Events

Get ready to re-live the heydey of electronic music in Chicago with Raver Rewind 2000 on Saturday September 19 at Ai Lounge. Four Chicago-based DJs who've experienced the scene firsthand back in the day will be playing records only from 1992-2000 for an authentic soundrack.  Contemporary instruments like laptops, digital DJ gear, Monomes / APC, Lemurs are specifically prohibited as well.

What's not prohibited is getting into the "raver spirit" by dressing the part--phat pants, bright colors, ravey t-shirts, and bringing some PLUR and good vibes. For some of us who were there in the scene, it will be a night heavy on nostalgia, and will bring back the joy of hearing classic tracks that we remember fondly. For the newer recruits into the contemporary electronic music scene, it will be educational to hear the tracks, trends and products of available technology that influenced the kind of music being made today.

SPECIAL GUEST: Cesario Magnifique (Italso / electro / disco)

DOWNLOAD Cesario Magnifique's 1-hour mix: "Warp (Rave Mix)"

Popkan (Textone, subVariant) will focus heavily on old school house;   Gianna Hardt (Forte Productions, ForTheMammas), a promoter uniquely familiar with of underground parties idolized and was influenced by DJs like Larry Heard, Farley Jackmaster Funk, and Julian Jumpin Perez. Tim Kasper (House of Godz) will bring his collection of vintage techno to throw down. Liz Revision (subVariant) hosts. Arrive early to nosh on Ai Restaurant’s AMAZING Japanese food & killer sushi. Valet is available for $10 all night. 358 W. Ontario, Chicago, 10pm-2am. 21+

Hangovers are the annoying, productivity-inhibiting result of a night spent drinking quite a bit, and yet we still put up with them because it's fun to loosen up, be social, and dance. Sure, it's easy to pop some aspirin, rehydrate and muddle through the morning, but wouldn't it be cool if music could relieve your hangover?

That's the concept behind Exception AM, a free digital compilation from subVariant that aims to present a collection of electronic music to help you feel better in the morning after a night of drinking. To celebrate the release on June 20, the release party will be held at Ai lounge in River North as the first in a series of concept parties called "Artificial Intelligence." Liz Revision will mix the mostly-ambient and downtempo tracks from the compilation together at the beginning of the night and will then hand over the decks to local DJs Silentcorp, Andrew Kevins, Dirtybird, and Droopy to finish out the night with techno and house. The party will be free all night from 10pm-3am.

subVariant's Artificial Intelligence showcase is a series of concept parties that aim to merge art, design, humor, and fun into a dance music scene that often takes itself too seriously, while still maintaining the high level of musical quality and experimentation the company is known for and continuing to support the local electronic music community.

subVariant presents "Artificial Intelligence 1: Exception AM Release Party" 10pm-3am Silentcorp DJs Andrew Kevins Dirtybird Droopy Liz Revision Ai Lounge. 358 W. Ontario, Chicago IL. 21+ FREE

Over the last four years there has been no single hotter underground party in New York City than The Marcy Hotel hosted by Wolf and Lamb. The duo, comprised of entrepreneurs and multi-talents Zev

Eisenberg and Gadi Mizrahi, have played host in their secret Brooklyn location to internationally renowned techno talent such as Dan Bell, Oliver Hacke, Zip, Sammy Dee and Derek Plaslaiko developing a reputation as the heart of NYC electronic music community, even catching the attention of the New York Times.

Building on their party experiences and deep industry connections, Eisenberg and Mizrahi have kept focused on the future, eventually concentrating less on event production and growing their oeuvre to include making music and releasing music on their WolfLambMusic MP3 label, that this year was expanded to produce hard copy releases. Their first release, the Sexy Dancer EP by Detroit native Lee Curtiss hits record shops this fall.

