The 312 Mix Vol 1 presents Redux

5 Magazine is pleased to announce a new mix series more than a year in the making.

The 312 is our Chicago House Music Mix Series, featuring Chicago DJs and nothing but Chicago DJs, from up-and-coming DJs to established legends. We’ve always tried to mix it up, and this series allows us to focus entirely on the sounds and talent of the City of Chicago.

(“312” is a Chicago area code, covering mostly the downtown area. But in the 1980s, when House Music was born, “312” represented the entirety of the Chicagoland area – the city, the suburbs and everything around them.)

We’re starting out with Redux, a dynamic duo made up of CT from of U R We productions and WYSER out of Custom Vibes Chicago. These two are a joy to experience on the dancefloor, their sets are never the same and their sound is like a breath of fresh air.

They formed their alliance in 2010 and began with an introduction to their series of mixes called The Flight Sessions. Redux has a residency at Primary called Mostly Disco, and they also have their bi-weekly radio show Space Disco Wednesdays at WNUR 89.3FM.

The interview picks up below the mix, and the playlist follows that:

Tracklist

01: H2 – Chicago Social Club (Jason Hodges)
02: Special Request – After All (Courduroy Maverick’s Remix)
03: Golf Clap – Falling (Bryan Jones)
04: Mia Wallace – If I Can’t Have You (Seftmeister Remix)
05: Cajmere & Derrick Carter – Dream State (’92)
06: P. Berry – Come Home (Roy Davis Jr. Remix)
07: Gene Farris – It’s The Underground
08: Sharktooth – In Space
09: Iz & Diz – What We Need Is (Satisfaction Dub)
10: Alinka ft. Shaun J Wright – Nowhere To Hide

Tell me about the very first time the two of you met. And how long was it into your friendship that you decided to become Redux?

CT: It was pretty immediate. We met in late 2009, I was throwing a weekly gay night in Wicker Park called Boys Room and quickly realized we were like-minded in musical taste and DJ styles. I invited Matt (Wyser) to play regularly at Boys Room and in February of 2010 we formed REDUX.

Explain to me what your name means in terms of your music?

Wyser: Redux is our force of evoking style and sound, once prevalent in early dance music culture, and to revive an aesthetic of the old with the new cutting edge.

It’s a very delicate balance to work with a partner in something as personal as DJing. Making tracks is one thing, but to commit to doing gigs together is a whole other dynamic!

CT: It’s actually quite effortless for us. Though we both have the same interests in genres and artists in dance music we bring a unique and autonomous approach to our song selection and execution. In the last 5 years working together so intimately we’ve created a flow that happens naturally. We also put a lot of practice time in.

I see that you guys are gearing up for doing production work and remixes!

Wyser: With both of us being musicians, it’s an easy path to choose. I’m more of a percussionist while CT is very vocal and rhythm based which it’s why we work so well together. Both of us have previously been in bands and musical groups aside from one another and coming together as Redux has shown our true strengths as DJs. We’ve grown as a duo and fine tuned our sound to truly become our own, and together, we will exhibit that through our music.

If you could describe the Chicago House culture to someone not from here, what would you tell them?

Redux: There are so many facets to the culture of house music here in Chicago. From the old school like The Chosen Few on the South side to the tech-house sounds of Primary Nightclub and Smartbar on the North side, the house scene is extremely diverse but not divided. As evidenced by the passing of Frankie Knuckles, the city rallies together in the name of House. This mix was put together with our city first in mind. We wanted to showcase how Chicago makes us feel. With every track, we handpicked old school songs with new up-n-coming local talent and mixed them live. This mix is what Chicago truly means to us

Essentials: Redux are playing at Mamby at the Beach Music Fest this July and Comfort & Joy’s After Glow for Pride in SF. You can reach them on Facebook, SoundCloud and Twitter.