Jake Trussell
Creative Director @ World Business Chicago, a public/private economic development organization chaired by Mayor Rahm Emanuel
Producer & DJ of experimental party music with a discography of over 50 records
Formerly: Webmaster @ Massachusetts College of Art & Design
Also: Photography | Cycling | Cooking & consuming farm-to-table food & drink.
Flickr Photos- Tweets
- LinkedIn Profile
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- Music Blog: Mashit.com
- DJ C Mixcloud DJ Mixes
- SoundCloud: Tunes
- Contact
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Photos
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Tweets
- #ThinkChicago connects some of the brightest university talent with growing #Chicago companies looking to hire: https://t.co/4lBx6EFO3F
- .@Caralynn_CHI Nowinski speaking with #ThinkChicago #CIW students about @UILabs_ @1871Chicago - http://t.co/PBwupKMiWR
- #Chicago Deputy Mayor Steve Koch speaking with #ThinkChicago students @1871Chicago: http://t.co/W5Gi4T4TL8
- #Chicago Deputy Mayor Steve Koch speaking with #ThinkChicago students 1871chicago @ 1871 http://t.co/CvO9kTnd1M
- #Chicago #NightScene - #WillisTower from the #MerchandiseMart @ Merchandise Mart http://t.co/0JyOXo4Kpw
- Some interesting #EconomicAnalysis: What Janet Yellen Said, and Didn’t Say, About Inequality, via @nytimes http://t.co/npbUuDQTuc
- RT @chicagoideas: A designer thinks about what the people who interact with the product will be like . @neilstevenson77 #CIWConvo #Design
- 2% of math & science curriculum in US schools is computer science while 60% of jobs in the field are comp. sci. #CIW #ThinkChicago
- "Perfection is a standard for the neurotic." - @tullman #ThinkChicago
- "Leadership is a performance art." - @tullman #ThinkChicago
- Men's #RestRoomArt #MotorolaMobility HQ #ThinkChicago @ Motorola Mobility Corporate HQ http://t.co/Pw4Kuw8AtP
- #ThinkChicago #CIW students play #NetworkingBingo @ Motorola Mobility Corporate HQ http://t.co/vYmU2ZHVAg
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Info
- Creative Director, Media Producer, Dot ConnectorMedia Production | Greater Chicago Area, USSummary
Creative strategist, designer and music producer with a passion for new media, and a penchant for connecting the dots.
Specialties:
Idea generation, design, project leadership, communications, music production
Tools:
Creative Suite: Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator
HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Drupal, WordPress
Final Cut Pro, Avid Media Composer, iMovie
Ableton Live, Propellerhead Reason, Logic Pro, Serato Scratch LIveSpeaking Engagements:
Grammy Town Hall (2014) - Moderated panel on Chicago creative industries
CMS Expo (2013) - Using Drupal to Accelerate Business Growth in Chicago
ORD Camp (2011) - New biz models for the music industry
Drupal Business Summit (2010) - Launch of World Business Chicago website
Midventures Launch (2010) - Gov 2.0 / Open Data panelExperience- Jan 2014 - PresentCo-op Member / Chicago Ideas Week
The CIW Co-op is a group of highly motivated, community-driven individuals breaking down silos and sparking connections across Chicago. Aligned with CIW’s mission of nurturing great ideas and bolstering actionable initiatives, the Co-op is a distinctive community, a collection of great ambitions, profound ideas and stellar relationships: https://www.chicagoideas.com/cooperative
- Jan 2009 - PresentCreative Director / World Business Chicago
Chaired by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, World Business Chicago drives economic growth, and collaborates to create jobs, cultivate talent and put Chicago at the forefront of the global economy. A unique public-private partnership, WBC engages the region’s leaders to advance Chicago’s Plan for Economic Growth and Jobs.
I lead strategic initiatives across the creative and technology industries, and manage design projects for Web, print, and other media.
- 1990 - PresentMusician, DJ, Producer / DJ C
Recording artist & producer with a discography of more than 50
Worldwide touring performer / DJ
Record label founder
Event producer
Music bloggerI record and perform as DJ C, a purveyor of global bass and experimental party music.
I've racked up a discography including more than 50 records on labels like XL Recordings, Ninja Tune, Soul Jazz, and others, and have shared production credits with the likes of Diplo, Quincy Jones, MIA, and Gregory Isaacs. I've also toured the world performing at house parties, night clubs, underground raves, and festivals with artists from Lee Scratch Perry, to Squarepusher, to Flosstradamus.
