HUCKABY, MIKE/ WADE, RICK/ WILHITE, RICK/ TALLEY - THE DEFENDERS OF THE DEEP HOUSE WORLD

Mike Huckaby was a dance music purist extraordinaire. Being an integral part of the Detroit dance scene, he was the man behind the legendary Record Time store and as such gathered an encyclopedic knowledge of music. Mike was one of those rare guys who know all the roots and culture of electronic dance music, who see beyond the hype and divisions in the scene and know exactly what this music is. He was the kind of purist whose love for music has literally had him flown around the globe. Huckaby also produced for labels like Rick Wade's renowned Harmonie Park outfit, London's Cross Section or his own ventures Deep Transportation resp. Synth. Apart from his activities as a DJ and producer, he also worked as a sound designer and a tutor for the software company Native Instruments, and Ableton teaching Reaktor and Live around the world, as well as for a special Detroit youth foundation project called "YouthVille". Mike tragically passed away due to complications from a stroke on April 24, 2020. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

One of Detroit's best kept secrets, Rick Wade has been producing late night tracks and tapping into the essence of deepness since the '90s. Known for their universal appeal and appearing on over 20 different labels worldwide, soulful, timeless grooves are his signature. Growing up in Buchanan MI, 1 hour outside of Chicago he was influenced by Chicago radio station WBMX and the Salsoul material and local stations that played the likes of Al Green and Isaac Hayes. Rick remembers: "I've always been into the music first. I loved the way they (WBMX) would blend two songs together and make it sound like one. I didn't even know what a DJ was back then. I just wanted to blend songs together...When I went to the record store those songs were only available on 12" vinyl, then I needed turntables to play them and then I needed a mixer if I wanted to blend them... At parties I had the records and I had the turntables so I became the DJ almost by default." While attending the University of Michigan, Wade had the first house mix show on the college station WCBN called 'Journey to the Land of House'. Other presenters were impressed with his material and mixing skills and soon asked him to prepare mixes for their own shows. Some time around 1991 Rick was working on a mix for Brendan Gillen's 'Crush Collision' show and ran out of tracks that he wanted to include. Having always a love for and producing hip-hop Wade turned to his studio to create a track that would fit the mix perfectly and hasn't looked back since. In 1993 Rick and Dan Bell started Harmonie Park to release house material and in 1995 Rick started another label Bass Force primarily as an outlet for the Booty / Bass material that he records under the 'Big Daddy Rick' moniker. Today, Rick Wade enjoys a reputation as one of the premier House mixshow producers in the world and anyone who likes deep, funky vibes should definitely find a chance to see him play live. Every Rick Wade set is fresh and spontaneous. Drawing its energy directly from the unique vibe of each party, Rick exposes the deepness to the crowd, taking the vibe to an emotional peak where it merges with the body, mind, and spirit into a continuous musical orgasm that lasts long after his set is over. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

Although he may not be as talked about as his Detroit peers and fellow 3 Chairs collaborators Kenny Dixon Jr. and Theo Parrish, there’s no doubting Rick "The Godson" Wilhite’s position as one of the central characters in the city's house music heritage. The record store was his first step along the way, and after learning the ropes of the vinyl industry via his job at Buy-Rite Music, he set about becoming a shop proprietor in his own right. The House Of Music was his first venture, and up until its closure late last year, he was the owner of Vibes New and Rare Music. Though his work behind the counter may be a thing of the past, his work behind the mixing desk certainly isn't. His sporadic sample-heavy singles for KDJ and most recently Stilove4music have become sought after slabs of wax, changing hands for serious amounts of money on sites like Discogs and eBay, yet fans looking to get a slice of Wilhite's production talent will be able to do so at a much more reasonable rate when he drops his debut solo album in the coming months. The final string to his bow is his skill behind the decks, with his much-refined turntable technique working in tandem with an enviable knowledge of disco, house and techno. He’s also not one to shy away from sharing his wisdom, taking a pre-teen Kyle Hall aside to school him on the finer points of deep house. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.