They call it house music, but they don’t listen to it at home. “We were able to make it in our houses,” says veteran house music producer Chip Eberhart. “That’s one reason we called it house music.” In the ‘80s and ‘90s, Eberhart and other pioneering producers in Chicago and New York pounded out electronic beats for underground dance clubs. They mixed their music with a medley of equipment — samplers, sequencers and Macs — in home studios. Over the years, their music slipped into the mainstream and Eberhart and his peers became house music legends. Their story and their music are the subject of two documentaries made on Macs.

In 1999, New York photographer-turned-moviemaker Josell Ramos decided to unearth the foundations of house music. His film, called “Maestro,” featured groundbreaking DJs Francis Grasso, Larry Levan and David Mancuso. Though he had little experience making movies, Ramos quickly learned how to splice video footage with Final Cut Pro. “Maestro” opened worldwide in 2004 and ranked sixth in the nation’s independent film market.

“When I listen to dance music, my imagination wanders and I go into a different world. It’s good for me, it’s good for my soul.”

Eberhart, who now runs a postproduction studio in Chicago, saw a trailer for “Maestro” at a party. He was so impressed with Ramos and the film that he offered to make the “Maestro” DVD and was inspired to make his own film about the Chicago house scene, “The Unusual Suspects: Once Upon a Time in House Music.”

Getting in the Groove

Josell Ramos loves house music. The native New Yorker practically grew up on the dance floor and even had a set of turntables in his house. “I was a vinyl junkie,” he says. As his record collection grew, so did his curiosity. “I went to the clubs and listened to the music, but how it was all connected was mysterious. Who’s behind it, how did they do it, how did they keep it a secret in these underground spaces?”

Ramos, a magazine and newspaper photographer, wanted to use his journalistic and artistic skills to produce a documentary about New York house. The task wouldn’t be easy. The film would have to appeal to a broad audience, yet appease hard-core house fanatics. Ramos decided to start with big names in the scene — Grasso, Levan and Mancuso. Grasso was the first DJ in recorded history to sync the rhythms of two records and play them simultaneously, a feat that spawned modern mixing. Levan and Mancuso were DJs at two of New York’s premiere clubs.

The Real Story

When the three agreed to be interviewed for his film, Ramos was off and running. “After we got those interviews, the word started spreading that our team was doing the real story,” he says. “Other teams — like the BBC — have told the story, but in a broad context. Sometimes when you go so broad you loose some of the small stuff that matters to people. That’s what we focused on, those pockets that no one tried to get because they didn’t think they were commercial enough. We rode a fine line between staying true to this culture and entertaining people who are not necessarily into the scene.”

”Maestro” would chronicle the New York dance scene and tell a more universal story about music. “It’s about music — how people escape with music, how they get different ideas with music,” says Ramos. “When I listen to dance music, my imagination wanders and I go into a different world. It’s good for me, it’s good for my soul.” The film also shows how teens and young adults gravitate to new and often controversial music — whether it’s ragtime, jazz, rock and roll or house. “Dance music is the backdrop to this, but you could make your own analogy with your own style of music.”

Ramos gathered 10 friends and family members to film and produce the documentary, borrowed money from his family and bartered his photography skills to get camera equipment. In 2000, Ramos and his crew began shooting the film.

Next Page: Making “Maestro”