Isaiah Major (born January 9, 1970, in Chicago, Illinois, United States) best known as DJ Rush, is an American musician, DJ and record producer of electronic music, who was active in the early Chicago House scene.
DJ Rush | |
|---|---|
 DJ Rush performing in a German club in 2010 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Isaiah Major |
| Also known as | Major Rush, Russian Roulette, Drum Major |
| Born | January 9, 1970 Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Genres | Techno, hard techno, house, disco |
| Occupation(s) | DJ, musician, singer, record producer |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, turntable, keyboards |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Labels | Kne'Deep, Trax Records|Trax, Force Inc. Music Works, Omnisounds, Pro-Jex, Saber Records|Saber, Dance Mania (record label)|Dance Mania, Relief Records|Relief, Cosmic Records|Cosmic, Circuit Records, Djax-Up-Beats, Mental Groove Records, V-Records Berlin, High Octane Recordings, Basic Beat Recordings, Predicaments, Session Recordings, Utils (record label)|Utils, Modular Music Channel, Terminal M, Hörspielmusik, T:Classixx, Pounding Grooves Remixed, INEX Music Works, Highball Music, Jackstar Recordings, Beatdisaster Records, Bitshift Music, Equator (record label)|Equator, Combat Skill, Cause Records, Truth Tracks, BEK Audio |
| Website | djrush |
Early life
editIsaiah Major[1] was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, growing up on the south side of the city and DJing from an early age.[2] Isaiah finished his degree in Computer Operations, Anger Management and won several first-place awards in Art competitions.[citation needed]
Career
editIn the growing House scene of Chicago, DJ Rush quickly rose to prominence in the electronic music genre. He made his first appearances as a DJ in the Chicago clubs Music Box, the Powerhouse and the Warehouse where he played his sets for up to ten hours.[3] He also began producing. In 1989 he began running a party called Gaucho out of a friends garage. Gaucho became one of the cities most popular parties in the House scene, birthing dance crew battles at house parties across the city.[2]
In 1991 DJ Rush released his first single ("Knee Deep") on the label Trax Records.[4] He began to gain ground in London and Berlin. In 1996 he moved to Berlin, becoming part of the progressive and creative techno scene that had gathered momentum after the fall of the Berlin Wall.[2]
In 1998 DJ Rush successfully had a Europe-wide breakthrough with the record "Motherfucking Bass". It was widely regarded as one of the "club hymns" of that year.[3] Following this success he teamed up with Tina Panitzke to start the booking agency and record label Kne'Deep in Berlin.[5] In 2001 he displaced Jeff Mills as the Reader's Choice for most popular DJ in Groove-Magazine (a German magazine for electronic music released since 1989).[3]
DJ Rush began performing in Portugal in the late 1990s. After travelling there regularly for work he fell in love with it, leaving Berlin to move to the Algarve in around 2016.[2][6]
His production style over time embraced a harder more minimal style, placing him within the genre of hard techno, however DJ Rush has referred to his musical style as 'Hard Energy', first firmly rooted in house music and now combining elements of many genres including jazz, disco and soul.[4] He sometimes DJ's and MC's simultaneously as a unique way to entertain the crowd. DJ Rush is known for his unique sense of style- being 6' 6" (1.98 m) tall and often performing in platforms and extravagant costumes, citing Grace Jones and Missy Elliott amongst his inspirations.[2]
Performances
