House News

Bright Uplifting House Trax That Will Change Your Life Forever.

DJ Duke presents another masterpiece from the past - Can You Feel It/ Disco-Tech from 1996 will be out in July with unreleased mixes. Highly recommended!

2x12" Crystal Clear Vinyl

People, listen to the signals: when the club life is reawakening, DJ Hell returns with the album House Music Box (Past, Present, No Future).
In contrast to its predecessor album Zukunftsmusik (2017), with his new work Hell looks back to the glorious early days of House and Techno in Chicago, Detroit and New York City.
Obvious references are the heroes that vibrated the dancefloor from the late 80s, i.e. luminaries like Ron Hardy, Frankie Knuckles and Lil’ Louis from the Chicago house scene, or the legendary radio shows of The Electrifying Mojo from Detroit. Not to be forgotten are, of course, the NYC House of Larry Levan or the Nu Groove records from the early 90s – all of them served as musical godfathers for Hell’s House Music Box.

Back to the roots. In line with this, Hell’s opus number six emerged as a classic album: House Music Box simply comprises eight gripping new bangers from the groove manufacturer that is the super gigolo Hell. The record is not only a concept album about the beginnings of electronic DJ and club music, but also a danceable history lesson. Exemplifying that is already the superb first single: ‘Out of Control’ is a mightily stomping dancefloor monster where a killer bassline and an infectious synth riff meet. A vocal sample rightly demands ‘Don’t stop!’, because the magic that Hell created with his controllers leaves one in pure ecstasy of happiness.

The songs ‘Freakshow’ and ‘House Music’ are a musical bow for the innovative originators of house in the windy city. On ‘Freakshow’, the vocoder vocals ‘Ron Hardy is the true creator of house music’ recall the prematurely deceased DJ who was best known for his eclectic sets and radical edits. Hardy used to deejay in what was the successor of the Warehouse, the legendary ‘Music Box’ club, eponymous for the new album. On ‘House Music’, nomen est omen naturally applies: over the flawless house from the quality brand of Hell, he loops various samples, fragments of sentences such as ‘Acid comes from house music’, ‘Techno comes from house’, ‘Foundation of house music is’, or ‘Chicago house music’. Through their persistent repetition plus grooving beats, a hypnotic effect soon arrives, so that the music – thanks to the magic production of Hell – starts to speak.

On ‘Electrifying Mojo’, on the other hand, Hell honours the visionary and enigmatic Charles Johnson a.k.a. The Electrifying Mojo, whose radio show (airing from 1977 until the mid 80s) had a substantial influence on the development of techno in Detroit. As he frequently played Kraftwerk, for instance, the publicly shy Electrifying Mojo emerged as a key facilitator of future electronic music in the spirit of the Detroit-Dusseldorf axis.

Almost self-evidently, Kraftwerk - the grey eminence of German electronic music – shaped the background of Hell’s new record too, via the usage of vocoder vocals as a rhythmic element or the bass frequencies as the carrying foundation for each track. Clearly recognizable is the influence of Kraftwerk’s 1986 work Electric Café (now: Techno Pop) on the groovy track ‘Tonstrom’. Fans of the ‘industrial folk music’ will hardly be surprised, as this was Kraftwerk’s working title for the record. Along with sound poetic vocals, Hell tickles a cool funk from the warm machine sounds over nimble bass lines, as on House Music Box he uses – not only for this track – the same analogue synths from the seventies as Kraftwerk once did.

The oeuvre of DJ Hell is famously characterised by his artistic desire to have a different approach to each album, while at the same time constants provide inner cohesiveness and cross references. One example would be the theme of automobiles, as an influence of Kraftwerk’s ‘Autobahn’: just think of songs like ‘Hellracer’ or ‘Car Car Car’. The car motive is again present on House Music Box, with the ambitious track ‘GPS’. Conceptually speaking it is a highlight of the record: over sparse Roland drum machine beats, we can hear the female computer voice of a navigation device devising the fastest route to ‘destination Berlin nightlife’. This almost has a double meaning, as once inside the club, the music will guide the dancers.

