Legendary house label DJ International returns, with a previously unreleased Frankie Knuckles cut
Anyone that knows anything about the history of house music will be aware of DJ International, the label that along with Trax Records helped put Chicago on the electronic music map.
Founded by Rocky Jones in 1985, DJ International’s back catalogue reads like a Who’s Who of house, with artists including Marshall Jefferson, Farley ‘Jackmaster’ Funk, Tyree Cooper, Larry ‘Mr Fingers’ Heard, Fast Eddie, Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley, Joe Smooth and many more among its client base.
As Udiscovermusic put it in a 2019 article, DJ International “is the history of house music, the very DNA of modern dance music”.
The label lay dormant for the best part of two decades, until Universal Music Group acquired it a couple of years ago, and this past week has seen it make a storming comeback with the release of a single by none other than the godfather of house music, the late Frankie Knuckles.
The track, Carefree (I Am A Star), is a feelgood house cut taken from Jackmaster 7, a never-released follow-up to the six Jackmaster albums that the label put out between 1987 and 1991.
The result of a new exclusive worldwide licence agreed between DJ International and Last Man Music, several tracks from Jackmaster 7 will be released in the coming months, each accompanied by remixes.
The release of Carefree (I Am A Star) also comes with two remixes; one by Chicago’s legendary Chip E, and the other by DJ International head honcho Rocky Jones.
It’s also been released just in time for this year’s Frankie Knuckles Day, which takes place on 25 August.
Listen or buy Carefree (I Am A Star) by clicking here.
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