Devastating loss to wake up to, he was also helping to keep the avant-lumpenism of house alive when the sound had gotten all so sophorific in the mainstream, parallel to what the jocks in London were doing, and in fact in many ways predating the UK garage sound of speeding up dubs. He is going to be missed, too many raw straight 2 tape slammers to even mention.
RIP Paul Johnson
- Thread starter thirdform
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padraig (u.s.)
a monkey that will go ape
Wow, absolutely terrible news. Truly a towering figure of Chicago house music (and as 3rd says, house in general)
My favorite Paul Johnson memory is seeing him at a long-gone spot in Wicker Park about 15 years ago (i.e. recently enough that a few vestigial remnants of pre-gentrification WP were still around) play to like, half a dozen people, after a screening of a short documentary about DJs that a friend of a friend had produced. W/no crowd he was in full-on play whatever the fuck I want mode, an endless barrage of personal favorite 80s Chicago house + pre-house classics, disco, Italo, EBM, whatever. I didn't know enough to recognize it at the time, but probably exactly the kind of set he grew up listening to from the Hot Mix 5 etc. One of the key moments that got me interested in dance music in the first place.
My favorite Paul Johnson memory is seeing him at a long-gone spot in Wicker Park about 15 years ago (i.e. recently enough that a few vestigial remnants of pre-gentrification WP were still around) play to like, half a dozen people, after a screening of a short documentary about DJs that a friend of a friend had produced. W/no crowd he was in full-on play whatever the fuck I want mode, an endless barrage of personal favorite 80s Chicago house + pre-house classics, disco, Italo, EBM, whatever. I didn't know enough to recognize it at the time, but probably exactly the kind of set he grew up listening to from the Hot Mix 5 etc. One of the key moments that got me interested in dance music in the first place.
padraig (u.s.)
a monkey that will go ape
Also, I see he died of COVID, which once again highlights the disproportionate effect it's had and continues to have on POC. See also Mike Huckaby.
Just a real bummer. Rest in Power.
Just a real bummer. Rest in Power.
forclosure
Well-known member
if that's noise i'd love to know what you'd define as ambience