I founded the Mashit record label in 2003, which was featured as a “Label of the Month” by legandary BBC Radio 1 host, John Peel, and has released more than 20 records by artists such as Chrissy Murderbot, Bong-Ra, and MC Zulu.
I also co-founded the Toneburst Collective along with DJ /rupture, an event production group that staged adventurous multimedia extravaganzas in alternative venues and provided an early platform for storied underground artists like Kid606, Hrvatski, and Aaron Spectre.
I went on to co-found the Beat Research series of events along with DJ Flack where we developed the Boston-bounce sound. The weekly club-nights played host to some of the best DJs and producers of underground bass music in the world and gave a number of young luminaries their first gigs. The long list of guests included Eclectic Method, DJ Rashad, edIT (The Glitch Mob), Ghislain Poirier, Kingdom, and Plastician.
http://DJ-C.com
- Jun 2003 - Jun 2010Founder / Mashit.com
Global bass record label and blog.
- Nov 2008 - Nov 2009Resident DJ / Lava
I was resident DJ and curator of a night called Bouncement every 3rd Friday:
http://www.mashit.com/bouncement - Aug 2008 - Dec 2008Web Consultant / MacArthur Foundation
I developed and deployed web content for this international foundation that supports creative people and effective institutions committed to building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world.
- Jun 2008 - Aug 2008Web Developer / Innovating Social Change Conference
I developed and maintained oa website for the “Innovating Social Change” conference at Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
- Dec 1999 - Jun 2007Webmaster / Massachusetts college of Art and Design
I designed and developed the College's first comprehensive website in 1999/2000 using HTML, and JavaScript, and led initiatives including the acquisition of a new web content management system, and a system administrator to join the web team.
I managed the award-winning redesign of MassArt's website in 2002 which included the implementation of a custom-built content management system. The project required coordination with the entire college community to develop content for the site while managing student interns.
I provided guidance on web communications strategy for College President and departmental directors, and advised Communications and other departments about internet/technology strategy and purchases.
- 2007 - 2007Visiting Lecturer / Brandeis University
I lectured on music production in a history of electronic music course.
- 2005 - 2007Visiting Lecturer / Massachusetts College of Art and Design
I lectured on music production in an electronic music history and production course.
- 2004 - 2007Resident DJ / Enormous Room
The Beat Research weekly events at Enormous Room featured excursions into ultra-diverse dance music.
Fellow resident/curator DJ Flack and I founded Beat Research to present eclectic DJ sets and live performances. We often booked local guest DJs and live performers looking to break into the scene, as well as internationally known artists like DJ /rupture, Ghislain Poirier, Scuba, Plastician, Vex‘d, DJ Rashad, Keith Fullerton Whitman/Hrvatski, edIT, Pamelia Kurstin, Edu K, Aaron Spectre, and many more.
- 2000 - 2007Visiting Lecturer / Harvard University
I lectured on audio production in multimedia in 2000, and also on music production in a history of electronic music course, 2005, 2006, 2007.
- 2001 - 2004Resident DJ / Phoenix Landing
Over 2.5 years (June '01 - January '04) the Spectrum weekly events at Phoenix Landing provided one of the Boston area’s only venues for eclectic dance music.
Most weeks at least one guest performer was booked, breaking many new, local talents into the scene. Spectrum also played host to a large number of live/electronic performers and DJs from around the world, including artists like: Twiglight Circus Dub Sound System (Netherlands), Hrvatski, DJ /rupture (Spain), Aaron Spectre (Germany), Zod Records crew (Milwaukee), Broklyn Beats crew (New York City), and over 50 other DJs and performers.
- 2003 - 2003Documentary Film Score Composer / Blind Dog Films
I composed the score for this award winning documentary.
- 1997 - 1999Audio/Visual Specialist / Harvard University
I provided technical expertise on, and setup of audio and video equipment for Harvard University classes and events.
