Music

Designed with the dance floor in mind: the story of Chicago house

The eighties were both a tumultuous and exciting time in the history of music, and the tale to be told about the birth and evolution of electronic music is far from a predictable one. New York had disco, Detroit had techno, and Chicago had house. The growth of all three branches of this dance music tree are important, but at its core house music emerged from the Windy City as the umbrella genre's most universal derivative. As thousands prepare to make their way to Chicago's Montrose Beach this weekend for the second annual Wavefront Music Festival, complete with a Chicago Heritage Stage, let us pull back the curtain once again and explore the places from which this music came.

Cara Daley