I can’t remember the season, but in 2008 I met a gentleman by the name of Radius, during one of my 1st ever studio sessions in Dallas Texas. The unintentional introduction turned into a mutual respect for divine musical artistry. He was visiting the producer I was working with at the time, and I was lucky enough to have him sit in on my recording. I was a baby and relativly new to the game back then, and had no idea that he was involved in such a heavy movememnt in Chicago. I know now.
I recently found out he’d be in Brooklyn, and was hopeful that he remembered me well enough, to let me get an interview. In the most gracious way, he agreed and we met up on Broadway and Leonard and discussed his journey. Radius growing up on the South Side of Chicago, living in more neighborhoods there than he can remember, is why the term “Reality music” is so fitting for his sound. His fusion of organic House/Jazz/Hip Hop/Soul, carries it’s own weight.
He started making tracks in 2001, but 2005-2006 marked the first major collab that turned into E3 (Elegant Elephant Esemble), Hondolo and Radius searched for big sounds. Around the same time he found himself deep in beat battles, and shortly after released his EP. He grew into Radius ETC in 2010 after the 2009 EP “ETC” under Gritty Goat, and got serious about his work. Collaborations over the next few years to follow included Beyond Luck (Dj Moppy, Keter Darker, Radius, and Kenny Keys), the group Lagos (with Leo 123), and the collective label Gritty Goat (Semantic Noise, Radius, Yesitsfiasco, KyleBeats, to name a few) and he made it known it was official.
On the edge of 2014, Radius is owning his efforts to “Expand Chicago music in general” he said, and “Wants to bridge the gap between musical communities and create expansion by doing so.” Having done shows in LA (also living there for some time), Seattle, and Brooklyn he seems to be manifesting his desires. Pushing out 7′ vinyl of his latest work, with plans to release another here in a few weeks for the group Lagos () reminding people that “Vinyl never died, they’ll remain music’s physical artifacts”, the movement never stops. He is what they call a game changer, and after all, ETC is infinite, so I know he’s just getting warmed up.
Dig deeper here: www.etcrecords.com