Mark Farina is a self-proclaimed minstrel. Since his early days of DJing the Chicago and San Francisco underground, Farina always aimed to put his own spin on the not-so-mainstream sound he had come to embrace. Turning audiences on to obscure records became the beat he stepped to best, even when his organic groove downshifted in the early 1990s with a compilation...

Twelve years of late nights and early mornings have served Charlie Joecks well. The creator and host of the "Streamline" radio show on 91.7 WMSE has garnered an EDM audience that has stretched as far as Iceland, thanks to the station's Internet broadcast signal. On early Saturday mornings, from 3 to 6 a.m., Joecks-better known as Jayx to some-plugs Milwaukee audiences in to a diverse catalog of tracks that run the gamut of genres. Club Noise recently caught up with the radio mainstay, as...

As a two-time DMC champion, DJ Klever has grown accustomed to putting his own clever spin on the beat. Rowdy and rail-thin, the ATL native has merged his love for hip-hop and classic drum 'n' bass with a neon cache of electro, dance-rock, B-more and more. As a result, Klever has emerged as one of the most technically skilled DJs in the lacquered, indie-dance scene, where gloss often overshadows...

Ah, Valentine’s Day: I can almost taste the excitement bursting in my mouth like a cherry cordial. Across the city, bars pour pink martinis and scatter heart-shaped lollipops on tabletops, all while commanding partygoers to “feel the love!” beneath a sea of naked Cupid cutouts. Well, I’m certainly in heaven. Thankfully, two local club promoters are offering up a few sweet and scary alternatives to the usual saccharine soirees. Anyone who can’t decide whether to laugh or cry on Valentine’s Day now has plenty of options to do both...

As one of only a few underground dance music promoters in Milwaukee, Jessica Fenner (aka Fortune) has kept a visible presence on the city's scene at one of its most visible venues. What started as a bi-monthly, Saturday-night residency in October of 2002 evolved into an ongoing relationship that would eventually see Fenner booking all of the Wednesday and Saturday talent at Milwaukee Street's first nightclub. But after six years...

More than a decade after his jockeying days at the debauched Disco 2000 parties of New York City's Limelight, DJ Keoki is pretending like everyone still cares. Word is the former club kid poster boy is trying to resurrect his career and make good with all the "negatives," as indicated by one Milwaukee party...

Chicago's Nate Manic has made a habit of giving bad advice to dance music producers across the Midwest and beyond. Since launching the Bad Advice Music imprint in 2007, the DJ/producer/label head has managed to coax top-notch producers into spiraling down toward the dark, dirty trenches of his tech-influenced label. Some of his most recent converts include Derrick Carter, Cheap as Chimps and HeavyFeet, to name a few. Since July 2007, Bad Advice has built its reputation as both a digital and vinyl label with an open-door policy that welcomes a range of...

Parisian DJ/producer Don Rimini is serious when he calls his latest release "a goddamn wedding." Between the filth and froth of his track list, the Kick'n Run EP (Mental Groove/Delicious Gutter) features everything from the chaotic fuzz of "Rave On" to the naughty O-la-la of "Oh Ow." Rimini even followed up the EP with a steroid-induced remix of Young M.C.'s "Bust a Move." During his live sets, Rimini may pull out the predictable card of fidget twitch 'n' glitch, but he still mixes it up with enough ease to create electro pop swells of saw tooth synths...

KiNK's (aka Strahil Velchev) innovation and natural production ability have made him a magnetic force in almost all of dance music's divided factions. Full-on underground house music people, techno heads, hipster blog-housers, fidget bandwagon riders, huge-name disc-jockeying institutions, deep house nerds and jocky douche bags who just came to the party to get drunk and dance with a few girls have all emerged as fans of his music. The Bulgarian-born DJ/live performer has emerged as one of the most...

Ken Christensen keeps his musical secrets closely guarded. Since moving to Chicago from Washington, D.C., in early 2008, the producer and DJ has balanced his time crafting beats, running a record label and opening for high-profile artists like Chicago rapper Common. "Chicago seems to churn out talent in all realms," Christensen said during an interview earlier this year. "[That is] something I have always admired about this city and I am happy to be a part of it now." Not that Christensen needed much of a boost. He began...