In celebration of this accomplishment, the duo are venturing to Chicago on Friday, October 24th, for an extremely rare performance outside of the five boroughs. The show, organized by another talented duo in Liz Knight and Andrew Lochhead under their Ramp Chicago banner, will be hosted at Debonair Social Club as part of Ramp’s ongoing monthly series of events at the Wicker Park hot spot. Featuring an opening slot by Knight, as Liz Revision, the night will be billed as an “Evening with Wolf + Lamb” and will feature a four hour live and DJ performance by Eisemann and Mizrahi. In keeping with the special nature of the event Debonair will also offer a special admission option to registered guests featuring a three hour open bar at $25 a person from 9pm till 12am.

To register for this promotion Ramp asks you to please RSVP at by emailing This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and reminds you to be sure to leave your first and last name so you can be added to the list at the door. The first 25 people on the list are guaranteed a gift bag at the event.

The event will also be a goodbye party for Chicago party mainstay and Ramp Chicago artistic coordinator Andrew Lochhead so come party it up one last time.   Ramp Chicago is proud to present an evening with Wolf+Lamb featuring an opening set by Liz Revision followed by a four-hour DJ set by the legendary Brooklyn-based electronic scenesters in the basement of Debonair Social Club at 1575 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago Illinois on Friday , October 24, 2008. Reserve your tickets that include an open bar from 9pm-12am for $25 by emailing This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Regular tickets are $10 after 12am at the door but admission is not guaranteed.

The first 25 people who RSVP are guaranteed a gift bag with extra special goodies inside.

Wolf + Lamb: Wolf + Lamb was first introduced in 2001 as a DJ alias for Zev Eisenberg and Gadi Mizrahi. At the time, they found it was next to impossible to find a venue in New York City with the right setting to present their music, with the exception of their occasional guest appearances at The Bunker at subTonic. After two years of limited success in both Manhattan and Brooklyn, they set out to build their own damn venue. In early 2005, the lease was signed and work began on the Marcy Hotel. They worked to turn the neglected, garbage-filled, former machine shop into a world-class electronic music venue, complete with homemade chandeliers, light fixtures, bar, and art installations. From the opening on May 7th, 2005 as the official afterhours party for the Mini-Mutek event at the Bunker, it was clear that they had finally created a space for the magic to take place.

Throughout 2005, they were lucky enough to host some of the brightest techno artists in the world. Patrons of the Marcy felt at home in the intimate venue, knowing they could count on being served quality, cutting edge music, cheap drinks, and a great vibe. The 2006 New Years Eve Party featuring Daniel Bell was the final event in the Marcy. The word of the parties had spread quickly and the crowds had outgrown the Marcy's capacity. After moving to 12turn13 in early 2006, Wolf + Lamb were able to transfer their vision to a larger space and continue to offer the same environment and level of quality their guests had come to expect. As DJ's, their events offered them an opportunity to play alongside and learn from the best techno DJs in the world.

Their performances at Burning Man in Nevada every year offered them another way to connect with a larger global audience. Wolf + Lamb Music: In late 2005, the Wolf + Lamb Music netlabel was created as an outlet for original Wolf + Lamb productions, as well as the music of some of the artists who had been influenced by their events. As early adopters of digital DJing, first using Final Scratch, then Ableton Live, they set out to make a label of distinction in what they saw as the soon to be as the dominant format. The first label of it's kind, Wolf + Lamb Music was designed as a no-frills distribution medium that reflected their ideals: a simple, single release oriented, open source music label offering free source downloads for all releases. In early 2007, Wolf + Lamb began offering master quality tracks for sale on Beatport.com, allowing them to pay the artists, encouraging an even higher caliber of releases.

Gadi Mizrahi: Born and raised in Brooklyn, Gadi was always surrounded by music. His Egyptian born father played traditional middle-eastern drums, and his brother is a DJ. His intense passion for music left him with deep knowledge of many styles and genres, but with little commitment to any of them. In 2001, after a friend introduced him to techno, he found a willing accomplice in Zev and the two set out to make inroads into the genre. Gadi left the Lower East Side apparel store that he designed and co-owned to fully dedicate himself to music. Bringing his unique aesthetic and business accumen, Gadi helped define the the visual and musical identity of Wolf + Lamb. Beginning production in early 2005, Gadi has collaborated with several artists, and has released both solo and collaborative original works as Wolf + Lamb & Gadi Mizrahi. Currently, Gadi he has been focused on producing his own music and pushing the Wolf + Lamb Music label forward.

