DJ Gant-Man

Born in Chicago in 1979, DJ Gant-Man, real name Gant Garrard, is part of the local history of juke, ghetto house, and Chicago house. Trained very early in mixing by his elder brother, he began appearing on radio on WKKC 89.3 FM from the late 1980s, while still a child. In the mid-1990s, DJ Gant-Man released his first tracks on Dance Mania, with the It’s About Time EP in 1995, notably containing “3 Blind Mice”, which became a classic of Chicago's underground circuits. His music combines dry rhythms, direct basslines, short loops, and dancefloor energy, in a format that is simultaneously minimal, fast, and rooted in the early footwork practices. From the late 1990s, DJ Gant-Man performed in the United States and Europe, with stints in Paris, Geneva, then Ibiza, where he was in residence in the summer of 2000. His discography later expanded across several labels associated with Chicago's house and juke scene, including Dust Traxx, Dance Mania, or Fool’s Gold. DJ Gant-Man has also worked in remixes, notably alongside Maurice Joshua, and his path crosses club culture as well as local hip-hop, in a trajectory that remained tied to the rawest and most functional forms of Chicago dance music.