes for platforms like Honcho and Dekmantel, as well as her own event series, House of Diggs. With each project, Diggs makes clear that dance music is both personal archive and political practice. 

Phonica Mix Series 132: Dee Diggs

Alias: Ceri @ceri
Pronouns: Deejay
Location: London / Ibiza / The Universe
Collectives: Find Your Own Records / Find Your Own Sound
Labels: Find Your Own Records, Wiggle Records, fabric Records, 3am Recordings
Name of the mix: Love This Culture
About the mix: This mix is a love letter to the Queer and POC roots, and the other early sounds, of true 'proper' House music, as it speaks through Ceri's soul. Honouring the past, believing in a better future, channelling the spirit of the Sound Factory, early Panorama Bar, and other underground spaces that shaped the early music from this culture.

Ceri takes us on a raw, soulful and emotive journey through all flavours, genres and timelines, of what house music means to her. There is a message in the music, a soundtrack of struggle and liberation, dark and light, and the dance-floor as a place to connect and come together for a greater purpose.

Featuring Forgotten Gems, Hard to Find Records, Vinyl Only, Classics, some Queer Underground Anthems, starting deep, then flowing through Chicago, New York, Detroit, Berlin and UK flavours of House, from dub and deep, to acid, garagey, and subtly more banging and ravey as it moves.

This is a mix with a message of LOVE, hope, and community. A celebration of where house music came from and where it is going: survival, resistance, joy, transformation, connection, and the dream of a better world.

Featuring innovators of the genre such as Larry Levan, Frankie Knuckles and Jamie Principle, Queer Pioneer Junior Vasquez, cheeky Mariah and Loleatta remixes (obviously), as well as more modern cuts, that still capture the sound of that timeless essence, by the likes of D'Julz, Pangea and Ceri herself.

Not forgetting a bespoke spoken word introduction by Detroit's Legendary Gari Romalis (Electronix), talking about why it's so important to spread the message of the true roots, preserve and love the culture, whilst also pushing things forwards...

Ceri says 'I put my heart and soul into this mix, hoping to capture the essence of what 'proper' house music means to me; the true meaning of house music, including it's Black, Brown, and Queer Origins, as well as other sounds that continue to evolve, as the genre diversifies and expands across the world'.

Listen and enjoy Ceri's interpretation of what house music truly means to her...

House of Others #120 | CERI | Love This Culture

Axel Boman b2b Fort Romeau @ Aura, Lisbon

my official summer mixtape contribution
recorded at the wonderful fidelity for subject dublin on july 4th 2025 - what a night - thank you!! <3<3<3

move d @ fidelity, subject dublin 25-07-04

Next up on the GROOVE Podcast is Ian Pooley (@ianpooley). Go to bit.ly/PooleyPod for interview and track list.

GROOVE Podcast 466 – Ian Pooley

Smart Mix 06: Tim Zawada

1. Trus'me - Bail Me Out 
2. Masurrati & Huey Harris - Super Duper Lovin 
3. Take 3 - Tonite (Rayko Edit) 
4. Zopelar - Feeling 
5. Francis Inferno Orchestra - Sun Up 
6. Deep&Disco - Feel The Rhythm (Razor-N-Tape Edit) 
7. TZ - Pleasurable Editable 
8. Claptone - Cream 
9. Harry Wolfman - Don't You Know 
10. Bang Bang - Susan Cries (Rhythm Plate Remix) 
11. Todd Terje - Inspector Norse 
12. Only Children - Be the One 
13. Rebel - Her 
14. Lee Webster - One19 
15. Atjazz & Mark De Clive - Sweat No Sleep (Broken Soul Dub)

Smart Mix 06: Tim Zawada

::welcome home::
✺ the proof is on the dancefloor
✺ celebrating the underground for over 40 years

Smart Mix 06: Tim Zawada

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