Zev Eisenberg: Raised Hasidic in Brooklyn, the limited offerings of Jewish music left Zev searching for a music that he could connect to. Introduced to electronic music at 14, his search continued through the late 1990's. Quickly moving from one genre to the next, he never felt the connection that warranted the investment and contribution he felt he could bring. All that changed after meeting Gadi at a party in Williamsburg in 2001. At the time, Zev was finishing up with a software development company he had founded in the late 1990's. The two quickly became friends and Gadi introduced Zev to minimal techno. As co-conspirators, they began plotting what would one day become Wolf + Lamb. Since finding his musical home, Zev has amassed a collection and musical repertoire that spans the gamut of minimal dance music. From his background in design and web, Zev still produces all the media for Wolf + Lamb, and oversees the technology. His first original co-productions were released on Wolf + Lamb Music in 2006, with more to come.

Ramp Chicago Moves to Friday Nights at Debonair, Rex Sepulveda Performs

Chicago electronic music promoters Ramp Chicago’s flagship monthly events at Debonair Social Club will be officially moving from the final Thursday to the last Friday of every month.On Friday, July 25th Rex Sepulveda from Detroit will perform alongside Liz Revision to launch the new night.

The switch in days was prompted by five months of steadily increasing attendance at the events that featured nationally and internationally recognized DJs and Producers such as Andy Vaz, Noah Pred, Kero and Kill Memory Crash.

Ramp Chicago spokesperson and talent coordinator Andrew Lochhead said the group is “excited about the move,” adding that he believes the move will not only “draw more people to our events but also increase the nights ability to attract even more high profile talent to the club.”

The move becomes official July 25th, when Ramp Chicago will present D Records recording artist Rex Sepulveda alongside Ramp Chicago resident Liz Revision.

Sepulveda was one of the original D Records artists, along with Tom Newman aka Acidpimp and The Kooky Scientist, when the label was founded in 1999 by techno legend Richie Hawtin. In addition to performing alongside these artists and more, Sepulveda also opened the main stage on the final day of this year’s Movement festival in Detroit opening for artists such as Speedy J, Par Grindvik and Cobblestone Jazz.

European Techno Legend Andy Vaz Live in Chicago

CHICAGO IL— Andy Vaz, the Dj/Producer, largely credited with spearheading the so-called minimal movement in European dance music, performs at Debonair Social Club in Chicago, June 26 for a very special date on a four city mini-tour of the USA.

A long time presence in the European techno community, Vaz, introduced the world to the complexities offered by the minimal techno genre in its various regional forms, exposing the world to some of the premiere releases by artists such as Akufen, Geoff White, Deadbeat, Stewart Walker, Sutekh and Oliver Hacke through his highly innovative Background Records label. The Dusseldorf native and now Cologne resident has also made an impact on the global house music scene with his highly influential A Touch of Class imprint, on which Vaz’s keen ear for deep house met his minimal production sensibilities.

Currently Vaz’s work has focused on a new label project, Yore records, which brings Detroit and Chicago house producers such as Terrence Dixon and Rick Wade along with Vaz giving these artists a means to further explore their sounds, transcending their usual classifications as “old school.”

Vaz will be joined by NYC based composer and legendary music technology blogger Peter Kirn, of createdigitalmusic.com fame, as well as Ramp Chicago resident DJ Liz Revision.

