Dark Wave Disco rings in five years at the forefront of the local electro scene.
By Joshua P. Ferguson
With its ability to push sound systems into the red and induce fits of fist-pumping fury, electro has taken over as the hottest of hot club sounds. For further evidence, simply look to Deadmau5’s recent celebrity appearance on Gossip Girl, where he (and his Mau5 head) provided the beats for a fashion show. But electro’s rise has been relatively meteoric: Five years ago, it was barely a blip on the music industry’s radar—but not for Greg Corner, Mark Gertz or Miguel Martin, the main DJs of Chicago-based indie electro outfit Dark Wave Disco.
The trio—often joined by Arturo Valle on live visuals and Paul Rodriguez as host and graphic designer—started throwing packed indie-rock and electro ragers at Sonotheque in 2005 and kept them running through the summer of 2009. They also branched out to other venues, garnering high-profile bookings at Smart Bar, Vision and elsewhere—with their gothic-hipster following in tow.
“When we started the party, there was no MSTRKRFT, there was no Justice, there weren’t any of those guys,” says Corner, 35, the punky-haired bassist for local rock band Kill Hannah. “At one of our first parties, I remember bringing Justice in and playing that for the guys and them being like, ‘What the fuck is that?’?” Fast-forward to Friday 16, when the group celebrates its five-year anniversary at Beauty Bar.
Dark Wave Disco has introduced Chicago to many of electro’s biggest acts. Headliners have included A-Trak, Steve Aoki, the Teenagers, Villains and Uffie; the latter was one of the party’s most successful nights. “[Uffie] was sitting there slamming drinks,” Gertz, 32, recalls with a laugh. “She’s this teeny little girl sitting in the VIP area, super wasted, and I’m thinking she can barely stand up. But she staggered up to the stage, grabbed the microphone and started spitting fire. She had the whole room going nuts and crowd surfing.”
Gertz, who moonlights as a server, came up with the idea for Dark Wave Disco, which started as a joint effort between Gertz and Martin (who, at 36, is the group’s eldest member). Martin has been deejaying since ’85 under his Trancid guise, establishing himself as a go-to guy for indie and rock-leaning techno. Corner was also deejaying around Wicker Park, doing Brit rock and indie dance nights with then-soon-to-be electro superstar Tommie Sunshine. When Corner, Gertz and Martin connected, the like-mindedness was immediately evident.
Dark Wave Disco’s success stems from much more than being in the right place at the right time. “I had been contemplating something like this for three or four years,” Gertz says, “a party along the lines of the Factory.” His reference to Andy Warhol’s artist studio and party spot is fitting: The team has put a lot of effort into branding. “We all do our part,” says Martin, who works in IT by day and creates the group’s Web campaigns. The trio’s poster and flyer bombing in Bucktown, Ukrainian Village and Wicker Park is unrivaled. Its posters became fixtures on street lamps, newspaper stands and in the windows of local shops, making its graphics-heavy design aesthetic a continual part of the visual landscape.
The efforts have yielded both a source for new music trends in the city and a party to see and be seen. Yet a Lollapalooza spot last year—which Corner calls “the highlight of deejaying for me so far”—has left them wanting more. “We’ve hit a bit of a ceiling in Chicago,” Gertz says. “We could probably keep doing the party at Beauty Bar, just the way it is, and probably pull the same crowds, but that won’t take us anywhere else.” Corner adds, “To DJ and travel nationally, that’s the next step.”
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DWD Djs spinning at SmartBar tonight after the Smashing Pumpkins / Kill Hannah show. No Cover.
