Carlos Rodriguez, aka Charlie Glitch, endlessly reps Chicago. Everything the wide-ranging artist touches - from the records he presses as the label boss of budding imprint/family Ghetto Division; to the records he mixes on turntables across cities and continents; to the parties he organizes as the vibrant Southside Shakedown crew - has the classic feel of the Windy City, with a defiantly modern spin. And a heavy dose of bass. It’s no wonder he’s a local hero and underground icon throughout his city, as he continues to push and propel both the sounds and boundaries of Chicago House. But it come as no surprise that the rest of the world has taken notice as well. Rodriguez has lit up dancefloors from Chicago to Philly, New York to Amsterdam, Belgium to SXSW, sharing stages and decks with the likes of Major Lazer, DJ Funk, Farley ‘Jackmaster’ Funk, DJ Gantman, Deadmau5, Diplo - as well as opening for hip hop loyalty such as Big Boi from Outkast, Ludacris, Three 6 Mafia and Chicago’s own Kid Sister.

Born in the neighborhood of Pilsen in the lower west side of Chicago, Rodriguez grew up with music in his roots: his father was a notorious club/party DJ around the area. Inspired by his father’s vast record collection, Carlos started actively DJing at the young age of 12 at house parties and neighborhood events. By the time he was 17, he was already throwing some of the most raucous parties in his ‘hood. Fast forward to 2010, and at the age of 23 he’s been organizing and promoting the most talked-about underground parties throughout the city for the last 3 years, the truly unruly Southside Shakedown. Amongst taking over various warehouses and party spaces, Southside Shakedown even made its way to the acclaimed crossover venue in Chicago, the Metro,
which would reach maximum capacity by midnight, with 1,200 fans partying inside and over 400 eager heads lining up around the block. Southside Shakedown parties are as varied musically as they are in attendance - Chicago sounds across the club music spectrum (classic house, electro house, bass-heavy house, juke, hard house) bang through a sweaty dancefloor filled with people of all ages, colors and backgrounds (‘hood kids get down with hipsters, old school clubbers dance beside fresh faced college kids). It’s a unified vibe rarely seen in a city where each scene steers clear of the other.

Charlie Glitch’s ability to bring people together comes through strongest with the allegiance of his Ghetto Division empire, an immense DJ/production army that teamed up lifelong friends and like-minded producers Rob Threezy, Maddjazz, Rampage, D-51, Lorenzo Vektor, Louie Cue, M-dok and Moonman. What began as a simple concept in the back room of Hot Jams record store has evolved into a nationwide phenomenon that has created alliances with crews such as the New Jersey/Philadelphia based Brick Bandits, Las Vegas’ 2Hype Records and Australia’s Idiot House Records. Spreading their gospel even further, Ghetto Division Records - an imprint showcasing the finest young talent coming out of Chicago and the world - came together as a way to set the crew’s vision and skill to disc. As their solid releases continually hit underground gold, Ghetto Division Records is lining up a myriad of interesting projects in the pipeline for 2010 and beyond.

Charlie Glitch’s widely varied productions have gained love and support from The Fader, XLR8R, Chicago Time Out and Chicago Reader (not to mention the entire blogosphere), with three boldly unique EPs firmly under his belt, and a staggering archive of beats building up for release. As an expert in sound production and engineering, he’s also held down numerous genre-spanning remixes and collaborations with artists such as DJ Sega, Acid Jacks and Jose2hype. Meanwhile, his all-in-the-box mixtapes, especially last year’s ‘Kontinental Gangstas,’ have become viral sensations that set the blueprint for house/juke DJs around the globe.

Most recently, inspired to spread the Chicago sound out of the city borders, Charlie Glitch made the move to the East Coast. In-between hopping cities and gigs, he’s currently working on releases for Ghetto Division Records (including a new concept-based house moniker, Jack Junia, which will be revealed soon) and hatching up secret projects in the lab with Chicago’s legendary Trax Records.