abstract science presents raw code @ podlasie club w/ sister zo

>>RA event
>>FB event

ABSTRACT SCIENCE is back at PODLASIE CLUB with RAW CODE, a night focused on leftfield club sounds at the meeting of midwest dj culture + the UK hardcore continuum. This edition features the return of NYC’s SISTER ZO alongside veteran ABSCI selectors CHRIS WIDMAN + WHOA-B.

fri 12 july 2024
abstract science presents
RAW CODE

with djs

SISTER ZO
[pineapple, 3024 music, scuffed, nervous, nyc]

CHRIS WIDMAN + WHOA-B
[abstract science, wluw 88.7fm]

PODLASIE CLUB
2918 N Central Park Ave., Chicago
9pm-2am 21+

—

SISTER ZO [pineapple, 3024 music, scuffed, nervious, nyc]

Kansas City-born Zoey Shopmaker, aka Sister Zo, has long been on a path entirely of her own making. After getting her start performing at underground poetry events in her hometown, she eventually moved on to playing live beat sets during open mic nights at one of KC’s most pivotal queer nightlife institutions of the 21st century, the Uptown Arts Bar. Occasionally she’d wander upstairs to Niche, a 100-cap club with a legendary sound system known as the Meta HiFi. There she got her first taste of the sounds of the UK bass continuum and the LA beat scene, with its prominent figureheads like Flying Lotus, Ras G and Shlohmo. Ever the nomad, she would spend her mid-twenties traveling, flitting between cities like New York and LA and the mountainous terrain of the Colorado Rockies.

At 26 years old, she left behind a stable career in psychotherapy to pursue her creative dreams. This would lead her back to Niche where a ravenous desire to evolve as an artist connected her with Peter Anthony, aka Coughman, who ran the independent KC collective and label, Intelligent Sound. Soon Anthony encouraged Zo and her friends Mazzy Mann and Lorelei Kretsinger to build a platform of their own. In October 2017, the three of them founded the UN/TUCK queer/trans collective and record label. Over the next two years, they tirelessly built UN/TUCK into an internationally recognized platform, releasing their own music and organizing shows and parties curated specifically for trans and queer people in Kansas City. Under the name BTRFLY, Zo produced her own LA-inspired beats and rapped over them in her sets. As she delved further into the realms of Chicago house, early 2000s UK dubstep, and the hybrid sounds of Hessle Audio, Hyperdub and Idle Hands, she discovered a profound love for DJing and a different kind of production.

Now based in Brooklyn, she has made definitive creative statements in 2022, releasing her debut EP, Screw Cheek, on acclaimed UK club label, Scuffed Recordings, and a follow-up EP, Freak Shift, on Martyn’s hallowed 3024 imprint, as well as a slew of national bookings at The Bunker NY, Texture Detroit, Sole Rehab, clubs like Nowadays, Good Room and Kremwerk, festivals like Slingshot and Honcho Campout and many more on the horizon. It’s clear that Zo has solidified her place as an emerging artist firmly in her own lane, with tracks that span the continuum of UK bass and North American techno and house, and mixes that seamlessly capture and defy her genres of interest, blending deep dark percussive bass and broken beat with blistering techno, psychedelic house, east coast club and more.

CHRIS WIDMAN [abstract science, wluw-chicago 88.7fm]
“Chris Widman is Equal Parts DJ and Electronic Music Encyclopedia” (Noisey) — Chris Widman is a DJ that defies easy classification. Producer and co-host of the long-running Chicago radio show Abstract Science on WLUW-88.7FM, he is at the forefront of breaking new styles, blurring genre lines and re-introducing forgotten music. When DJing for the dancefloor, Widman is known for his adventurous mixing of tempos and styles, creating his own form of crowd-pleasing sonic warfare. Widman came up in the 90s midwest rave scene, DJing and promoting events with one foot on the dancefloor and the other in the chill room. This duality has followed his performance & curatorial work through club residencies (Smartbar 2001–2003/2008–2012 & Sonotheque 2004-2006), Chicago editions of the Mutek & Sonar festivals, and countless shows, everywhere from Metro & Empty Bottle to the Chicago Cultural Center & Pritzker Pavilion.

WHOA-B [abstract science, wluw-chicago 88.7fm]
Whoa-B is a Chicago-based DJ who specializes in electronic music of British origin, namely dubstep, grime, UK garage, and drum & bass. He began collecting records in 1999 and has since made a name for himself as a UK bass music aficionado. Many know of his “Ten Minute Dubstep Mix” with over 2.6 million views on YouTube. Early influences include Dieselboy mix CD’s, Mark Almaria mixtapes, Casper (Julian Carow) introducing UK garage to Chicago, Craze integrating drum & bass with turntablism, and Slimzee grime sets. Whoa-B has opened for artists such as Plastician, Todd Edwards, Mount Kimbie, and Rusko at venues including Smart Bar, Subterranean, Empty Bottle, Cafe Lura, and Lava. He was a founding member of several residencies at Smart Bar and Morseland. He co-hosts Abstract Science, a long-running weekly radio show on WLUW 88.7 FM exploring innovative electronic music and its roots.