Education-
1994 - 1998Massachusetts College of Art and DesignBFA in Media and Performing Arts (Interrelated Media)
Activities: Eventworks, Toneburst
Additional Information-
Websites:
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Interests:web design, web management, blogging, graphic design, music production, event production
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Photos
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Posts
- Aug 29, 14
Download: HTTP // GOLD (Adult Contemporary Serotonin For The 21st Century)
When FM radio emerged in the late ‘60s as a format for “album-oriented” rock music, it was a new, open-ended land of opportunity. The music enthusiasts who were excited enough to want to broadcast their favorite new tunes using the not-yet-popular platform were about to blow open an entire generations’s doors of perception. Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, and so many others were creating ever-more challenging and experimental music that was presented to, and consumed by the Baby Boomer generation as pop culture. Those same tunes are still played over and over again on FM today as a broken-record-homage to that historic moment.
As the FM format grew and became more commercial during the ‘70s, the experimentation began to wane, and pop music became more homogenized. It wasn’t until the early ‘80s when a new format called music video was ushered in by MTV, that the flood gates of popular music were again opened. The Talking Heads, Run D.M.C. The Beastie Boys, The Cure, Guns & Roses, NIN, Nirvana; MTV was breaking new music in the ‘80s, and influencing FM’s “alternative” format. Then, just like had happened to FM, in the early ‘90s MTV became more commercial and more homogenized, and popular music again began to stagnate.
It was with the emergence of the most disruptive technology to date, the internet, that pop music was once again blown wide open. The musical gate-keepers of the past are were toppled. Now there are thousands, if not millions of taste-makers curating micro-scenes of pop across the world. Artists now become famous on platforms like YouTube, and Facebook.
HTTP // GOLD is a DJ mix of internet-age music that, in my head, is as popular as Pink Floyd or Madonna, only now popularity is less clear since the gate-keepers have so radically shifted and diversified. The other unifying factor is beauty. These are serotonin-inducing, chill-out tracks that could have easily made their home on an AM Gold compilation in a parallel space/time.
- Aug 25, 14
Digging back 20 years into the explosive jungle sound which pushed toward dubstep 10 years later, and eventually led to the global bass movement as we know it today, this mix weaves together some those stylistic threads routed in Jamaican, UK, and US dance music culture.
DJ C “Beats Researched” Tracklist:
- Ori Shochat x Dango – “Rain”
- Dennis Brown – “Rebel With a Cause (Bizzy B Remix)”
- Zeds Dead – “Rude Boy”
- DJ Krome & Mr. Time – “Ganja Man”
- Estelle ft. Janelle Monae – “Do My Thing (JayCeeOh Remix 2.0)”
- Conquering Lion – “Code Red”
- Amazon II – “Booyaaa! (Open Your Mind)”
- DJ Rap – “Intelligent Woman”
- Sibot – “Magne Jam”
- DJ Krome & Mr. Time – “Studio One Lick”
- Ms. Dynamite – “Dy-Na-Mi-Tee (Instrumental)”
- Remarc – “R.I.P.”
- Si Begg – “Bangin”
- DJ C – “Circe”
- Prizna f. Demolition Man – “Fire (Urban Shakedown Remix)”
- Swizzymack – “Dri p”
- Dillinja – “Muthafucka (Fire Fox Relick)
- Wildlife! – “Galang So Feat. Major MacKerel”
- Supra 1 – “Ghoster”
- Boy 8-Bit – “House On The Hill”
- M.I.A. – “U.R.A.Q.T. (DJ C Mix)”
- Switch – “What Did She Say (JP Remix)”
- DJ Flack – “Enemy Beats”
- DJ C – “Billy Jungle”
- Beyoncé vs. DJ C – “Work It Out (Crazy)”
- De La Soul – “Held Down (feat. Cee-Lo)”
- Jan 04, 14
As another year draws to a close I recently had the privilege of DJing the OpenGovChicago holiday party with my brother in decks, John Tolva. In preparation for the gig I recorded this set of classic-futurist-dancehall-pop. Farewell 2013 and all the best in 2014:
- Oct 29, 13
On October 25th, 2013 DJ C partnered with yoga instructor Sara Strother on a sonic experiment in yoga practice called Prana Pushers. This 105 minute DJ set was recorded live at the event:
Download: DJ C Prana Pushers Mix
Prana Pushers by Dj C on Mixcloud
- Apr 24, 12
Here’s a blend of genres containing already blended genres. From electronic dub, to a series of tracks that wobble back and forth between hip-hop, dancehall and jungle, to pop-undergroud mashups, this mix, featuring tracks by Wildlife, Disrupt, Goulet, Krinjah, Vinyl Blight and more, is all over the map. Just how I like it!
