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| Photo: Robert Williams |
Williams of Chicago's Warehouse fame and club pioneer Trent will appear in a Creative Keynote, discussing recent shows and an unreleased book series.
There are not many clubs around the world that can claim to have given their name to a globe-straddling genre that has been setting dance floors alight since the 80s, but that is the case with Chicago’s Warehouse, which, despite not being a house music venue at the time, nonetheless gave its name the form.
Robert Williams, the club’s former owner and an acknowledged facilitator of the nascent East Coast electronic scene, will be appearing in a Creative Keynote alongside house and techno pioneer Ron Trent. The duo will be talking about the recent shows hosted by Williams under the Music Box title and featuring Antal, Trent and Danny Krivit. They will also be discussing the Music Box book series which was announced late last year. We are seriously thrilled to be able to welcome Williams, without whom there would be no Chicago house music. Williams attended the seminal after-hours discos, including David Mancuso’s Loft, and met Larry Levan and Frankie Knuckles when they were club kids. In 1974, Williams moved to Chicago where he organised after-hours parties that later became The Warehouse.
Williams lured Frankie Knuckles to the Warehouse to be his resident DJ; then he asked Richard Long and Associates to install a custom sound and light system. When The Warehouse ended, Williams went onto create the Music Box with Ron Hardy as his DJ. Inspired in large part by Williams’ parties, local producers began creating their own stripped-down tracks, inspiring dancers worldwide and kicking off a sonic revolution. Says Williams: "Ron Hardy used to turn it out at the Music Box. He was a musical rebel. His music was sort of like a sexual experience. If one position didn't work, he'd try another one. It was about pleasing the audience because they were his concern. Today's DJs, just don't get it. And they all have egos ." But don't let his words fool you. Williams is an incredibly warm and funny person, always cracking a joke. His personality is what has made him known for being an amazing host, one who throws the best parties.
Ron Trent started out making house tunes but it was with the early techno crowd that he established himself as a major creative force. His first track Altered States was, rather fittingly, released on Warehouse Records, and was a big hit with the techno scene. In 1993 he founded his own label Prescription records.
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