No DJ Hell album, without cover versions. Or, should we better call his idiosyncratic electronic editions of established hits new originals – referring to a term that Laibach coined. This definitely holds true for ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’: his update of Gil Scott Heron’s soul classic turned into a veritable 4-on-the-floor version. The slogan, which originally came from the Black Power movement, carved out a remarkable career, not only thanks to several new versions, but equally alienated as an advertising slogan for bar chains. The fact that Hell takes up this track in the days of YouTube, Instagram and Facebook illustrates us today that the idea of a political revolution is long gone. For that reason, all he keeps from the wordy original is its headline while the impulsive beats prove all more, that at least the revolution of the dancefloor is nowhere near over.

Past, Present, No Future – even if Hell’s deep bow to the trailblazers and pioneers of electronic club music was already completed when the corona pandemic broke out, the subtitle of House Music Box proved apt even so in the light of the circumstance that especially the club scene is seriously affected from the coercive measures of the crisis. It was therefore quite prophetic that on ‘Jimi Hendrix’ you can hear pieces of the last interview that the guitarist gave shortly before his controversial death. „I can’t build anything right now, you know, because of the things that are happing right now. I just have to lay back and think about it all.” House Music Box is, in many ways, the right record at the right time. Because as DJ Hell speaks about his album: ‘House Music for me has always been a spiritual experience, a higher, different form of communication, so to speak’. So, let’s listen carefully what he reports about his musical excursions in the Past, Present and Future of House.

repressed!

Levon Vincent returns with his most ambitious yet concise work to date: no less than a quadruple LP on his own imprint Novel Sound. The entire gamut of Levon's unique talent is expressed in it's fullest here: stark minimalism adherent to the the groove - submerged industrial rhythms and flexing, dubbed-out basslines - shimmering leads and beautiful melody. Set to be an instant classic, Levon Vincent's self-titled opus is finally upon us!

Three is truly the magic number on this special RSD release from Razor-N-Tape, with a trio of groovy tracks by Nashville-based Magic In Threes. The original version of "Beatin' Tha Breaks" is an easy-breezy affair dripping with soulful guitars and harmonies, Freddie Joachim's brings his signature smooth and rhythmic sound on his remix, and the Fouk mix rounds out the triptych with a touch of uptempo housey deepness.

As one of the first Dutch musicians to establish a vital connection between Detroit and Amsterdam, Orlando Voorn has long been recognized as one of the Netherland's most original and inventive producers in the world of electronic dance music.

Voorn began djing at the tender age of 12 and went on to win the Dutch DMC DJ Championships in 1986 with his own characteristic blend of hiphop and electro. Towards the end of the eighties he acquired his first sequencer, packed away his turntables and turned his hand to producing.

RAWAX presents Jozef K - Planet Doom - a fantastic fashback to the 90's!
Watch out for the new RX-series which is devoted to the golden age of RAVE!

From SJU MUZIC. GU aka GLENN UNDERGROUND joins forces with vocalist REGGIE HALL on the soulful "NOW THAT I GOT TO KNOW YOU" release. GU'S epic keyboard work perfectly matches chorus work from REGGIE & BYRON STINGILY. Also included is a CVO instrumental dub mix on the flipside.

Repress!

It's the platform for most past, present and future productions from Frederick Schmid and we can tell you - the Vaults are endless!

We'll start with Fred Fresh ‎– Feelin' Mighty Fresh from 1996!

Groove Access Presents: "Chicago is Home" a Chicago House Compilation straight from the source. The Release features four agressive dance tracks by the Windy City's very own Kid Enigma, Chicago Skyway, Dan Ryan, and Ed Nine. from hard acid to bangin deep vibes, this sampler comes with plenty of Chicago seasoning.

Time for the next instalment of our wax releases, DJ W!LD brings his Trans Europe Express to Roushlabel and it will be only the third release to feature a vinyl option as well as digital. The EP comes with three original tracks and remix from none other than Hanfry Martinez.

‘Half Way’ opens the release with an unexpected hint of rainy-day, coffee shop Jazz. The creative underbelly of the track is a culmination of long strings, emotive keys, Vinyl crackle and a cleverly cut vocal sample from an interview with Mobb Deep. Beyond that, the track exhibits pumping drum patterns, a subtle yet groovy sub and progressive layers of percussion as the record advances. A unique and truly special piece of music.