Detroit and electro are both influences on Derek Michael and Kill Memory Crash  who will perform at Ramp Chicago's night in the basement of Debonair Social Club on April 24. Derek Michael rips apart techno and reconfigures it in unexpected and  ways, either shattering it apart into IDM, building schaeffel grooves, or dropping electro bombs—all on demand with Ableton Live. Similarly Kill Memory Crash creates a sinister blend of industrial, glitched-out electro, and ambient influenced by the grit and decay of of Detroit in the 1990s.

Derek Michael is part owner of Detroit Underground Recordings along with Kero and Andrew Lochhead as well as a musician and DJ. He has the distinction of popularizing the Schaeffel sound in the mid 1990s in Germany that was later adopted by such artists as Benno Blome, founder of Sender records, and T.Raumschmiere, founder of Shitkatapult records. He has shared a bill with a veritable who's-who list of contemporary electronic musicians and DJs such as Plastikman, Thomas Brinkmann, Venetian Snares, Richard Devine, Apparat, Quantazelle, Ellen Allien, Otto Von Schirach, Modeselektor, Smash TV, Ellen Allien, Dan Bell, Matthew Dear, Sleeparchive, Jeff Mills, Derek May, and Kevin Saunderson. 

From the debauchery and hedonism of the mid-90s Detroit rave scene, Kill Memory Crash  (Ghostly International) emerged armed with their hard-nosed hybrid of techno, industrial, rock, and electro. They have shaken the foundations of electronic music by tearing away at the very boundaries that define it, freely mixing genres and styles, with a nod to artists such as Perspects, Ministry, Coil, Ultradyne and Adult.. Expect a DJ set from members Alex SanFaçon and Adam Killing that reflects their influences and genre-hopping taste.

Derek Michael and Kill Memory Crash are supported by Liz Revision--a Ramp Chicago resident who produces under the Quantazelle moniker and constructs DJ sets that span from glitchy / blippy minimal techno to melodic IDM.
 
Short description

Derek Michael, Kill Memory Crash (DJ Set), Liz Revision
Thursday, April 24, 2008 @ Debonair Social Club (Basement)
1575 N. Milwaukee Ave, Chicago IL
9pm – 2am, 21+, $0
(773) 227-7990

Derek Michael (Detroit Underground, Sender, Horzu, SubVariant) chops and reconfigures electro live and Kill Memory Crash (Ghostly International) DJ at Ramp Chicago's night at Debonair Social Club. Resident DJ Liz Revision supports. Expect a mix of  glitched-out IDM, edgy ambient, and minimal techno.  

Thursday, March 27, 2008 @ Debonair Social Club
1575 N. Milwaukee Ave, Chicago IL
9pm – 2am, 21+, $0
(773) 227-7990

Noah Pred (New Kanada, Thoughtless Music) and Eric Downer (Thoughtless Music, Fukhouse) from Toronto DJ at Ramp Chicago's night at Debonair Social Club in their very ï¬rst Chicago performance. Resident DJ Liz Revision supports alongside resident VJ Spiderback  and his special guest
Amputeenie. Expect a mix of glitched-out IDM, edgy ambient, minimal techno and tech house.   

Noa Pred Live Set
Noah Pred DJ Set
 
Old school meets new school when Toronto scene builders Noah Pred and Eric Downer perform at Ramp Chicago's night at Debonair Social Club. With a recent full length techno
release on New Kanada, Ecocosm, Noah Pred holds down a residency with the Fukhouse crew and runs the Thoughtless Music and Sentient Sound labels. Eric Downer has been a force within the Toronto scene producing numerous events and helping to bring a larger international presence to the
already cosmopolitan city.

Through his releases on New Kanada, Throughtless and Sentient Noah Pred has quickly established himself as one of Canada's rising stars in the international electronic music scene. Having performed alongside diverse artists like  Funk D'Void, James Holden and Mathew Jonson he comes to us fresh from a tour of Europe and the Canadian West coast for his very ï¬rst Chicago performance.

