ABICAH SOUL

DJ Stax (aka Abicah Soul Project) grew up in Chicago during the days of the Warehouse and Muzic Box, and his deejay sets and production—like those of friends Glenn Underground, Boo Williams, Paul Johnson, and Gene Hunt—are heavily influenced by the pioneering work of Frankie Knuckles and Ron Hardy. He began deejaying in 1983, when he was only 12 years old, and has been a staple in the Chi-town rave and club scene ever since, holding residencies at Smartbar, Club4, and Ohm and doing weekly radio gigs for WNUR 89.3 and prepartyradio.com.

As a producer, Stax has landed releases on Classic, Jellybean, Nite Life Collective, Rush Hour, Wha? Roots, and several other labels. An in-demand remixer, he has given tracks by Telepopmusik, Osunlade, Glenn Underground, and No Assembly Required (Dan X and Justin Long) the “Abicah” treatment. His signature soulful, deeply-rooted yet edgy afro-latin sound—evidenced by recent tracks such as “Musique de Ve” (Eargasmic)—is unique in dance music today and defies categorization. Imagine Joe Claussell collaborating with ¬me, or IsolÈe teaming up with Osunlade and you’re on the right track. His work has been compared to that of Jazzanova and Quentin Harris, and as a “DJ’s producer” he is one of the best-kept and most-cherished secrets in deep house. Indeed, a wide variety of deejays—from Brett Johnson and DJ Heather to Marques Wyatt, Blaze, and Gilles Peterson—have featured his tracks on their Mix CDs.