editDJ Rush is a well-known DJ in the European techno scene, having played in Techno BAM (Barcelona), Barcelona de Noche (Barcelona), Sala del Cel (Girona), Rachdingue (Vilajuïga), I Love Techno (Ghent), Tresor (Berlin), Love Parade (Berlin), Palazzo (Bingen), Dolnov (Lukavac, BiH), La Real (Oviedo), Florida 135 (Fraga), Hafentunnel (Erfurt), Awakenings (Amsterdam), Tomorrowland (Boom) and Sziget Fesztivál (Budapest).[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] He continues to perform internationally.[6]
Discography
editAlbums
edit| Year[16] | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Klub Kids | Trax Records |
| 1996 | Rush Rules | Trax Records |
| 1996 | Doing It To Death | Force Inc. Music Works |
| 2000 | 97/99 Motherfuckin' Tracks | Omnisounds |
| 2000 | Shall We Dance? | Pro-Jex |
Singles and EPs
edit| Year[16] | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Knee Deep | Saber Records |
| 1991 | Childs Play | Dance Mania |
| 1995 | Returns | Dance Mania |
| 1995 | Show Me A Man | Relief Records |
| 1995 | Drum Major E.P. | Force Inc. Music Works |
| 1996 | The Vicious E.P. | Force Inc. Music Works |
| 1996 | Mind Games EP | Cosmic Records |
| 1996 | The Flex | Kne' Deep |
| 1996 | Get Funky | Circuit Records |
| 1996 | Punch It | Djax-Up-Beats |
| 1997 | Rhythm, Drums & Style | Force Inc. Music Works |
| 1997 | Ooo La La | Mental Groove Records |
| 1997 | DJ Rush & Nerk – The 8 N 9 EP | V-Records Berlin |
| 1997 | The Breaks E.P. | Pro-Jex |
| 1997 | EP | Relief Records |
| 1997 | Robo' Tripp'n | Force Inc. Music Works |
| 1997 | Maniac | Djax-Up-Beats |
| 1998 | The Bomb | High Octane Recordings |
| 1998 | Spitball EP | Pro-Jex |
| 1998 | Remixes Part 2 | Mental Groove Records |
| 1998 | Remixes Part 1 | Basic Beat Recordings |
| 1998 | DJ Rush vs Paul Langley – Analog Showbiz EP | Predicaments |
| 1998 | Lesson I | Force Inc. Music Works |
| 1998 | Traks Couture | Djax-Up-Beats |
| 1998 | Marathon Man | Djax-Up-Beats |
| 1998 | Remixes Part 1 | Mental Groove Records |
| 1998 | Homecoming EP | High Octane Recordings |
| 1999 | Freaks on Hubbard Remixes | Pro-Jex |
| 1999 | Session | Session Recordings |
| 1999 | Feeling Lik A Woman | High Octane Recordings |
| 1999 | One Two Zero | Pro-Jex |
| 1999 | Lesson II | Force Inc. Music Works |
| 1999 | My Favorite Things | Utils (record label) |
| 1999 | Swingin' Da Drums | Djax-Up-Beats |
| 1999 | Boomerang EP | High Octane Recordings |
| 2000 | Look And See (Remixes) | Pro-Jex |
| 2000 | Dawn of the Recent | Modular Music Channel |
| 2000 | Lollipop | Terminal M |
| 2000 | Jack Your Body EP | Hörspielmusik |
| 2000 | Breakthrough | Djax-Up-Beats |
| 2001 | Get on Down | Pro-Jex |
| 2001 | Motherfucking Bass | T:Classixx |
| 2001 | Club Freaks | Djax-Up-Beats |
| 2001 | Mental Problems | Djax-Up-Beats |
| 2002 | Get on Up Remix E.P. | Pro-Jex |
| 2002 | DJ Rush vs. Paul Langley – Guestlist Superstars E.P. | Predicaments |
| 2002 | Pounding Grooves / DJ Rush – Pounding Grooves Remixed 01-11 | Pounding Grooves Remixed |
| 2002 | Going Back | INEX Music Works |
| 2002 | Highballin' EP | Highball Music |
| 2003 | Whip Raff | Trax Records |
| 2003 | Ghetto Fabulous | Jackstar Recordings |
| 2003 | My Palazzo | Beatdisaster Records |
| 2003 | The Family (Remixes) | Djax-Up-Beats |
| 2003 | Ladies EP | Djax-Up-Beats |
| 2003 | Partytime E.P. | Terminal M |
| 2003 | Djax-Up-Beat (Remixes) | Djax-Up-Beats |
| 2003 | Club Freaks (Remixes) | Djax-Up-Beats |
| 2003 | Let's Change | Pro-Jex |
| 2003 | The Rebirth EP | Utils (record label) |
| 2003 | Heart And Soul EP | Pro-Jex |
| 2004 | DJ Rush 'n Eric Sneo – I Control The Base / Beatboxx | T:Classixx |
| 2004 | Funk U Up | Pro-Jex |
| 2005 | My Palazzo (Remixes) | Beatdisaster Records |
| 2005 | Yeah It's Me | Djax-Up-Beats |
| 2005 | DJ Rush & Robert Natus – For The Kidz | Bitshift Music |
| 2006 | Heavy in Fashion EP | Equator (record label) |
| 2006 | Pussy Pop'n | Djax-Up-Beats |
| 2006 | Amazon Farewell... The Mixes | Dark House Music |
