9 March 20-26, 2025 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | Contents | Letters | news | night+Day | CuLture | Cafe | MusiC | Month XX–Month XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | CONTENTS | LETTERS | RIPTIDE | METRO | NIGHT+DAY | STAGE | ART | FILM | CAFE | MUSIC | C WEEK 2025 ERECTORSETS for Chicago. Growing up in the Windy City suburb of Naperville allowed him to witness firsthand the city’s greats like Derrick Carter, Gene Farris, and Green Velvet and dive into dance institutions like Spybar. At the same time, he attended Lollapalooza, where he saw Deadmau5 live for the first time, seeing how the EDM powerhouse augmented his music with a spectacular stage production. “It’s like family vibes,” Summit says of the support he’s received from old-school Chi- cago DJs following his rise. “It’s not super competitive like other cities where people gatekeep.” Between his college classes and fraternity duties, Summit first gained experience DJing open-format sets. It was often impromptu. If a bar needed a DJ, Summit made himself available. After getting his bachelor’s from Il- linois, Summit began producing music while working on a graduate degree in accounting. Once he completed his studies, he moon- lighted as a music producer after he wrapped up working his 9-to-5. After a while, his double life as an accoun- tant and music producer became incompati- ble. In 2019, he was fired from his day job. “I was showing up late, leaving early, being a terrible employee. I was mentally fully com- mitted to music,” Summit says. Shortly after being canned, Summit began coming down to Miami. His debut appearance in the Magic City was at Treehouse in South Beach in 2019, spinning to a handful of clubgo- ers. “I thought it was an awesome party. I think I just showed up, and there were like 15 people there. I said, ‘Screw it!’ blacked out on tequila, and had a great night.” Lockdown Success A few weeks later came the lockdown, which, in the case of Summit’s career, might have been a blessing for the then-unknown producer. “Deep End” connected with listeners who yearned to go out and celebrate dur- ing the quarantine. Summit’s sudden success should have been a flash in the pan. After all, what’s the point of big bass music without the dance floor? But “Deep End” and Summit’s appeal only grew. “I was always doing beat-driven music that worked very well in clubs, and I was get- ting pretty good DJ support before ‘Deep End.’ But when you’re stuck at home, no one cares how good my rolling bass line is be- cause you can’t hear it on a nice Funktion One sound system. So I threw on a top-line and the splice vocal, which made it instantly lik- able to different audiences,” Summit says of his breakthrough production. As the lockdown eased, Club Space came calling, giving Summit his first Terrace gig opening for Lee Floss in 2021. “I came down to Miami, and I was like, ‘Holy shit!’ I didn’t know the city had such a thriving art culture,” Summit says. “At the time, I had nothing to lose. I was broke and didn’t have a job. I was all in on art, not only getting inspired going to the parties but playing the par- ties and meeting like- minded DJs and producers. That’s why I ended up moving to Miami.” From that show came Summit’s penchant for mara- thon sets, allowing him to push music for over ten hours. “I went to Space and did my home- work as a fan and student of the craft, and re- ally connected with the community. I proved myself through track selection,” he explains. “It’s a very culture-first club, and they’ll rec- ognize posers who go there. They judge on merits, which I respect.” Summit quickly saw his career go from small-time gigs to being books at music festi- vals and nightclubs around the world, includ- ing sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden. Everyone’s Got an Opinion With success comes critics, especially in to- day’s age when social media provides anyone and everyone with a soapbox to say whatever is on their minds. Summit certainly has his fair share of haters who argue that his fire- brand party-boy persona pushes hedonism to unnecessary levels. So-called dance-music purists will say his productions dilute house music and attract people who are not there for the music, that his sets do bring the “bros”—fraternity brothers and young men in finance who want to dance to bubbly tech- house. The fact that he is pretty active on X, where his past posts include “rosalia i am sin- gle and faithful repeat rosalia i am single and faithful;” “it’s bender o’clock, baby;” and “benders keep u hot & skinny,” certainly doesn’t help. Summit is well aware of what his critics have to say about him. “I used to have a huge chip on my shoulder about the haters, but now I get introspective,” he says. “I realize I’m a very polarizing figure, so I’m going to get hater comments. I was in a fraternity, so of course, they’re going to call me a frat bro. I think the people who really follow me understand who I am and what I stand for. I don’t mind the people who write me off because I was the same way. I used to talk so much shit about people until I “I USED TO HAVE A HUGE CHIP ON MY SHOULDER ABOUT THE HATERS, BUT NOW I GET INTROSPECTIVE.” >> p10 I t is an early Wednesday afternoon, and ChaseWest greets me at the door of his Lib- erty City home as Kodak Black’s “Tunnel Vi- sion” blasts from the speakers. Wearing a Triple Sevens sweatsuit with Yeezy slides, he shoots me a warm smile and invites me in. “Triple Sevens founder Rich is awesome,” he says, addressing his choice of interview attire. “I just met him for the first time yesterday, but he’s been sending me clothes for the past two months, and I’ve been wearing them — they’re great. He’s doing in fashion what I’m doing in mu- sic. We’re working on some cool projects to- gether, making a few shirts and building a movement. It’s exciting because it promotes our music, their fashion brand, and house music as a whole.” During the home tour, where he’s built a stu- dio as well as a setup for streaming, he shares some future concepts that he has for his label, Chaste Record. “Everything is hand-drawn. Every song has its character, and one represents that emotion. The art, the music — it’s all building this whole world of characters. We’re combining all mediums of art into one,” he says. “It’s not just about music; it’s an immersive experience. The goal is to create something unforgettable, where people can con- nect with the music and the characters in a meaningful way.” He continues discussing the latest Chaste re- lease: his EP D.O.P.E. Chase explains that the EP introduces another character, Mr. Bagman, to his universe — a complex character with a dual role. On one hand, he represents the archetype of a dealer, someone associated with supplying drugs. On the other hand, he embodies a voice of caution and responsibility, advising people to ap- proach drug use in a way that prioritizes safety and a positive experience. The key takeaway is that Mr. Bagman is not endorsing reckless or escapist drug use but is ad- vocating for a mindset where, if people choose to use drugs, they should do so responsibly ChaseWest builds an immersive house music experience. BY OSVALDO ESPINO >> p12 ChaseWest Photo by Blair Brown