‘Trans Europe Express’ has a driven, locomotive feel to it. Rattling hats, punchy kick drums and a bright bassline team up with hints of acid and yet more creative, analogue sampling within the breaks. Another massively exclusive creation from DJ W!LD, showcasing his ability to put the ‘art’ back into ‘artist’.

Next up, ‘Peecome’ brings an 80’s-inspired vibe. The sentimental sounds of Roland’s original TR-808 and reminiscent sampling are laced with a powerful 4x4 beat in places and deconstructed for more of a swung rhythm in others. Carrying on the trend of the undeniably talented thought process when it comes to the arrangement and offering something truly different, capable of really turning some heads and pleasing the purists.

Lastly, Hanfry Martinez’s remix of ‘Trans Europe Express’ takes a deep dive into the rapidly growing realm of underground deep/minimal house. Dreamy pads pierce through a rough and ready combo of thudding kicks, arpeggiated synth lines, vocal cuts and of course a gritty,
attitude-laden sub bass factor. A solid roller with plenty of individual personality!

DJ W!LD’s ‘Trans Europe Express’ EP (inc. Hanfry Marinez Remix) is proudly presented by Roushlabel.

STAXX second release is coming out.
Old school vibes

Rounding out this iteration of the Moods & Grooves classic series are two of its best selling releases from one of Detroit's most prolific producer's, Theo Parrish, and label head Mike Grant. The Mr. G remix of My Soul, My Spirit nets a pretty penny at the online marketplace so if the steep prices have deterred you, now is the time. Chunky was produced during the time Theo was a leader of Detroit's raw & dirty house sound. In celebration of the Moods & Grooves' 50th release it's being offered on limited coloured vinyl.

Theo Parrish teams up with Amp Fiddler on "Ghetto Proposal" - a deep grimy chugger of a track featuring vocals from Kitten Koroi and John Douglas on trumpet. Instrumental version on the flip.

RAWAX IS PROUD TO PRESENT BOO WILLIAMS WITH NEW STRONG TRACKS ON HOUSEWAX!
"THE FREAKY TECK EP" WILL BE RELEASED IN JANUARY 2015 ON BLACK VINYL.

Mint Condition - A brand new record label focussed on excavating the outer fringes of classic House and Techno. Unreleased mixes, classics and overlooked gems mined from the last 20+ of contemporary dance music are the order of the day. From Chicago, Detroit and New York to London and beyond, Mint Condition have got their expert digging hats on to bring you exclusive heat and those rarer than rare jams that have been on your wants list for years! Dig in....

Another dyed-in-the-wool house classic here, from all the way back in the golden mists of 1987 on the tiny, cult Danica label. Don't forget, Mint Condition's mission is to bring you the classics too, a nice, new copy to play out in the club so you can keep your original nice and fresh! We care about these things. That's why we're happy to present this monumental slab of Chicago house history from one of the absolute gods of this culture - Mr. Frankie Knuckles - this time operating under his Night Writers alias. We're not sure too much needs to be said about this one, it's all here really, that classic Knuckles deep touch, the musicality, the vibe... Ricky Dillard's vocals encapsulating that feeling when the music takes over, pure abandon. The pairing of these two talents results in what would eventually become a bona-fide house CLASSIC. No arguments. If you're not familiar you're in for a treat, if you already know then you're nodding your head and agreeing with everything you've just read. Simple really - YOU NEED THIS ONE!

'Let The Music Use You' has been legitimately re-released with the full involvement of all license holders for 2017 and remastered by London's Curve Pusher from the original sources especially for Mint Condition. 100% legit, licensed and released. Dug, remastered, repackaged and brought to you by the caring folks at your new favourite reissue label - Mint Condition!

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Second VA from Belarusian kind house label "Dobro". That release presents works by guys from Spain, France, Latvia and Russia. All tracks are suitable both for listening and for the dance floor.