| 2007 | DJ Rush / Alex Kvitta – Two of a Kind E.P. | Kne' Deep |
| 2007 | DJ Rush vs. DJ Ocram – The Golden X EP | Combat Skill |
| 2009 | Major Damage E.P. | Cause Records |
| 2009 | You Better Ask Somebody EP | Kne' Deep |
| 2010 | DJ Rush Vs Bruce (17) – Rhythm Composers EP | Kne' Deep |
| 2010 | Rhythm, Juicy & Drum EP | Kne' Deep |
| 2012 | DJ Rush / J. Fernandes / Huma-Noyd – United! | Kne' Deep |
| 2012 | DJ Rush & Hirte* – Evil EP | Truth Tracks |
| 2013 | She's Fine (Gary Beck Remix) | BEK Audio |
| 2013 | J. Fernandes / DJ Rush – Jaula EP | Kne' Deep |
| 2014 | The Evidence EP | Kne' Deep |
| 2014 | Major Power EP | Kne' Deep |
| 2015 | Fun And Music EP | Kne' Deep |
| 2016 | Remembering My Roots EP | Kne' Deep |
| Unknown | Boomerang Remix EP | Not on Label |
DJ Mixes
edit| Year[16] | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Rauschen 14 | Force Inc. Music Works |
| 2001 | Marco Remus / DJ Rush – Essential Underground Vol. 02: Berlin / Chicago | DJ-sets.com |
| 2002 | U60311 Compilation Techno Division Vol. 2 | V2 Records, Inc. |
| 2004 | Palazzo Volume Three | T:Classixx |
| 2004 | Ekspozicija Ena : Meet Me | Explicit Musick |
| 2007 | Felix Kröcher & DJ Rush – U60311 Compilation Techno Division Vol. 6 | V2 Records, Inc. |
| 2008 | Time Warp Compilation 08 | Time Warp |
| 2009 | DJ Rush / PET Duo – Ekspozicija 10: Deep, Hard & Dirty | Explicit Musick |
| Unknown | Relentless | Sole Unlimited |
References
edit- ^ "Biography". "DJ Rush.net - Biography". djrush.net. Retrieved October 19, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e "Cover Story: DJ Rush is a True Original, and an Entertainer of the Highest Calibre". Beatportal. 2020-06-16. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
- ^ a b c "LAUT.DE-BIOGRAFIE – DJ Rush" (in German). laut.de. Retrieved February 4, 2013.
- ^ a b "Interview with DJ Rush". 54house.fm – The Heartbeat of House Music. 2021-03-22. Retrieved 2023-12-19.
- ^ "About". knedeep.net. Archived from the original on June 20, 2013. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
- ^ a b Hewitt, Martin Guttridge (2022-02-23). "Techno legend DJ Rush: "Manchester really wants to party"". Manchester’s Finest. Retrieved 2023-12-19.
- ^ Dj Rush & Zombie Nation live @ Hafentunnel 2001. Kieloview. July 12, 2012. Retrieved August 24, 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ Awakenings Festival 2018 Saturday - Live set DJ Rush @ Area Y. Awakenings. July 2, 2018. Archived from the original on December 27, 2020. Retrieved August 24, 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ Dj Rush @ Sziget Fesztivál (2003.08.05). GabWeinTechno. October 7, 2012. Archived from the original on March 15, 2021. Retrieved August 24, 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ Dj Rush - Live @ I Love Techno 2003 (19.07.2003). intothecosmic. July 11, 2011. Retrieved August 24, 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ Dj Rush @ Tresor Closing Party [13.04.2005]. Rausch Durch Musik. February 16, 2013. Archived from the original on February 2, 2021. Retrieved August 24, 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ VIDEO TECHNO-DJ RUSH LIVE @ PALAZZO AIRBASE. DJ Huggy. September 13, 2011. Archived from the original on November 10, 2020. Retrieved August 24, 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ DJ Rush vs Pet Duo @ Florida 135 -- 06-11-2004. intothecosmic. July 16, 2011. Archived from the original on June 15, 2021. Retrieved August 24, 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ DJ Rush @ Tomorrowland 2013. Cherrybeats. July 29, 2013. Retrieved August 24, 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ Dj Rush - Barcelona. Toni. August 24, 2007. Retrieved August 24, 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ a b c "DJ Rush". Discogs.com. Retrieved October 19, 2013.