Christopher Santoso, 32, is a graduate of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design who moved to Chicago in 2014 to get closer to its footwork scene. He produces dance tracks under the name Please, runs the label Issa Party, and cofounded the Smart Bar series Relate.
There weren’t really people to show me the ropes as far as music goes, so I had to look for and search and dig through the Internet using Kazaa or Limewire. Those were my means of finding new music, and those helped guide me.
- A recent Issa Party mix by Lupay
I run a record label called Issa Party. I have this mix series called the Next Wave, and it’s meant to highlight artists in Chicago and around the world. I also produce under the name Please. Most of my music is footwork, but I do produce club, house, and other types of stuff. My label is the platform where I try to serve the community as best as possible.
- Issa Party put out Composuresquad’s debut album last month.
Life happens. Sometimes I’m not able to go to events, but I’m still staying in contact with the community, recognizing who has established precedent for the music. Actively going to dance events is something I’m hoping to do after this pandemic, because it would be nice to see the dancers. I try and make the music for the dancers—like Teklife, Beatdown House, everybody in the footwork community. It’s all for them.