Support by:
Anthony Collins, Daniel Sanchez, Richie Hawtin, Danny Tenaglia, Jonas Kopp, Matt Star, Meat, Laurent Garnier, Jonas Kopp,
Laurent N (Radio France), Tim Green, Super Flu, Dan Curtin, Resident Advisor...

Manuel Kabála debut release on his own imprint Kabála Records. "Polaris" is a minialbum full of house and acid jazz taste worthy of the best tradition, and It will drive you through Manuel’s education, creating a perfect blend of musical styles touching acid jazz, lounge house, Chicago house, soul and blues. An expertly-crafted stuff featuring solos laid down live by contemporary musicians.
Tipp!

Visions Recordings is really excited and happy to present the brand new single from Kriss a.k.a.Life Recorder with a killer 4 tracks Ep.

Based in the city of Marseille , South of France, Life Recorder is no new to the Detroit and Chicago house scene and has released a few great singles on various label such as Aesthetic audio and Hizou , but also on his really great imprint Life Notes Records.

We heard a snippet of a demo on Instagram a few months back and we loved it so much that we asked him to send us the track and the outcome is this amazing ep . the 4 tracks are all really great jams going from deepness to acid and soulful vibes keeping the Chicago house feel and the dance floor grooves with a really crisp and heavy sound.

We fell in love with those tracks straight away when we received them and we hope you will too. Visions is about keeping the standard high and varied and once again we try to present you quality and deepness. Enjoy the ride.

Dj Duke Presents Underground Attorney - Nothing Stays.
This High Demanded Re-issue Comes In January 2019 - Don't Miss!

In the beginning of 1991 Marius Kuilenberg and Maarten van der Vleuten teamed up together and recorded two ep's for djax; "Magic Moments" and "...Gives You Central House". Marius being a DJ with a great feeling for production and with a large collection of samples and Maarten being a musician/technician with an own studio, turned out to be a good combination. After the two releases mentioned above, Marius and Maarten split up. Marius focused on DJ-ing only and Maarten continued working as Major Malfunction on his own.

Blue Vinyl


RAWAX proudly welcomes the Godfather of Ghetto Houz Muzik Rickey Houz Mon White to the RAWAX family! Houz'Mon cousin is the Famous Lil'Louis & Cei Bei What words can describe the one and only "HOUZ'MON" Pioneer Party Rocker Ghetto Houz Icon Lets start at the beginning Houz'Mon grew up on the West Side of Chicago where he was exposed at an early age to Chicago, New York & Detroit dance music. Befor Houzmon, or rickkiqhouz was born I went by the name Slick Master Rick in 1987 sign my first record deal with dj international records. The name of my trax "Brother's and sister's house on 13th street! Aka halloween house this trax lunched the foundation and planted the seed of "GHETTO HOUZ"

RAWAX CONTINUES THE MUSICAL JOURNEY WITH BOO WILLIAMS!
THE CHICAGO MASTER COMES AROUND WITH THE 3RD
RELEASE ON CHIWAX CLASSIC EDITION CALLED "LAST OF THE PASS".

Under license from Spencer Kincy & Cyblo Records

Berlin based record label Equilibrisme delivers its second vinyl release. The next instalment is a three tracker EP including one original track by Man-L and a special collaboration between Canadian producer Mark Thibideau and Man-L. Detroit’s Luke Hess contributes with an outstanding remix on the B-Side.

Following the release of DBA's tenth anniversary digital compilations in 2020, the label presents a vinyl edition sporting the four most in demand tracks. Kerrie opens proceedings with a barnstormer in her trademark dark machine funk style. Bristol's Lurka follows with 'Clean' which has been receiving plays from Ben UFO and other leading DJs. On the flip Mr. G slips down a gear for a deep house workout which is guaranteed to get floors moving, and The Room Below completes the package with futurist batucada bomb 'Bassika'.

Repress

Mr. G embarked on his first US tour in 2019. The result has been a ton of new inspiration, after which he wrote ''The Alien With Extraordinary Abilities''. PG062 is a collection of six versatile tracks ranging from thumping G sound House / Techno to hazy works of ambient textures.

