Label Realm: progHead memoirs

Letter H is filled with nostalgia, as it features strictly labels from the 90's!

Hard Hands was the home for production duo Leftfield, the purveyors of progressive house music! It was established in 1992 by Neil Barnes & Paul Daley. Their first releases were featured in short-lived label Outer Rhythm. The closure of the company was the starting point for the creation of Hard Hands label, under which two seminal studio albums were released (Leftism - Rhythm And Stealth).

It is certainly one of my favorite record labels of all time. Harthouse was set-up in 1992 by Heinz Roth, Matthias Hoffman & Sven Väth in Offenbach. From 1992 until 1997 it was sub-label of Eye Q Records (the former focused on harder & more minimalistic sound, while the latter hosted more commercial releases). Undoubtedly, it defined the "Sound Of Frankfurt", which was a harder but danceable version of Trance; Hard House or Harthouse. As per Eye Q, the music producers Ralf Hildenbeutel, Matthias Hoffman & Steffen Britzke (along with the artistic force of Papa Sven) were responsible under various aliases for several techno-infused trance tracks, some of which are considered classics nowadays. The popularity of the label led to the creation of foreign departments; Harthouse UK in England, distributed by Rising High (of the late Caspar Pound) and Harthouse America in US, licensed through Moonshine Music. In 1997, the mother company faced hard times, since Sven Väth left the label due to artistic discrepancies and a few months later it went bankrupt. One year later, the company rights were acquired by UCMG, while in 2004 the company was absorbed by Daredo Media. In 2017, the company UCM.ONE took over the label and all rights from Daredo. In my opinion, all the acquisitions should be credited to Joachim Keil, since he was associated with all three companies at some point. The last years the label hosts the trance veterans D3R (Der Dritte Raum).

Meet the Hoojman! Hooj Records was launched in 1991 by Jerry Dickens (aka Red Jerry) and Phil Howells (who left the label after its 4th release). The label is mostly known for several progressive house & trance classics, although it featured throughout the years several music genres (latin balearic sound, tribal house, deep tech house & electro disco tracks). The success of the company in the European dance scene was suspended in 2003 due to bankruptcy. In 2006 the company returned under the same management as Lost Language; the latter was initially a trance offshoot label of Hooj. However, the label company was dissolved in 2010. Four years later, Hooj Choons re-emerged for licensing rights of the back catalog. The iconic logo of the company, the Hoojman, was conceived by Phil's girlfriend at the time, as Red Jerry has mentioned in one of his latest interviews.

Heat Recordings is a London-based label with its first release traced back to 1996. During the second half of the 90's it licensed releases for Moonman (one of Ferry Corsten's early aliases) and Mothers Pride (Andy Cocup of the Groove Armada fame and Anselm Guise). The Big C remix of Mothers Pride - Floribunda remains one of the most epic tracks I have ever heard!

Hi Life Recordings was an imprint of Polydor Records from 1995 until 2000. While the label was mostly known for releasing Fatboy Slim's remix of Wildchild - Renegade Master, which sold numerous physical copies, I learned the label through Nick Bracegirdle's early remixes; his rework on BBG - Just Be Tonight is still memorable.

Tune #58 revisited!

I believe that I own a review for Tune #58:

THE FATBACK BAND - IS THIS THE FUTURE?

I do not recall where I came across this song (it has been 2 years since the original post!). Nevertheless, I should try to fill in the gaps for a track of an old era.

The Fatback Band is a musical ensemble created in 1970 by drummer Bill Curtis, who had an idea of fusing the so-called New Orleans 'fatback' jazz beat with West Indie and Caribbean rhythms. Through 40 decades, the band delivered 35 albums with the help of approximately 100 members (including both regular members & guest stars).

Despite its large output, the band are not known to the masses, since they had scored minor success to the charts. That's a pity, due to the fact that their back catalogue is definitely worth listening but most of all taking into account that they were responsible for the release of the first rap single King Tim III (Personality Rock), surfaced a few months before the classic Rapper's Delight by The Sugarhill Gang.

