The Makers of Sense are Brother El and Cristián Huepe. Together, they fuse energies to create radical bodies of music that combine unusually warm electronica, hip hop, house, trance, dub, live instrumentation and urban elements with new styles yet to be coined. The Makers of Sense have a unique sound; the group actually creates an alternative reality beyond restrictions of usual positions and momentums of our measurable world. The music becomes a guide for building and exploring new realms outside the everyday world by providing endless possibilities.
Individually their careers actually started long before they met. Both artists share a passion for music and creativity that inspired them to create this new group, Makers of Sense, to create a bond that transcends time, musical genres and cultural boundaries. Cristián Huepe [labo_labs] is a Chilean musician and physicist with vast creative experiences. A native of Chicago, Brother El is CEO of The Beat Bank, an independent record label and production studio focusing on artistic development and quality productions over quantity and trend. Brother El creatively blends music with an esoteric intensity. He is a musician, artist, engineer and producer bound by a necessity and love for his art.
Their lives took them on very different paths. While living in France for five years to complete his Ph.D. in physics, Cristian performed live electronic music and collaborated in diverse, artistic projects. Previously, he led the pop/punk/jazz band Malavida which was featured in a compilation album of the best Chilean emerging bands. Crisitan’s additional credits include: the score for a video presented at the Art and Body exhibit in Milan, Italy, production of music for the magazine 9/9-Practical Art Review, and a featured artist in the Pro-Zak exhibit at the Modern Art Museum of Paris. In 2000, Cristian recorded his solo album eclectise, an eclectic mix of acoustic and electronic elements at the Musicopré studios located in a farm on the French countryside.
While Brother El was doing his thing in the Windy City, he founded the “The Hip Hop Project” at Loyola University Chicago’s radio station WLUW 88.7 FM. Brother El has cultivated musical collaborations with various artists including Chicago rap group Earatik Statik. In addition, Brother El shared his journey through chaos with the release of the solo album, Through the Cracks of Concrete. His album threads the inspirations and voices of African Diaspora, past and present while showcasing his individual technique capturing the sighs and pavement pounds of Chicago’s elevated trains. The project received critical acclaim and was voted, Best Record of the Year by New City Magazine, 2001.
Some of the awards the group has received include:
* Voted the Best Experimental act of Chicago 2008 by Chicago Reader & Constituency
* Prize winner of the Artist Forum Electronic Music Competition 2007
* Awarded a City of Chicago Arts Grant (CAAP - Community Arts Program) for 2 consecutive years 2006 & 2007
Cristián currently lives in Chicago working part-time independently researching as a National Science Foundation grantee, while performing his live-electronic-music-show and collaborating with various artists and focusing on Makers of Sense. Brother El stays in the studio, making music and concentrating on world domination.