Eric Downer has been a presence in what's come to be known as the second wave of Detroit techno since its inception. He has performed alongside Richie Hawtin at some of the earliest Plus8 parties in both Detroit and Toronto and has contiued to play a major role in Torornto's techno community holding down residencies and putting on events at Sensor, Footwork, 99 Sudbury,  Guvernment as part of the Fukhouse crew. Recently Downer has begun producing his own tracks on the Thoughtless Label that he runs with Noah Pred.

All of Ramp's residents are original content producers while being skilled at manipulating work in the live environment. Liz Revision chooses between glitchy minimal techno and melodic IDM. Resident VJ Spiderback mixes his own visual material live in response to the music, and has invited Amputeenie to share video mixing duties.
 
Ramp Chicago promotes and organizes forward-thinking electronic music events that focus on innovation in sound and video. Devoted to live and interesting electronic music that takes a path somewhere between the dance floor and your headphones, Ramp continues to bring in artists that
straddle genres and take chances. www.rampchicago.com

Noah Pred

Producing dance music and performing live for over eight years, Noah Pred emerged from Vancouver's underground as a sought-after techno DJ with a sophisticated sound and unique style.

Devoted to authentic and soulful strains of techno in all its permutations, Noah's sound continues to
evolve while remaining ï¬rmly driven by the dancefloor.

Since his ï¬rst records came out in the late nineties, his productions have received international
support, appearing on charts from renowned talent such as Carl Cox, Cari Lekebusch, and Laurent
Garnier.   His subsequent 12-inch EPs and remixes have continued to garner critical acclaim while
moving dancefloors across the globe, appearing on playlists from Tokyo to Glasgow.

As a DJ and live act, Noah has travelled throughout Europe and North America, performing alongside
such diverse artists as Funk D'Void, James Holden and Mathew Jonson.   After working as
assistant A&R for Consigned Recordings in Montreal, Noah applied his label skills by spearheading
the Paciï¬c Technics project, a triple-vinyl compilation beneï¬ting Amnesty International. The Paciï¬c
Technics CD, selected and mixed by Noah Pred, was released in June 2004.

Exploring his compositional versatility, Pred launched the Shen project later that year. Geared towards
digital downtempo, electronic dub and emotive IDM, Shen has provided Noah with a creative outlet for
productions that roam beyond the borders of clubland. His debut Shen full-length, 'Outlines', was
released on Native State Records in December 2006.

Recently relocated to Toronto where he's accepted a DJ residency with the Fukhouse crew, he runs
two record labels from his studio headquarters - Thoughtless Music and Sentient Sound.  Delving into
the potentials of ï¬eld recording and integrated sound design, Noah's latest techno full-length on New
Kanada, 'Ecocosm', was released in August 2007.

Eric Downer

Growing up in the industrial town of Cambridge, Ontario, Eric Downer had become fascinated by
electronic music at an early age and was editing mixes on his dad's dual cassette hi-ï¬ at age eleven.
Access to late night radio and a few well stocked record stores saw that he was buying music as soon
as his ï¬rst pay check was in hand at age fourteen. By seventeen, Downer was playing his varied
music collection to jocks, preps, punks and nerds in school gymnasiums and the seedy low rent bars
of downtown Cambridge, incorporating video and audio. Later, Downer moved to London, Ontario and
found work in a record shop being paid exclusively in vinyl. It was here that his career as a DJ really
began to take shape. London at the time was booming with the right mix of people and saw Downer at
gigs with peers as well as headlining alongside out-of-towners. Seeing the greater music industry
through the performers brought in from other cities ensured that Eric was past the point of no return.
Working with such a crowd provided much inspiration and pushed Eric into newer styles of music and
sound mixing.

