SOUP: Chicago In The House | Roy Davis Jr., Gene Hunt, Love & Logic, Kristin Lush & Lady Cherelle

Davis grew up in Chicago, Illinois, and was turned on to house music at an early age by the likes of Lil' Louis, DJ Pierre, Farley Keith (Farley Jackmaster Funk) & Marshall Jefferson. Davis began his own production company named Phuture in the late 1980s and went on to become an A&R scout for record label Strictly Rhythm in NYC whilst also running his Chicago founded record label Undaground Therapy Muzik. A few years later Roy Davis and singer-songwriter Peven Everett wrote and produced the single "Gabriel" which was released on Large Records and later licensed and released on XL Recordings in 1996. The track garnered international airplay, and was played in nightclubs around the world. It peaked at #22 in the UK Singles Chart in November 1997.[1] The single sold over 200,000 copies, and has appeared on numerous of compilation albums including Desert Island Mix from Gilles Peterson and continues to be a pioneering record in the history of Garage & House music. In 2004, Davis' track, About Love reached #70 in the UK Singles Chart. Adding to the list of previous chart success with records such as "Who Dares To Believe In Me" under alias The Believers and "All I Do" released on Omar-S artist-run label FXHE.

Roy Davis Jr., has also been known for his work for Daft Punk's label Roulè which operated out of Paris in the early 90's and also his production work for artists Eric Benet / Faith Evans, Mary J Blige, Seal, Patti LaBelle, Christina Milian and Morcheeba.


On any given night in Chicago, it's more likely than not that Gene Hunt is somewhere, crouched over the decks and working his magic. One of the true representatives of Chicago House Music, Gene is one of the top artists to emerge from the city, with a career spanning back to the initial wave in the early 1980s. As a teenager, he played at many of the key touchstones of the first generation of House Music spots, including the Warehouse, The Playground and The Music Box; he's been best known in the last few years for a series of tracks made then with the legendary Ron Hardy.

As a producer, Gene Hunt's first EP was Living in a Land, released on Chicago's Trax Records and co-produced and shepherded by Armando Gallop. From an early age, Gene imprinted his stamp on his musical style with an alteration between soulful, vocal recordings and harder, rough tech-y tracks. (And sometimes both in the same release - see, for instance, "Twilight People" featuring Robert Owens on vocals). By 1999 he had more than enough releases on his belt for a "Greatest Hits" double LP (Gene Hunt Classics, Dust Traxx).

In the years following, Gene Hunt released some of his best records on labels including Dope Wax, Track Mode, Got Soul and Unified, and delivered a tour de force in 2011 when noted Dutch label Rush Hour released Gene Hunt Presents Chicago Dance Tracks, a collection of some sixteen unreleased records from the likes of Larry Heard & Marshall Jefferson, Steve "Silk" Hurley, Farley Jackmaster Funk, Lil Louis and Ron Hardy. As a follow up, in early 2012 Gene released an original two track EP, May The Funk Be With You, also on Rush Hour, with a remix from Theo Parrish.


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