Derrick Carter

Born and raised in the western suburbs, Carter was into music from a young age, but during his teens Chicago's house scene sucked him in for good. Before long Carter became a strong presence in the city's underground dance scene. "When I got my driver's license at 16 my sneak ability was validated," he laughs. "I was a fierce bedroom jock for a long time. After you mix for the love of it for six or seven years, you get it pretty tight and you can take it on the road." He got by working at dance-music specialty stores like Gramaphone and gigging at parties. Later he landed regular DJ stints at Shelter, Foxy's, and Smart Bar. Though he doesn't spin much locally anymore, when he does he attracts large crowds. His sets are rooted in house, but he freely travels outside club tastes, seamlessly incorporating old-school disco, soul, jazz, and whatever else catches his fancy. Most of the time he works in Europe, where he's become a minor celebrity among dance-music aficionados. Carter says that due to his growing notoriety his production talents have been requested by pop-oriented acts. But he prefers to remain underground. Although enthused about his own Blue Cucaracha label and a new UK-based imprint he runs called Classic, he's reluctant to offer much explanation of either label's MO--other than each releases records when the mood strikes him. "I like to keep myself pretty invisible. You may think I'm somewhere, but I've already left."

Performances

Apr 04, 2009 - DERRICK CARTER :: MILES MAEDA @ FortyFiveDegrees

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