Deep Cuddle on ‘Put Your Faith In Me’, Chicago’s Underground, and the Influences Driving His 2025 Output
- Undrtone Blog
- 42 minutes ago
- 3 min read
With two decades in the game, Deep Cuddle has seen Chicago’s underground evolve, mutate, and regenerate, and he has been part of every phase. DJ, producer, label head, mentor, his fingerprints are all over the city’s late-night DNA. His latest single, ‘Put Your Faith In Me’, lands as another precise strike: chunky deep house underpinned by tech grit, a warped acid line cutting through, and a vocal hook that feels built for sweat-fogged rooms.
The spark originated from a conversation with Monk Sophon about the deeper, spiritual connection to dance music. “We were talking about how dance music can get a spiritual connection with your soul,” he says. “I thought about vocal hooks or rhythmic elements that could drive that point. I got back to my house, started working on it, and sent it to my counterpart Sue when she was in Seattle. She loved it; that was the beginning.”
The acid thread in the track is not a stylistic stunt; it is part of his musical DNA. “It’s one of the foundations of Chicago house and rave culture. Acid house has always been prominent here, so it has been there from the infancy of my journey into dance music.”
‘Put Your Faith In Me’ follows a prolific run in 2025. Singles like ‘Smoothjaxx’, ‘Frequency’, and ‘Need You’ have already marked out his year, moving from hypnotic rollers to tighter, percussive workouts. There is no overarching concept tying them together, but each is designed as a point of entry for new ears. “Each song is a touch point that might get someone interested in the project,” he says. “There’s no storyline. I’m trying to create a larger image through different moments in time.”
That balance between raw dancefloor energy and trippy, immersive detail is a hallmark of his sound. It is not an accident, but it is not a formula either. “All of the art in the music we make takes a lot of time, energy, and effort,” he says. “There’s no lightning in a bottle quick fix. We spend years honing our craft to create the best listening experiences we can.”
Mentorship has become a core part of his role in the scene, shaping how he approaches his own music. “I try and create music for my childhood self,” he says. “It resonates with a lot of the active community members here. It’s an honour to create a sonic palette that nods to the early days, yet moves the sound forward without getting trapped in the past.”
That dual respect for history and progress also drives his label, Penthouse Audio Group. The remit is loose by design. “The goal is to release really cool music. If we get demos we think are cool and we like working with the people behind them, we will release them. Simple as that.”
His influences stretch beyond house and techno. “I make house music, but realistically I listen to drum and bass basically 24/7,” he admits. “When I’m not, I’m usually listening to smooth jazz. DnB is a large influence on the music I make.”
It is not just club booths and late-night sessions that inspire him. He recalls a talk at the Chicago Cultural Centre about house music as one of his most creatively free spaces. “It was interesting to get peers together and have an open dialogue about the scene, the world, and finding common ground. Not just in dance music but in life.”
And then there is food, a surprising but genuine creative driver. “I think my love for food is related to my love of dance music,” he laughs. “I love making pasta, then going into the studio. Some steaks on the barbie, shrimp, grits, salmon. I don’t eat in the studio, but after I’m done eating, I feel like what I eat changes what I make and how I put that energy out into the world.”
For Deep Cuddle, this is not a year of reinvention; it is a year of steady, confident output. Whether he is laying down an acid groove, mentoring the next generation, or digging into a plate of shrimp before a studio session, he is operating from a place of deep-rooted connection to Chicago’s underground. ‘Put Your Faith In Me’ is just the latest chapter in a career built on consistency, curiosity, and a refusal to drift too far from the source.
Deep Cuddle
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