10.5.08

Who's House these Days? Osunlade!!


Folks like me who were born and raised in Chicago have a natural appreciation for great house music and we tend to have pretty high standards when it comes to going out for a night of music and dancing. Living in the city where the whole style of music was born provides numerous opportunities to hear some of the best that there is or ever was.

Last night the legendary house music producer Osunlade performed at the Victor Hotel in Chi-Town's West Loop. Anyone who buys his records or has seen him DJ goes in with an expectation of something amazing, and last night was surely no disappointment. Osunlade had that room at the Victor Hotel charged with great spirit and energy, and gathered the crowd together into an exciting and electrifying house experience of which only a few musicians are capable. His unique style takes his fans on an audio-tour through a continuously refreshing and gratifying blend of classic house, latin house, afro house, techno house and club house. As listeners journey from one style to the next, the music is blended seamlessly into a complete sound that is an ever-changing and modulating unified whole. My music-producer/DJ friend Phonaut likens this to a House Music interpretation of M.C. Escher's "Relativity." :-) There were so many great tracks played last night, but a couple of special treats were "Change For Me" which Osunlade produced in collaboration Eric Roberson, as well as his remix of "Hard Way" by Rhythm & Sound w/ Tikiman!

The Victor Hotel was a stimulating departure from the club venues where Osunlade can typically be seen. The room was very comfortable and intimate but still had plenty of space for everyone. The overall look and feel was unpretentiously-modern with a well-preserved classic hotel ballroom quality to it. The crowd was typical for an Osunlade event and was full of the old school house heads, the well-dressed dancefloor divas, and the 20-30-something music aficionado young-professionals. As always, the crowd was fun, charming and completely free of the stupid, irritating, drunk-ass, college-minded white folks that tend to make Friday nights out so intolerable.

Wow! What a great time!! Wormgear recommends that his readers make the effort to see Osunlade in person, for themselves. I can promise you a memorable night out.

A link to last night's event is here:
http://www.funkycouture.net/events/view/118

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