Puerto Rican born, American producer DJ Sneak describes himself as a ‘House Music Gangster’. Sneak was raised in Chicago, which is where he started DJing and producing in the early ‘90s. He went on to become a prominent figure in the second wave of Chicago house music, and his allegiance to the genre stands firm to this day.
“While everybody else does their mega pop star crap and whatever, I know eventually everybody comes back to house music at the end of the day,” he says.
As well as running the I’m A House Gangster merch brand and record label, Sneak spotlights other artists on his podcast The Budcast, and is known for hosting decadent BBQs all over the world. On top of this, Sneak has never stopped touring or making tunes. In the last couple of years he’s released a consistent stream of singles, via labels such as Exploited, Plant 74 and Magnetic Recordings.
“I’ve always stayed busy,” he says. “I’ve been able to balance my career between production and remixing and releasing albums from time to time, and then the other half is just doing the gigs. I wasn’t going to lay down and fade away with a bunch of other people who left the industry because they couldn’t keep up with these mega companies who were promoting these big pop star DJs. But to stay relevant, you have to make music. If you don’t have any music, you don’t have a voice.”
Sneak’s latest work dodges the zeitgeist recommendation to include ridiculous drop sections and speaker tearing bass frequencies. Meanwhile, it’s not as though he’s sustained a career by repeating himself. Sneak might faithfully hew to the house music aesthetic, but he makes ongoing effort to evolve his artistry.
“Even when the cycles in trendy music change, I’ve always stayed DJ Sneak and I’ve always stayed in my style,” he says. “Even when the music was different, I focused on things that made people remember what kind of music I play. So it’s never been that I’ve been on the way out and I just find my way back. My career’s been [going in] a steady, forward direction. I’ve always known where I’m going and where my journey is going to take me.”
Speaking of “big pop star DJs”, a quick scan through DJ Mag’s hyped Top 100 DJ’s poll reveals a number of artists who haven’t released much in the way of original music. For instance, in 2013 and 2014 the list was topped by EDM star Hardwell, who’s yet to deliver a full-length album. The young Dutchman has a huge following, sure, but it’s all centred on his massive outdoor concerts. Sneak can’t help but express concern about the merits of such big name DJs.
“Back in the day it meant the most to have good records and have good tunes and then keep going from there,” he says. “These days there’s entertainers who are in the industry of electronic music who are not really DJs. They’re just entertainers who are just going to be on Facebook and on RA and all these random hype machines that make them what they are. But in terms of music, they don’t release anything.”
This criticism isn’t just directed at youngsters, mind you. “There’s a lot of people from 20 years ago – DJs who are these mega pop stars now – who made records, but made records ten to 15 years ago. They haven’t done one solid track to carry on their legacy. It’s just all press and marketing and promotion and all that stuff that’s become part of the business now.”
Sneak’s pronounced gripes with the state of electronic music notwithstanding, there’s reason to believe house music is returning to the spotlight. Even if it hasn’t achieved the ubiquity of Dutch EDM and American dubstep, house has certainly returned to mainstream consciousness. A chief indication of this is the massive mainstream success enjoyed by UK duo Disclosure, who work with a pop-centric house music palette.
“It’s just the cycle of music and it just continues flipping over,” Sneak says. “It always reboots with original house music, Chicago-style house music. A lot of people now who were into other trends have found themselves back to deep house. For example Detroit Swindle: two Dutch guys who, instead of going the more commercial way like everybody else in Holland, they decided to go deep house and stay true to the deep house sound. They found their own way.”
Yes, it’s no secret that DJ Sneak believes house music is the pinnacle of purity, and he observes the turning tides with a touch of fatalism.
“It’s what I end up calling a seven year cycle. The seven year cycle of shit music already went by. We’re fortunate for that. It usually starts back again with house and underground house.”
BY AUGUSTUS WELBY