Download: DJ C “The Blends” ->
Or listen on Mixcloud:The Blends by Dj C on Mixcloud
- Sep 27, 12
When I heard M.I.A. was performing at the Superbowl halftime show it was almost compelling enough to get me to tune in for that oh-so-overblown of American past-times. I didn’t, partly because I knew if there was anything interesting to see it’d be all over YouTube before you can say YouTube.
Sure enough, the most talked about aspect of the Super Bowl this year — besides Clint Eastwood’s ode to American sticktoitiveness — was M.I.A.’s middle finger. It doesn’t sound very interesting on the surface but if there’s one thing M.I.A.’s really good at, it’s being controversial, and with one tiny little gesture she was able to whirl media spin rooms into a frenzy.
Meanwhile, M.I.A.s new video for her track Bad Girls had already been generating some controversy of its own. Whether it’s for vapid lyrics, or stereotypical Arab imagery, not everyone gives the track or the video a +1. But I tend to agree with this assessment in Albawaba In Defence of MIA’s ‘Bad Girl’ Arab-Bashing. Here’s an excerpt:
Bad Girls is surely not something new in the pop-world with Madonna and many before singing vacuous lyrics on ‘material’ feisty or just ‘naughty’ girl types. If ‘bad girls’ on this occasion signifies gun-touting or even, in being strewn over, and in, cars, criminal, girls in a country that prohibits them from driving (while filmed in Morocco it is distinctly meant to represent Saudi Arabia), then the video presents a distinct challenge to the stereotype of Arab subjugated women.”
Anyway, I find it to be a compelling piece of pop with an underlying sense of rebellion that invokes the kind of discussion which brings me back to the heyday of Public Enemy. It’s beautifully crafted in a way that truly paints M.I.A. as a bad girl in the eyes of both the east and the west. What’s your take?
The drawback for me was that I couldn’t easily find an instrumental version of the bangin’ beat by Timbaland protege Danja, so I decided to make one through the magic of editing.
M.I.A. Bad Girls (Instrumental) MP3
[See post to listen to audio]And while I was at it I whipped up a little mashup featuring another of my favorite female vocalists, Yukimi Nagano from Little Dragon.
DJ C Bad Girls Scale it Back (ft. M.I.A. & Little Dragon) MP3
[See post to listen to audio] - Apr 24, 12
That’s right, folks. Experimental party music is coming to Chicago. Nearly 8 years after DJ Flack and I began Boston’s Beat Research, the franchise is sprouting a brand new limb.
On the first and third Wednesdays of the month I’ll be be throwing down genre-blends with Jesse Kriss, John Tolva and various special guests at Villain’s in Chicago’s South Loop.
The Boston branch has hosted some of the best and brightest DJs and producers of underground bass music in the world, given a number of young luminaries their first gigs, and presented an utterly motley collection of tech-addled live performances. The long list of guests includes DJ Rupture, Kingdom, Eclectic Method, Ghislain Poirier, Vex’d, edIT, and Scuba.
Beat Research has been hard to match for Bostonians seeking out innovative sounds. Now Chicagoans can look forward to their own bi-weekly session for discerning dancers and enthusiastic head-nodders.
For more information, and to sign up for the Beat Research Chicago mailing list, mosey on over to BeatResearchChicago.com and follow our tweetings @beatresearch.
- Jun 07, 12
When I first heard the TB303 “acid” bass line sound I was blown away by its alien feel. The wobbly portamento tones sliding into each other struck me as an audible illustration of the mailable, bouncy nature of rubber.
I also remember when I first heard Fatboy Slim’s Rockafeller Skank I thought the vocalist was saying “Right about now the funk’s so rubber” and while that was a great way to describe the bouncy guitars in the track, it was an even better way to describe the elastic acid-breaks tracks I had been getting into at the time. So I was disappointed when I figured out the vocalist was not sharing my enthusiasm for rubbery sounds but instead was conjuring “the funk soul brother.”
