Biography :
One of the pinnacles of Chicago house music's
'90s wave, Derrick Carter began DJ’ing at the age
of nine, spinning disco records at family reunions. 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. Most of the time he works in Europe, where
he's become a minor celebrity among dance-music aficionados
:
“Its hard not to laugh on the occaisions
when you’ll make 20 times what you make in Chicago
on a Saturday night, but back home there are also times
when you just do it for fun… So many people come up
to me and say ‘Man, I had the worst day, My girlfriend
left me, I locked my keys in my car, but you turned it around
for two hours, and that made me able to get up in the morning’
That’s the best thing going.”
Derrick’s sets are rooted in house,
but he freely travels outside club tastes, seamlessly incorporating
old-school disco, soul, jazz and whatever catches his fancy.
His debut single "Love Me Right"
appeared in 1987, just after he graduated from college.
Another single ("Symbols and Instruments" as Mood)
appeared in 1989, but the Chicago house scene faded soon
after, leaving Carter and other artists with few to play
for except themselves.
Thanks in part to Cajmere's and Felix Da
Housecat's respective labels (Relief, Radikal Fear), Chicago
house made a comeback during the mid-'90s and began to offer
impressive newcomers in addition to the old guard. Carter,
recording for the Organico label, returned with several
singles, and an album as Sound Patrol. In 1995, he began
working with a live band as the Sound Patrol Orchestra.
Several mix albums have appeared, including
Cosmic Disco on MixMag and Pagan Offering on Pagan. Carter
has also founded two labels (Blue Cucaracha and Classic)
and remixed tracks from Chicago's own post-rock heroes Tortoise.
~ John Bush, All Music Guide
Since then pioneering, innovative tracks
and consequent critical acclaim have repeatedly marked Derrick
out as once of the most important players in Dance music.
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."
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."
