Chicago

Ground zero. The whole thing starts here with Albini and Big Black in the early 80s and it never stops. Touch and Go gives everybody a fair shake, handshake deals, 50/50 splits, no lawyers. Electrical Audio becomes the room where half the underground gets its sound on tape. Jesus Lizard is the visceral end, Shellac is the precision end, Tortoise is the 'what if we put vibraphone on everything' end. Empty Bottle, Lounge Ax, Metro, bands every night of the week. Thrill Jockey picks up where Touch and Go leaves off and pushes into jazz and electronics. Chicago isn't a scene, it's an entire self-sustaining ecosystem. The bands feed the labels feed the studios feed the venues feed the bands. Nobody needs permission from New York or LA. Nobody wants it.