Those acid sounds which developed in the ’80s Chicago house movement, and continued to evolve throughout the ’90s worldwide, are still a major influence on bouncy tunes today. I’m always a sucker for a good tweaked out acid line and this mix encapsulates some of my favorite rubbery tracks throughout the ages:
MP3 Download
DJ C – The Funk So Rubber ->Tracklist
- The Big Heist ft. TOK & Beenie Man – “Bring It On”
- Hardfloor – “Knuckle Skills – Home Run”
- Mr. Scruff – “Sea Mammal”
- Luke Vibert – “Lover’s Acid”
- Mr. Scruff – “Ug”
- Luke Vibert – “Funky Acit Stuff”
- Hardfloor – “Dubdope”
- Hardfloor – “Drive Thruw”
- South Rakkas Crew – “Hotter Than Them (Extended Mix ft. Kid Foreigner & Bigga Boss)
- Like Vibert – “Acid2000″
- LyricL – “Loose Broken”
- Fast Eddie – “Ain’t it Funky”
- Josh Wink – “Higher State of Counciousness (Tweekin Acid Funk Mix)”
- Blawan – “Kaz”
- Fatboy Slim – “Everybody Needs a 303″
- Crookers – “Embrace The Martian (ft. Kid Cudi – Seiji Acid Remix)”
- Ultramarine – “Butch”
- DJ C – “Nanocheck”
- DJ Scotch Egg – “Aaron Spectre’s Scotch Acid Remix”
- Jun 07, 12
A couple of newsy bits flew by the radar today including:
“Don’t Believe The Hate: Skrillex Is Already The Next Big Thing…”
&
“James Blake is Not Feeling the U.S. Dubstep ‘Frat Boy Market‘”
It’s quite obvious that “Dubstep,” weather it’s the indie-rock version or the metal version, has seeped it’s way into the pop world.
So I was excited to find in my inbox on the very same day, some music that to me represents something closer to a direct descendant of the roots of dubstep:
Max Ulis’ soundtack to Illustrator, Tyler Fewell’s Seven:
Disclaimer: Listen to this on a system with large bass capacity.
- Jun 07, 12
A few years ago I was asked to do this remix of Suffocation Keep by The Slip. It was a fun challenge to make an electronic interpretation of their sweeping, melancholic, indie-rock tack, and I really liked the outcome, but alas, it was never released.
I added it on as the last track on my Umami album, but instead of selling it along with the rest of the album I decided to give it away as a free bonus track.
Listen and download
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Cloudcasts
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Sets
- 2 tracks (06:51)
- 17 tracks (1:06:42)Party scientist & beat producer DJ C is known far & wide for his Boston-bounce sound, but he’s now called Chicago his home for the past 4 years and the influence of that historical home of house music, those fertile fields of footwork & juke, that booming base of booming bass, has seeped stealthily into his subconscious. Add this new layer to DJ C’s eclectic signature sound and this album equals an irresistibly fresh sonic flavor. From dubstep & club bangers to ravey dancehall anthems; from balkan to bhangara to baile, DJ C mashes it all into the deliciously varied and delectably danceable Umami.
- 16 tracks (52:27)Riddim Scholar, ragga scientist and remixer of artists from M.I.A. to Gregory Isaacs, DJ C dropped this, his debut full-length album, in the summer of 2007. Straddling dancehall, grime, crunk & dubstep, “Sonic Weapons” was designed to kill sound-systems and destroy dance-floors.
The album features guest appearances by Chicago bad-man ragga vocalist MC Zulu, renowned Viennise thereminist Pamelia Kurstin, wicked wicked Boston riddim scholar Wayne&Wax, Jamaican vocalists Wasp & Dami D, & U.K. toaster, Quality Diamond. The tracks draw from diverse musical roots deep in the global underground & radically join those genres together into a sturdy trunk The branches reach around the globe like tentacles slapping bootys and moving feet everywhere.
"Bringing out the big guns... 'Sonic Weapons' is a rush." 4.5 Stars
- Remix Magazine
"'Sonic Weapons' is not your everyday album. And that’s all for the good." 4 Stars.
- Time Out New York - 2 tracks (06:56)Format: 10-inch vinyl / Digital
Karnival time is upon us so get armed and ready with two vocal mashups from DJ C…
Inventor of the Boston-bounce sound, DJ C had a portfolio boasting remixes for M.I.A. and Warrior Queen, in addition to releases on Ninja Tune, Soul Jazz and his own Mashit label.
WNCL Recordings proudly presents "Jump Up and Bounce" paired with the bleep heavy "Mad Again." It's getting hot in here…
