LOLLAPALOOZA PREVIEW: Midnight Conspiracy

Midnight Conspiracy - The Mustache & The Ninja

by Sara Cannon

In the ever growing sea of DJs and electronic acts out there, it takes more than talent and desire to distinguish yourself from the rest. It takes a mustache, it takes a ninja, it takes a producer who can travel through time, space, and the realms of hell. It's a good thing then that Midnight Conspiracy possess all three.

The group, which formed in late 2009 and "officially" debuted in January of 2010, has come a long way in a very short amount of time. Yes, they hit the Hype Machine's Top 5, five times with their amazingly produced remixes, had multiple tracks on BBC Radio 1's Kissy Sell Out show, and toured non-stop — melting faces with their hard hitting sets in over 50 cities in two continents, but it doesn't end there. What truly sets Midnight Conspiracy apart from other bands is, well, they are more than just a band. When they are in their hometown of Chicago, they are booking, producing, and promoting some of the biggest electronic events in the city and running their own clothing line under their Dead Fame brand and collective (we'll get to that in a bit). By doing so, Mid Con has amassed an impressive and very loyal following of fans, a feat not all Chicago-based artists, even internationally touring ones signed to major labels, can attest to.

So what is Dead Fame about? Dead Fame, along with Die Tonight and Delorean Nites, started as just a name for one of their successful parties. The group ended up liking the name so much, they decided to have it become the brand and identity for their events, clothing line, and, most recently, artist collective. Teaming up with Chicago dubstep newcomers, CENOB1TE, Midnight Conspiracy is taking Dead Fame to the next level — beyond parties and clothing. Think of it as Chicago's version of Ed Banger's Cool Cats in its early infancy. A new website will be launching later this summer and collaborations, both live and in the studio with CENOB1TE, have already begun. "The Eye," a track featuring both Dead Fame artists, serves as their intro/anthem and the members actually play the string, brass, and piano parts live when their set-up allows it. Speaking of eyes and set-ups, Mid Con will be DJing out of a 13ft pyramid LED eye (their logo inspired by El Topo) this fall around the same time the track will be released.

Fans holding up the pyramid eye hand sign as Mid Con takes the stage — photo by darkroom demons.

Late summer and early fall will be busy for Midnight Conspiracy, not only will they be playing Lollapalooza for the first time, but the North Coast Music Festival (also in Chicago) and the extremely prestigious World Electronic Music Festival (WEMF) in Canada. Outside of playing these gigantic festivals, Mid Con will be releasing an original track, "Discord," along with remixes off Kill Pop Records, which they signed to this past spring. At the rate they're going, who knows what heights Midnight Conspiracy will reach this time next year.

SIDE NOTE: Midnight Conspiracy's single, "Veyron," which was a collaboration with fellow Chicago heavyweight Lucky Date, was a featured Lolla Remix Contest track. It is available for FREE download below.

Lucky Date & Midnight Conspiracy - Veyron (Night Version) by Midnight Conspiracy