The mid 1990's saw Downer make the move to Toronto and partake in events hosted by
Transcendance and Alien Visitation, among others.  This opened him up to many venues across the
whole of the city from gritty, decrepit slaughterhouses, to derelict warehouses, out to the forests and
beaches, onto tall ships and back to the heady nightclubs and more intimate nightspots. Eric has
played early Plus8 parties with Plastikman between 1993 and 1995, has shared the stage with Riley
Reinhold aka TripleR, Magda, Greg Gow, Sleeparchive and countless others. Mixing ambient, then
getting out the techno and cutting his teeth at various weeklies and events, Downer was broadsided
by the sounds of house. It was this period that saw him working through various genres during sets
and experimenting with different sounds, textures and atmospheres on the dancefloor, keeping house
at the center of his sound. Playing clubs like Industry, and other events gave Eric the freedom to
express moods and ideas to sold out crowds Gigging alongside many of the peers he met in London,
he was also billed with many other luminaries of the techno, ambient and house spheres while holding
down various residencies. This exposure at home saw interest generated in other cities, bringing Eric
to Halifax, Cincinnati, Detroit, Atlanta and points in-between.

Currently, Eric is still experiencing the flux of his career, working by day as an audio technician in
television and ï¬lm, he maintains his role in Toronto's underground, collaborating with Fukhouse during
2003/4 and starting his own night, Sensor. Still inspired by new technologies and sounds, Downer
mixes a blend of his past influences with modern tech-house, techno and ambient textures to create a
true and sublime dancefloor experience. In the past few years he has been a part of boundary pushing
nights, bringing in current underground and respected talent while working in clubs like System
Soundbar, and various non traditional spaces. The continuing inspiration and collaboration with like
minded people and promoters Alieninflux, Fukhouse, Terra, Footwork, Sensor and Geometry signify
the supportive and dynamic atmosphere currently in Toronto and its vicinity. With an eye on the world,
and an ear for new sounds, Downer now takes the last ï¬fteen years of his life in music and works a
fresh transition into the studio, and his future.

Many Boards of Canada fanboys and fangirls were disappointed with the Scottish band’s latest albums, finding them insubstantial frottages of their profound, emotionally resonant, layered-synth-heavy earlier work. Tycho’s stellar show at Sonotheque in March proved that the legacy of early Boards can live on in the hands of contemporary artists without being flatly derivative, and this September 11th our guest of honor, Miles Tilmann, will take the reins and lead us all on a consummate sonic journey of his own design.

“Miles’ music is powered by a blend of deep atmospherics and heavy sequencing, balanced with live keyboards, field recordings and a broad assortment of rhythm,” the Consumer’s Label tells us. So while he’s got a solid grasp on powerfully emotional ambient soundscapes, the kid has beat skills and is not afraid to use them. But rave-kick-tendencies aside, he’s not an easy one to figure out. Much in the same way as Boards of Canada encodes symbolism and esoteric references into their music, Miles often encodes a loftier goal beneath the surface of what you hear. In an interview with Modsquare.com, Miles spoke of his album Over and Through as a sonic metaphor of the fetus’ experience during the late stages of pregnancy and subsequent birth. Wow. Be prepared to be completely overwhelmed by Miles’ latest compositions—in a good way.

And talk about impressive–Ryan Olcott of supporting band Mystery Palace earned a prestigious rank of 10.0 from the impenetrable tastemaker’s music review site Pitchfork.com for his 12 Rod project’s album, Gay? As if that wasn’t enough trainspotter cred to throw around, the Minnesota-based Mystery Palace has achieved the lofty-yet-often-unsuccessful goal of merging an indie-rock live band with experimental, circuit-bent electronics, fusing quixotic sequences and textures with a very human rhythm section. Seriously, how could you pass this up?

• Tuesday, September 11th at Sonotheque
• 1444 W. Chicago Ave.
• $5
• 21+
• 9pm to 2am

Miles Tilmann combines powerfully emotional ambient soundscapes with his inimitable rhythmic sense while supporting act Mystery Palace proves that circuit-bending and rocking out are just as compatible at Ramp Chicago’s 2nd Tuesdays at Sonotheque. Residents Emulsion and Liz Revision spin throughout the night. Also check out video resident Spiderback, and local guests Dreamdaze and Amputeenie throwing down live visuals all night.