Traxx

Melvin Oliphant III, who performs as Traxx, was a teenage fan during Chicago house music's first wave in the mid-1980s, drawn in through the WBMX radio shows and two trips to see Ron Hardy at the Music Box. He spent more than a decade establishing himself as a DJ before trying his hand at production, and at the turn of the century joined Jamal Moss, known as Hieroglyphic Being, and Daryl Cura, known as Deecoy, as the Dirty Criminals, releasing a single in 2001 and the albums Organized Confuzion in 2004 and Collision Between Us and the Damned in 2006, with early work also appearing on DJ Hell's Gigolo label.

He released his first solo 12-inch singles in 2007 and his debut full-length, Faith, in 2009 on his own Chicago label, Nation. He's also recorded as Saturn V, alongside Tadd Mullinix and Dabrye, as well as X2 and Villan X, and has collaborated with artists including DJ Hell, Green Velvet, and Legowelt, known for a genre-crossing style built around analog gear and vinyl.