Last year, New Orleans native Dawn Richard released *Redemption* under the name D∆WN, the final chapter of an ambitious album trilogy that emerged from the ashes of her former group, Danity Kane. Produced in collaboration with Machinedrum and released by UK label Local Action, the LP exposed Richard to a new audience while also expanding the multitalented artist’s platform into fashion, animation and technology. With the *Redemption Remixes* EP set to drop this week, she reflects on her past, previews what’s to come in the future and even explains why she’s happy to be called a nerd. Also appearing is Rahaan, a true Chicago OG who witnessed the city’s first wave of house music via legendary DJs like Frankie Knuckles and Ron Hardy. His own experience as a selector is now approaching the three-decade mark, and with a new EP on the Lumberjacks In Hell label, he talks here about balancing the weight of Chicago’s history against his own efforts to keep pushing things forward.
