HOUSE MUSIC'S CIVIL WAR
Rolling Stone UK|June/July 2023
DECADES AFTER CHICAGO'S TRAX RECORDS CHANGED DANCE MUSIC FOREVER, FORMER FRIENDS ARE LOCKED IN AN INTENSE BATTLE OVER THE LABEL
OLI COLEMAN
HOUSE MUSIC'S CIVIL WAR

IN THE EARLY DAYS of Chicago house music, nobody hustled harder than Vince Lawrence. Vince grew up on the South Side of Chicago. As a teenager in the late 70s and early 80s, he was urbane and in the know. He liked Izod shirts, white K-Swiss sneakers and straight-leg jeans; he ran hip parties, loved import records from Europe, and aspired to make music of his own. A lot of what he and his friends were into, he remembers, "came from us reading GQ and wishing we were rich". Around then, there was a specific vibe at Chicago's high school parties, downtown gay clubs, and on local radio- underground but not exclusive, sophisticated but not so preening that nobody wanted to dance. It was "house" culture, named after a club called the Warehouse. At first, "house music" meant anything that the club's DJ, Frankie Knuckles, played - disco, Italo disco, Philly soul, New Wave, even punk. Amid that swirl, perfectly on-beat digital rhythms meant DJs could experiment with seamless mixing, and synthesisers were becoming affordable enough to be available outside of studios. The result was a new sound - heavy, stripped-down, synthetic but groove-rich - made by Vince, his friend Jesse Saunders, and other, mostly Black, kids. It was what the world came to know as house music, and for all of its epochal innovation, Vince says it had a simple appeal: “It was the best we could do, and we knew it worked at the parties.”

This story is from the June/July 2023 edition of Rolling Stone UK.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the June/July 2023 edition of Rolling Stone UK.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM ROLLING STONE UKView All
Declan McKenna Breaks Free
Rolling Stone UK

Declan McKenna Breaks Free

The singer-songwriter discusses the more chilled vibe that defines his third album, the pressure on artists to engage with social media, and how he's becoming the artist he always wanted to be

time-read
9 mins  |
February/March 2024
BIG BOI & J.I.D
Rolling Stone UK

BIG BOI & J.I.D

Two of the sharpest lyricists in Atlanta meet up at Stankonia Studios the birthplace of too many classic verses to count to trade industry stories and favourite bars, and talk about how they want to see hip-hop keep evolving

time-read
9 mins  |
February/March 2024
SNOOP DOGG & LATTO
Rolling Stone UK

SNOOP DOGG & LATTO

Two uniquely charismatic rappers, from two different generations, sit down and go deep on their come-up, their studio secrets, the importance of fighting hate with love, and that time Pharrell got too high and left Snoop alone to produce Stevie Wonder

time-read
10+ mins  |
February/March 2024
DJ KHALED CAN'T STOP WINNING
Rolling Stone UK

DJ KHALED CAN'T STOP WINNING

LATELY, DJ KHALED has been listening to a lot of Jay-Z. Namely The Blueprint, the 2001 opus that helped solidify Hov as a commercial juggernaut in hip-hop.

time-read
10+ mins  |
February/March 2024
THE WORLD BELONGS TO 21 SAVAGE
Rolling Stone UK

THE WORLD BELONGS TO 21 SAVAGE

He became your favourite rapper’s favourite rapper while overcoming all manner of turbulence. We ride along as Savage heads to Europe and starts a new chapter in one of hip-hop’s most unique stories

time-read
10+ mins  |
February/March 2024
BETWEEN DREAMS AND REALITY
Rolling Stone UK

BETWEEN DREAMS AND REALITY

Yard Act are back with a new sound for their second album, Where's My Utopia? Here, they discuss the record's more personal focus, and how the fantasy of making it big measures up to living through it

time-read
8 mins  |
February/March 2024
TO CAPTURE A FIRE
Rolling Stone UK

TO CAPTURE A FIRE

Actor Kingsley Ben-Adir on playing Jamaica's most famous son, reggae icon Bob Marley - a role he embodies with the full support of the Marley family-in forthcoming biopic, One Love

time-read
10+ mins  |
February/March 2024
IT MUST BE LOVE
Rolling Stone UK

IT MUST BE LOVE

On their fifth album, TANGK, rock band IDLES lean further into experimentation and softer textures while focusing on a central theme: love. At his home in Bristol, frontman Joe Talbot explains how making an album of love songs helped him to heal, while the band's guitarist and producer Mark Bowen explains the key to their writing partnership

time-read
10+ mins  |
February/March 2024
DUA LIPA IS GIVING US EVERYTHING
Rolling Stone UK

DUA LIPA IS GIVING US EVERYTHING

After a whirlwind couple of years, the wildly ambitious pop star is embracing freedom and fun both in her life and on her upcoming album. As she kicks off a new era, she lets us into her dreams, her anxieties, and what she wants to stand for

time-read
10+ mins  |
February/March 2024
The greatest show on earth!
Rolling Stone UK

The greatest show on earth!

The inaugural Rolling Stone UK Awards, in collaboration with Rémy Martin, were presented at Camden's legendary Roundhouse in November. The stars came out to play, and with Munya Chawawa as host-for one night only - we rocked the world a little bit harder...

time-read
3 mins  |
February/March 2024