"It's Yours" is one of the most uplifting soulful House anthems that came out in the past ten years, forever impressing the name of Jon Cutler in the minds of even the most neophyte of clubheads.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Jon Cutler was the quintessential club kid roaming the city's rich nightlife and cultivating friendships, experiences and most importantly the ear that enabled him to play and produce banging House music.

After DJing for some years, in 1996 he created his own label entitled Distant Music. After releasing "You Groove Me", "Fluttie Pebbles" and various remixes, Jon produced "It's Yours" featuring Eman on vocals for Chez Music. The song reached #1 on the DJ Hype Charts and #29 in the UK pop charts.

Since then Jon has continued focusing on releasing quality House Music along with a hectic djing schedule. While I was in New York at a Jellybean Benitez party, I was introduced to Jon and got to talk to him early summer about his background and the impetus behind his music.

Can you tell us a little bit about your background?

Well I guess you could say I'm just a clubkid from back in the day. From the '80s/early '90s, I was always in the clubs. That kind of led me into the DJing and the DJing led me into the producing. As the years went on I started working for independent labels.

Any musical training?

You know, school band and that kind of stuff, nothing major. My musical training was programming drum machines and those kinds of things. I played a little keys, but mostly drum programming.

Who were some of your favorite groups from the '80s?

I listened to a lot of underground club stuff from back in the day, like real bboy type music. Hip-hop, pop-locking kind of stuff like "Just Begun", all the major classics.

Were you a bboy at the time?

I wasn't a bboy but I hung out with a lot of the hip-hop crowd. It all went hand in hand... Washington Square Park, hanging out in Brighton 6 in Brooklyn at the beach, and we would see the same people out at the clubs so I was involved in everything. If Afrika Bambaata was playing, I would go. If David Morales or Frankie Knuckles were playing I would be there also.

What were your favorite New York clubs back then, and why don't you tell me about some of your experiences of what it was like back then.

We went to the World, in the East Village where Morales and Frankie Knuckles used to play... Area, which then became the same location where they did Body and Soul/Shelter parties. I used to go to MK, which was a smaller spot. Danceteria, Peppermint Lounge... They're all gone now.

I was told that at that time the music wasn't necessarily House Music being played.

It wasn't House - it was all underground. If you went to Danceteria, you'd hear Mark Kamens play one kind of House Music. If you went to Area or the Tunnel there'd be Johnny Dynell playing a different kind of House. But most of the clubs back then were House Music that mixed with the early hip-hop like LL Cool J all his earlier kind of stuff, reggae and some classics. Those were the parties back then it wasn't House Music throughout the whole night. You would hear everything.

Did anyone mentor you?

I was the typical young kid just wanting to get in. If I knew they were playing, I would listen to them play. Later on after a couple of years, then you get to know some of the DJs and you hang out at the booths and you watch what was going on. I was already spinning at that time in my house, I was a bedroom DJ so I was just determined to get on.