Ampere & MHKA join forces to deliver a night focussed on the Chicago heritage of contemporary electronic music with one of the founding fathers of Chicago house music K’Alexi Shelby aka Club MCM.
K’ALEXI SHELBY (traxx records, k classic, 312) Chicago US
K’ Alexi also known as Mr. K’ Alexi Shelby is an American DJ, producer and composer from Chicago, IL. He is regarded as one of Chicago ‘s founding fathers of Chicago House music and is considered one of the key instrumental pioneers in the genre. Since the late 1980s, he has helped pioneer the true house sound that has led him to a House production careerthat has spanned over 20 years. This led to collaborations with artists ranging from The Pet Shop Boys to Der- rick May, Larry Heard, Robert Owens, and Felix da Housecat to Will Smith, as well as gigs across the globe.
As a teen in the mid 80’s, K’ Alexi developed friendships with Frankie Knuckles and Ron Hardy while frequenting ven- ues like The Warehouse and The Music Box. At this fledgling stage of dance music culture, there were no rules or prec- edents. K’ Alexi’s earliest musical influences were steeped within a rich musical heritage such as Stevie Wonder, Prince, Curtis Mayfield and David Huff. These roots continue to influence his music to this day.
It was under the moniker Risque III that “Essence Of A Dream” was released in 1987. This song established the name K’ Alexi amongst the ranks of some of the most prominent of all house producers at the time. These early tracks with rumbling dark bass, smooth strings, incredible percussion, spoken word poetic and erotic lyrical flow is the trademark for classic Chicago house, and has helped set standard for everything else that has followed.
PAUL DU LAC (biorhythm, clone records)
DELBAEN (ampere, sound architecture)
CURTIS (warm)