On this week's show we are honoured to broadcast an exclusive 1 hour DJ mix by legendary Chicago DJ Gene Hunt.
Gene Hunt is a true pioneer of Chicago house music. Since the early 80's he has been a leader on the scene, moving and educating crowds and music lovers at the likes of the Warehouse, The Music Box, Medusa's and The Playground; and has worked with Farley Jack master Funk, Robert Owens, Larry Heard, Terry Hunter and Kenny Dope to name a few.
Gene started djing in 1986 at the young age of 14, building his reputation as a key DJ in the local scene doing gigs at hotel parties, like Bismarck, La Mirage, Sauers, Da Vinci Manor, AKA and the Riviera. He was also a resident at the the Hyatt Park Athletic Club, where he dj'ed alongside Ron Hardy. Gene gradually became Ron's protégé and as Ron passed on his musical knowledge onto the youngster the pair started recording music together as well.
Gene released his first EP, Living In The Land on Trax in 1987 and went on to release music on other labels such as Djax, Hybrid, Svek, Maad, Dopewax, Moods & Grooves.
Being a key player on the scene resulted in many local producers giving Gene reel-to-reel tapes of their new productions for him to play out in the clubs. Many of these were unreleased and a lot of producers lost their own tracks over the years. Luckily, Gene kept his copies like a librarian and now, 25 years (or more) later, Gene has made these available on his Chicago Dance Tracks LP via Rush Hour.
The LP includes early outputs dating back to 1982-83; including tracks from Mr Fingers, Steve Pointdexter, Farely & Steve Hurley, Ron Hardy's original version of Sensation, Gene's version of Donnie, and a mash up of a Larry Heard track, which was a Music Box / Ron Hardy favorite. These were the tracks that labels such as Trax or DJ International deemed not commercial (i.e. not radio friendly) enough, but were all the more popular in the Chicago clubs.
When djing, Gene fuses soulful vocal house and disco with heavier tracks to take the listener on a journey through dark and light as he twists from breath-taking highs to gut wrenching lows - and this week's mix is no exception...
Tracklist:
PT's picks:
Glenn Underground - Mello Blo (Strictly Jazz Unit)
Dajae - Day By Day (Chez & Trent remix) (Cajual)
Terence FM - Stay Together (Cajual)
Aphrohead - Lite's In The Sky (Aphrohead's Moody Mix) (Power Music)
Gene Hunt - Straight Trippin (Maad)
DJ Rahaan - Inside America (Kat)
Gene Hunt - Studio 19 (Maad)
First Choice - Let No man Put Asunder - Ron Hardy Edit (White)
Boo Williams - Jaggin Off (?)
Green Velvet - Answering Machine (Chicago Connection Dub) (Cajual)
Mini-Mix DJ: Gene Hunt (Chicago House Legend)
Terry Hunter feat Terisa Griffin - Wonderful
Kenny Dope & Terry Hunter presents Mass Destruction - Blackout
Nino Gomez - & Ritula - Lupeca? (possibly) Rick Wade - What do you see remix?
Blue Magic - Welcome To The Club
Patti Labelle - What Can You Do For Me (Groove Assasin Re-rub)
M.I.D.I - Was Fun? / Acid Tracks remix?
The Police - The World Keep Running Down
? - Time to Jack?
Billy Paul - Only The Strong Survive
South Shore Commission - Free Man
Black Coffee - Superman
The Main Ingredient - Rolling Down The Mountainside
For more info check:
www.myspace.com/genehuntmusicianorg
www.junodownload.com/artists/Gene+Hunt/releases
www.discogs.com/artist/Gene+Hunt
Live Show: Thursday 5th April 2012
No repeat
Preston FM
8-10pm
Listen online or tune to 103.2fm
