Johnny Fiasco
Fiasco's style is enviable, as the beats are always booming and the vibe deep, but his infectious (not to mention expansive) take on house continually breathes new life into the sound.—Urb Magazine, 2003
Legends are made of dreams, so they say…In Johnny Fiasco 's case, he is a legend whose ever-evolving house music insight promises to be enduring—and for many, that's a dream come true. The Chicago-born native was fortunate to have the Windy City as a backdrop at a fantastically seminal time for house music in the late ‘80s. Since then the pioneering Fiasco continues to DJ, produce and remix his one true love—house. “My category is house music. If someone asks me what I play: ‘It is house.' It's techy, it's hard, it's disco, it's vocally, and it's all of the above, really. The spectrum is pretty wide and that's why I am so in love with house music.”
Fiasco (born Juan Lopez) established his career as a DJ in Chicago , playing at Smart Bar alongside future all-stars like Mark Farina, Derrick Carter. With musical roots in rock (playing guitar in local bands), he quickly gravitated to arranging his own music. In 1995, Fiasco began recording his productions with the legendary Chicago-based imprint Cajual Records where he released such hits as "Conduction" and the Moody Grooves EPs. The reputation of Cajual, and his work with the label, launched Fiasco into a catalog of singles and recordings for other labels.
Part of the secret to Fiasco 's prolific success is found in the art of collaboration. Fiasco has always managed to forge powerful creative alliances with other innovative recording artists and start-up labels, often lending his trademark style of “feel-good” house dimension and texture to novel works. Fiasco distinguishes, “It felt more real to me being able to associate with a new label trying to create a new identity and do the same thing under a much more controlled circumstance.” Fiasco veers from monotony when creating an audio sculpture: “I've always loved jazz and any Latin-based music, so I wanna incorporate quite a few different ingredients…I want tracks to be pretty deep, but still maintain the energy in that you can listen to it at home and in the club.”
Today, Fiasco co-owns Viva! Recordings , is an impressive producer/remixer and logs countless frequent-flyer miles spinning at clubs and special events globally, including just about every major city in America . Remarkably, Fiasco 's vast remix catalogue includes pop icons such as Gloria Estefan, KD Lang and Donna Blakely. In 2003, one of his remixes was a #1 Billboard ® chart-topping dance floor rework of Justin Timberlake's smash single "Cry Me A River." Without a doubt a Fiasco record can always be found in record crates of DJs worldwide. Aside from his tour de force, the masterful and accomplished Fiasco continually reinvents himself through his timeless house music creations.
“House music to me has been more of a love and a passion,” he muses, “There's not a whole lot of money in here, but if you play your cards right and develop the right projects, then there can be. But if that's your incentive, or you're driven by money, then you'll probably end up making hip hop records for a living.”
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