Worldwide by way of Chicago, Tony Arzadon has brought his big room crossbreed of deep, punchy house and infectious pop to the masses via some of dance music’s choicest labels, including Juicy Music, Movement, and System Recordings. Like many of his contemporaries, it was his success with bootlegs that ignited his approach into the mainstream, having produced unofficial rerubs for Justin Timberlake and One Republic that caught fire with other DJs and across the Beatport spectrum. Though he’s no stranger to nightclubs in Los Angeles and Vegas, Tony is a Chicago boy through and through, raised on a steady diet of deep dish pizza and Bulls basketball. Before he departed to Aspen to DJ the X Games, Tony gave us the head’s up on his latest production project, as well as a list of his favorite Windy City spots for food, drinks, and music.
Some of your early remixes and bootlegs really helped get your name out there, especially with other DJs. What do you think your biggest boot was and what inspired you to put it together?
Tony Arzadon: This is a funny story. Back in 2008, I did a bootleg of Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance” back when she wasn’t on the radio map. I only played it during my DJ sets and shared it with a few friends, but somehow it surfaced on the net and landed in the hands of BPM Radio on XM Satellite. One year later, A&R reps from Interscope picked it up and made it official!
DJ culture these days has been heavily defined by party DJing that goes hard right out of the box, as opposed to the slow-burning sets that typified the mid-’90s house and progressive scene. You throw down a mix of both. How do you stay true to that long-form style and still appease those crowds that are so used to hands-in-the-air atmosphere right from the needle drop?
Tony Arzadon: It depends on what environment I’m in. I know right away how the night will be once I set foot in the room. In today’s music, the shelf-life for any song is a lot shorter than it used to be because of quick and easy access online. So now with DJing, the crowd’s attention span is a lot shorter. During my sets, I play a variety of special edits and acapellas of certain songs, and I incorporate a lot of loops and crazy build-ups to kick the crowd’s adrenaline in and out. I control the music and the crowd at the same time.
So what’s up next for you?
Tony Arzadon: I finished up one vocal track called “Moments” that features a girl that lives out here named Nikki Kay. She had gone through a horrible break-up and wrote this song, and I connected with her and gave her this melodic track that I’d put together a few months back. That’s gonna be due out on Juicy Music in February.
TONY ARZADON’S FIELD GUIDE TO CHICAGO
Portillo’s
“If you’re in Chicago, you’ve gotta have a Chicago-style hotdog, and they pretty much put everything on there—jalapenos, onions, pickles, the whole nine. Their Italian beef sandwich is one of the big sandwiches you can eat in Chicago. They’re like the size of my forearm.”
Giordano’s
“Everyone loves deep dish pizza in this town, with the heavy toppings. The best place for me is Giordano’s. I’ve loved their cheese and spinach deep dish pizza since my early childhood. Very cheesy!”
The Beer Bistro & Third Rain Tavern
“I live in West Loop, which is known for having the best sports bars and food. Plus the United Center is down the street, home of the Chicago Bulls and the Blackhawks. These two spots serve the best food and always have daily specials.”
Gramaphone Records
“A lot of them have closed, but this one’s been around for years on Clark Street in downtown Chicago. I used to shop there way back when I started DJing in the early ’90s. You’ll find all those great deep house records in there; that really soulful house. A lot of the house DJs I know still go find their records there.”
SpyBar & The Mid
“If you want to hear electronic music in Chicago, both of these clubs book all the famous acts on a weekly basis. They keep the scene alive.”
OLD SCHOOL CHICAGO: AN ESSENTIAL HOUSE MUSIC PLAYLIST
1. Farley Jackmaster Funk feat. Darryl Pandy – “Love Can’t Turn Around” [LISTEN]
2. Steve “Silk” Hurley – “Jack Your Body” [LISTEN]
3. Julian Jumpin’ Perez feat. Kool Rock Steady – “Ain’t We Funky Now” [LISTEN]
4. Kool Rock Steady – “You Ain’t Nobody” [LISTEN]
5. Frankie Knuckles – “Your Love” [LISTEN]
6. Bad Boy Bill – Bangin’ The Box [LISTEN]
If you’re looking for a few of Tony’s tracks to play out, Beatport is the way to go, with over 100 tracks available for purchase. He’s also got each of his “Boom Box” podcasts available for free on iTunes. And if you’re looking to sample some of his latest fare—including a teaser of the forthcoming “Moments” (featuring Nikki Kay)—you need to hit up his Soundcloud.
Words by Rich Thomas (@TheLandfill).
