Qemist turns the Green Room into a Haunted HOUSE

The Memphis producer, DJ and WYXR host shares Halloween night at Crosstown Arts with Digital Tech, a year after a footwork record that ran straight through Memphis soul.

The capital letters in the title are the tell. On Saturday, Oct. 31, The Green Room at Crosstown Arts hosts Haunted HOUSE, a Halloween night of club music from DJs Digital Tech and Qemist. Expect costumes, and expect the music to be house, not haunted-house sound effects.

The details come from Crosstown Arts' own calendar. Doors open at 7:30 p.m., the music starts at 8 and runs until 11. Tickets are $15 in advance plus fees, or $20 at the door, through DICE. The Green Room is in the Crosstown Concourse, Suite 280 at 1350 Concourse Ave., and it's a small room, about 150 people by our count. Three hours of DJs in a room that size is a different experience from a big club at 2 a.m. You can hear the mix, see the hands on the decks, and still be home at a reasonable hour.

Qemist is one of the busier people in Memphis dance music right now. The producer and DJ works across underground house, Jersey club, ballroom house and footwork, styles that share a love of a fast, chopped-up drum and a crowd that dances hard to it. Last October, almost exactly a year before this show, Qemist released *The New Juke Tape* on the label Moveltraxx. The record pairs footwork with Memphis soul and features Chicago footwork DJ Manny. That's a Memphis record in its bones.

Footwork with Memphis soul running through it is a Memphis record in its bones.

If you listen to WYXR, you may already know Qemist's taste without realizing it. Qemist hosts Computer Noise, a weekly show on WYXR 91.7 FM about classic electronic dance music that covers techno, house, breakbeat, ambient and more. Qemist has also become a regular at Crosstown, including a Lovers Night in February with Memphis DJ Nico. Haunted HOUSE brings Qemist back to a room that already knows the sound.

Digital Tech shares the bill. The listing gives no more detail about the set than the name, so walk in with open ears.

For a night like this, Crosstown is a smart host. The Concourse is a giant converted building that already pulls people in for food, art and shows, so it's easy to make a full evening of it: dinner in the Concourse, then over to the Green Room when the music starts. And because the night ends at 11, there's still time to catch another Halloween party afterward, or to get home before the costume starts to itch.

If house music in Memphis has felt like something that happens in other cities, this is a good night to see how much of it is being made here. Buy the advance ticket, wear something you can dance in, and get there by 8. In a room this size, the people who arrive early get the best spot to watch the decks.

Sources: Crosstown Arts — Events calendar (crosstownarts.org); Crosstown Arts on DICE (Haunted House: Digital Tech + Qemist) (dice.fm); The Green Room at Crosstown Arts — DICE (dice.fm); Qemist — DICE (dice.fm); Qemist — Bandcamp (kidqemist.bandcamp.com); QEMIST — WYXR 91.7 FM (Spinitron) (spinitron.com); Computer Noise — WYXR 91.7 FM (Spinitron) (spinitron.com); Spins feat. Qemist — Crosstown Arts (crosstownarts.org); DJ Nico & Qemist: Lovers Night — Crosstown Arts (crosstownarts.org); Crosstown Concourse - Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)