Luca Lozano and DJ Fett Burger return with part two of the three part 'Hands of Doom' series. Following on from the success of the recent Sex Tags UFO release, Hands of Doom 2 continues the tradition of early breakbeat and proto-rave inspired club tracks. Three slices of rattling drums, low-end subs and bleeped out bleeps make for a cohesive and well informed EP and a welcome addition to the series. Keep those peepers peeled for the third and final part, a full album from the duo on Luca Lozano's GRAFITI TAPES series.

Big Miz is back again with a massive self released track perfect for the dance floor. With rolling drums, skippy percussion and morphing synths this is sure to boot off. Also includes a banging remix on the flip from Mella Dee.

RAWAX MOTOR CITY EDITION is the new series for music which is influneced by the sound of
Detroit and of course also for artsist from the city. Orlando Voorn aka The Nighttripper
released ''Phuture'' in 1991. We are happy to present you on the first edition the
remixes by Kevin Saunderson & Robert Hood!

Following up on "Like Comment," last year's excellent full-length by Georgia released on Meakusma, we are happy to present an eclectic and gently schizophrenic remix package, entitled "Like Comment Comments." The 12" features contributions by Bryce Hackford (Prah/DFA), Matt Werth (RVNG Intl.), Afrikan Sciences (DeepBlak/PAN) and Thomas Bullock (Rub-N-Tug), plus two new tracks by Georgia that further develop their informed hypnagogic ambient-pop tendencies. Bryce Hackfod takes Nu-Way Heat into subtle club music territory, conjuring up a distinct, varied and mesmerizing house track that builds and layers into a blissful mini-anthem. Matt Werth puts nu-digidub spin on Abstract High, turning the original into a confrontational and slightly absurdist slab of dancefloor confrontation. Afrikan Sciences deconstructs Mahbunzi Nahgo Pihndi Goes To The Market using his characteristic broken breakbeat approach to create a piece of daft and extremely modern electronic funk. Finally, Thomas Bullock modi-cuddles Haya into an prolonged ambient reverie to bridge and layer between dance floor pulsations.

Ryota O.P.P aka Ryota Arai delivers his debut album 'Pale Lux' for Meda Fury.
Ryota is based in Tokyo - at the nexus of the Japanese house / future disco scene, alongside cohorts such as Cos/Mes, Inoue Shirabe, and KZA he blends eastern mysticism, jazz spirituality, and cosmic disco with classic 4:4 rhythms.
A highly respected DJ, promoter and producer the opaque discoid-stomp of his Future Life EP marked him out as an original oddity but a vital new voice in the now global electronic music community, but with 'Pale Lux' he's enlarged the scope of his musical canvas to incorporate new fresh textures and atmospheres.
As Meda Fury head honcho Nick Williams explains: ''Future Life' was built from some quite dark, abstract demos, some of which ended up being a bit overproduced for his self made debut cd only album. The Pale Lux LP is a Ryota's fully realised eclectic vision, with a mood that is more optimistic and playful - much more reflective of his personality."
'Pale Lux' indeed has a real narrative flow - dance floor tracks such as the chunky balearic vibes of 'Wood', and banging future techno of 'Bird Flying Over The Rainbow' nestle alongside home listening ambience - witness the backroom/chill-out vibes of 'Origin', the cute hip hop bounce of 'Soft Touch' or the delicate trinket box chimes of outro 'Drops'.
Oscillating between light and shade, slow and fast, the influence of Japan's history and native instrumentation runs right through the record; his fascination with Balearic, Disco, Deep-House, Hip Hop, Ambient and blunted beats parcelled into a glorious, sweetly considered listening experience.

Classy super sound house single! Warm and uplifting with a gentle approach - but still with a solid mix and statement on both melody and groove. These two brilliant pop-lenght tunes cut generously on full 45rpm sides are produced by Wada, half of Tase, known from their great Acido and Atelier Records outputs.

Repress

Finally the official remastered reissue of one of the rarest and sought after italo-disco record from early 80's. You'll be hard pushed to hear anything like this ever again... this is an epic out there electronic production that's one of a kind. In the same period of other italo-disco classics like REM, STOPP, Klein & MBO, GANG previously reissued by Best Italy, they representing the roots of chicago sound played by the pioneers like Ron Hardy!