ndre Emil
aka Change
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has always approached music from multiple angles. The Kansas City-born, Chicago-raised musician began his career as a concert-trained percussionist before moving to Chicago in the late ’90s to study acoustical engineering and music composition. Immersed in the city’s house music culture, he developed into a prolific musician, DJ, producer, engineer, music technologist, and cultural organizer who is one of the leading figures of Chicago’s third wave of house music.
Standing well over six feet tall, Andrew fits comfortably into his new Humboldt Park home, where we photographed him while he was still living among unpacked boxes. He had recently returned from a European tour that carried him through Paris, London, Lisbon, and several dates in Ibiza.
Throughout his 26-year recording career, Andrew has balanced reverence for Chicago’s house music lineage with a desire to contribute his own chapter. From his early years as an assistant engineer to Vince Lawrence at Chicago Traxx Recording Studios to releasing records, touring internationally, and building a professional career in music technology, his work has remained rooted in rhythm, curiosity, community, and service.
That same commitment informs Viva Acid, the cultural organization he co-founded to connect generations through events, education, workshops, and advocacy while preserving, amplifying, and evolving house music as a living art form. For Andrew, legacy is not simply about looking backward; it is about creating stronger institutions, opening doors, and giving the next generation room to make something the rest of us may not understand yet.
For the portrait, we played with three tools of his trade: glasses, vinyl, and drumsticks. Together, they reflect the different perspectives from different eras that Andrew brings to his work—thoughtful, musical, intellectual, and always tempered by a welcome sense of irony and humor.
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DJ Andrew Emil
BY JAMES GUSTIN