ASAD RIZVI / SMITHMONGER
25 YEARS VISITOR (PART 2)

VISITOR2502
Visitor Records
5In the early 2000s, Belgium had almost no answer to what was brewing in London, the dark, hypnotic intersection of techno and house soul that Terry Francis, Nathan Coles and Mr. C were shaping at nights like Wiggle and The End. Fred Nasen (A&R Visitor Records) fell in love instantly. While working as an import manager at N.E.W.S. Records, he had a front-row seat to the records coming out of that scene, and the conviction that someone in the Benelux needed to do something about it. With Kozzmozz as one of the few local parties willing to back the sound at their parties & N.E.W.S Records giving Fred carte blanche,, Visitor Records was born and lasted for around 41 releases till 2006.
Now almost 25 years later, these 5 vinyl samplers with much sought-after tracks from the label are available - never repressed since their original release.
This sampler covers 2 in-demand releases. Chicago-influenced but distinctly London in its delivery, Asad Rizvi's 'Smiling At The Sun' is a slow-burning, sophisticated groove that sits comfortably alongside his work on the revered Reverberations series: sun-drenched, unhurried, and quietly immaculate. The flip belongs to Brixton-based Paul Smith aka Smithmonger, a classically trained trumpet player turned underground house producer whose studio chops earned him a place in the orbit of Bushwacka!, Nathan Coles, and the tightest circles of the Swag Records world. 'Vinegar Stroke' delivers exactly what his name suggests: something dry, precise, and more than a little cheeky.

