Spinning Chicago House music has taken DJ Marlowe abroad: his recent gig in Mexico City allowed the world to sample one of our city’s most legendary sounds. A purist at heart, Marlowe doesn’t mind the vinyl and turntables from time to time; in the end he believes more in the music than the medium.
Name: Marlowe Gustavo Baca
Age: 26
Roots: Mexican
Where do you live:?: B-Town! (Also known as Berwyn)
Day job: Optician
Where were you and what were you doing 5 years ago? Here in Chicago going to school and mainly playing at house parties on the weekends and having fun!
Current obsessions/addictions: Design! Design! Design! Oh! and making stickers.
Movie that best represents your life: “It’s All Gone Pete Tong”
Last book you read: Eco Design.
When did you start DJ-ing, and Why? Being underage at the time (17) we wanted to have a place where we could play music that we thought was cool. Things that were being played in Europe at the time like Progressive House and Trance (Trance not Euro!) Keep in mind this is 98-99 So we started to throw parties in the apartment Edgar [DJ Tanner] and I grew up in as kids. We wanted it to be free so that anyone could come, and it grew from there, the parties became known and we started to do them almost every weekend. Well,at least until the neighbors complained. Those were good times!
How do you define your sound? It’s changing all of the time, at the moment there are artists that influence me, so I take time to explore a different genre.
How did you come up with your DJ name? I usually go by my given name. Through the parties we threw, people started to call us (Edgar and Malowe) the Baca Brothers, and at times I’ll meet random people who say that they went to those parties.
What constitutes a bad or good listening audience? There really isn’t such a thing, I think that a good music selection is key to inviting listeners to more of what your playing.
Have you spinned in in other cities? Recently I was invited to play in Mexico City, and that was a blast! They actually wanted to hear Chicago House, which I thought was crazy but awesome! I was born here, and I love this city.
Where do you hang out when not DJing? Danny’s Bar up north has great music, and a very cool house party vibe. Also, a good house party if you can find one in the city is always memorable.
2009 music predictions: Static Discos from Tijuana, Mexico. These guys are doing great things in music.
Song that gets people dancing every time: “Pacas de a kilo“ Los Tigres Del Norte
Guilty pleasure: Too many and too embarrassing!
Laptop DJs vs. vinyl? I’ve always been a purist, lugging my turntables around with crates of vinyl, but over time this becomes too much when you’re on the go. You don’t have the time or space to haul this stuff around. I use my laptop more now, but always keeping in mind that you have to master the software now just click away, and the music is what really makes people move.
How you discover new music? Don’t follow trends! Make your own path explore what you like and find out what other projects those artists are working on, and then you can start to branch out. Always keep an eye peeled and listening to records more than once. I always find new songs that I had blown off before.
Current projects? Finishing school and starting my career.
Biggest challenges? Finding time to spin.
Plans for the future? I want to go back to Mexico and do some more gigs out there.
What makes someone a “cosmopolatino”? Possibly a good mix of gigolo and gentleman, the same for the ladies with all due respect.