They were Beatport's most downloaded artist in January this year, and the momentum isn't stopping for Santiago & Bushido -- two longtime buddies who are climbing up the DJ heirachy with a lightning-fast quickness. Amidst the countless DJ's and producers working in the burgeoning Chicago house scene, Santiago and Bushido stand apart from the rest with their unique blend of tech-tinged house beats and killer remixes that are becoming quite the sought-after commodity. Since... Read more
They were Beatport's most downloaded artist in January this year, and the momentum isn't stopping for Santiago & Bushido -- two longtime buddies who are climbing up the DJ heirachy with a lightning-fast quickness. Amidst the countless DJ's and producers working in the burgeoning Chicago house scene, Santiago and Bushido stand apart from the rest with their unique blend of tech-tinged house beats and killer remixes that are becoming quite the sought-after commodity. Since teaming up as a production duo in 2001, Chris Santiago and Tim Bush have dropped numerous EP's and remixes on some of the most well respected labels around including Potty Mouth, Om, Ultra, and have been enjoying a huge buzz as of late. The duo's "For What" EP on Potty Mouth Music was released to critical praise and support from DJs across the globe including Switch, Jesse Rose, and Johnny Fiasco. Their single "Head Trick" climbed the charts on Beatport.com, the world's top online site for electronic music and held the number one spot for a few weeks. In addition to belting out club tracks earning them critical moxie in Chicago and beyond, Santiago and Bushido have been involved with Chicago native Colette's 2007 artist album "Push" for Om Records. They wrote and produced multiple songs on Push, including the album's single, "If," which has been licensed for a future episode of Real World for "MTV" and can also be purchased as a ringtone from Verizon.
Having been intimately involved with music his entire, life Bushido picked up his first pair of turntables and sampler on his 16th birthday and immediately went to work mixing, sampling, and cutting up any piece of vinyl he could get his hands on. His carefully crafted DJ sets caught the ears of some of Chicago's nightlife elite and he soon found himself playing all over the city. Tim spent his days working at Chicago Recording Company, sharing the same recording space with the likes of R.Kelly and Smashing Pumpkins among others. By working alongside some of Chicago's most well respected engineers at CRC, Bushido honed his engineering and production prowess until opportunity knocked.
While Bushido was mastering his craft, Santiago was working his way up the Chicago's nightlife hierarchy. Within one year of playing live gigs, he secured a Friday night residency at Zentra Nightclub's House Arrest, and within a year he would be playing to Chicago's most musically educated and up-for-it partiers as an exclusive resident at "World's Best Dance Club", Smartbar, joining the halls of dance icons that have enjoyed similar slots there (including other current residents Kaskade and Justin Long).
As producers, Santiago & Bushido draw influences from their straight house background and apply harder and heavier elements to the sound. "We get really deep into the tracks we're producing, flip them and cut them in so many different ways, all to get the heaviest groove possible," Bushido says. "One thing about us is we're not afraid to do a deep track or a totally hardcore track…as long as it works on the dance floor and is pushing the sound forward, it works for us," Santiago explains. Given the tech-funk inflection of their forthcoming releases, the nastier better. Show less
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