Is This The Future? was released in 1983 by American Spring Records. While most European countries were in the fever of Italo Disco (a disco variation originated by Italy), US was still kicking with the funk stuff, supported by the emerging music genres of hip hop & electro-boogie.

So, what it so special for this track? OK, some basic ingredients for a neat funky song are detected: smooth intro, vocoded samples (in order to follow the trend of electro music), strutting bass hook and a great alto sax (by Ed Jackson).

However, the highlight is that despite its funk-oriented nature, the track is not about the typical feel-good vibes, considering the pessimistic lyrics coming into life with the deep & raspy raps of Gerry Bledsoe. It is a little funny how a funky song has a political meaning, wanting to stress the social/economic issues of Reagan's tenure. Even in that way, the jam leaves listeners with a sweet taste.

Trivia: The first track produced by Nick Bracegirdle (under his Disco Citizens alias), named Right Here Right Know, features a sample from FB's Spread Love, which is also included in studio album Is This A Future?.

Tune #81: Simple Minds - A Brass Band In African Chimes

In 2001 Beachwood Music, a label notorious for its crappy compilations, assigned Nick Bracegirdle to create a compilation of tracks which represent the sound of Ibiza. Nick was enjoying his G.O.A.T. years with his Chicane & Disco Citizens aliases at the time, so he seemed the appropriate person for the job (Offshore is still regarded as one of Ibiza's anthems).

Like most 2-CD compilations, the classic formula is also applied here: The 1st CD is the chillout interpretation of the project, consisting of downtempo tracks with mellow melodies and breakbeats. The 2nd CD is the more club-friendly, with some of the most famous house & trance tracks of the 90's.

The non-electronic (or the least electronic!) track of the compilation is A Brass Band In African Chimes by Simple Minds:

SIMPLE MINDS - A BRASS BAND IN AFRICAN CHIMES


Simple Minds are a famous Scottish band of the 80's. Initially found success in the UK, the band achieved international fame with the song Don't You Forget About Me (which was included in the film The Breakfast Club). Although they are mostly known for their new wave/synth-pop productions (Alive & Kicking, Someone Somewhere In Summertime, Waterfront), three tracks distinguished them from the other new wave bands:
·         Belfast Child: an expression of empathy for the people of Northern Ireland after the                               Remembrance Day bombing (possibly an answer to U2 - Sunday Bloody Sunday?)
·         Mandela Day: a freeing cry for the then-imprisoned Nelson Mandela
·         Today's posted track

A Brass Band In African Chimes was released in 1984 by Virgin, firstly as a B-side to Up On The Catwalk, and one year later (as a B-side again) in Don't You Forget About Me. Composed by Simple Minds and produced by Steve Lillywhite (who was the driving force behind the first 3 albums of U2), this lush instrumental can perfectly fit as a closer in a DJ set. Although the composition does not bear strong resemblance with the classic Simple Minds sound, an association can be found through the distinctive guitar riffs of Charlie Burchill.

An interesting trivia for the track is that it was actually a reconstruction of a demo version for Shake Off The Ghosts, which appeared in album Sparkle In The Rain (1983):

SIMPLE MINDS - SHAKE OFF THE GHOSTS (DEMO VERSION)


Simple Minds have deeply influenced the electronic music with their tracks: Some representative examples are:
·         Latour - Blue (featured in movie Basic Instinct) sampled the intro of Theme For Great Cities.
·         U.S.U.R.A - Open Your Mind (an Italo progresssive house anthem) is largely based on                         track New Gold Dream.
·         CJ Bolland - Golden Dreams (one of the first rave tracks) uses a sample from Big Sleep.

Simple Minds are one of the most underrated bands in the history of music. While their beginning was pretty much in parallel with the Irish U2, they former never reached the fame status of the latter. The band faced a commercial decline in the 90's, only to revive in mid-00's. However, their contribution to the music of the 80's is undisputed.