Label Realm: euForic melodies

F Communications was (or maybe is?) an electronic music label founded in 1994 by Frenchmen Eric Morand & Laurent Garnier, as the successor of Fnac Music Dance Division (1991-1993). It was the most important label for French electronic dance music (along with its predecessor), curating great artists such as St. Germain, Laurent Garnier, Shazz, Scan-X, Jori Hulkkonen. Mr. Oizo and Nova Nova. One of my favorite artists back in the days was Ludovic Navarre (the guy behind St. Germain alias) with his seminal albums Boulevard (1995) and Tourist (2000), although the latter was released by the jazz-infused Blue Note label. The company folded its operations in 2008, only to re-open in 2015 for vinyl releases of monsieur Garnier. Nowadays, the label celebrates the 25 years with remastered vinyl releases of F-Comm All Stars!

Full Frequency Range Recordings (FFRR) is an influential label that introduced the masses in dance music. It started in 1986 as a subdivision of London Records, run by Pete Tong, the mastermind behind the BBC Essential Mix. Focused on hip-hop and house music releases during the second half of the 80's, it expanded in other electronic music genres throughout the 90's. The label hosted important artists such as Orbital, Goldie, CJ Bolland and Armand Van Helden. Aligned with the digital era of the last 10 years, it continues to release music exclusively in digital format.

Fides is a small Italian label owned by Giuseppe Maffei, known for his Z.I.P.P.O. pseudonym and his participation in project 3KZ with fellow Italian Nico Campanella. Their collaboration produced the seminal album Parallel Reflections, one of the best releases for 2017 (powered by Fides).

The last (but not least) label to be introduced is FM Records. The Greek label was set-up at the turn of the eighties by Giorgos Koutris. Although it does not focus only on electronic music, since the variety ranges from rebetiko, folk music to rock, pop and hip-hop, it engaged the Greek audience into the alternative music scene of various genres. Several Greek artists collaborated with the label, like Stereo Nova, Imiskoumbria, Terror-X-Crew, Goin' Through (before going full commercial), Ypogeia Revmata and Endelecheia. It was one of the first Greek labels to foresee the future of music platforms, releasing its back catalog in digital format since 2005! I believe that this is the main reason that the company continues as an independent label, although physical format continues to be released by the company in small numbers...

Tune #102: Chicago House Syndrome - Work It

Straight from the vault!

CHICAGO HOUSE SYNDROME - WORK IT

DJ Deep (Cyril Etienne des Rosaies) is a true music miner. On a daily quest to wander in record shops, he has not lost his appetite in search of lost gems. His City To City compilation series is worth having for the proponents of obscure house/techno music, originated in New York, Detroit and Chicago. In the third part of the series, a primitive yet catchy and groovy track can be found.

Chicago House Syndrome was an alias used by Richie Jones and Rich Tancredi for the production of an EP (Work It), back in 1987 (Dance-Sing Records).
 
Richie Jones is an American producer, starting his career as a remixer in 1983. He is known as the mastermind producer behind the Degrees Of Motion, an early 90's NY house group with instant success; the first single Do You Want It Right Now, a remake of Siedah Garrett's track, hit the UK National Charts, after being signed to Pete Tong's label, FFRR.

Rich Tancredi is a keyboard player, focused on house music. He provided his technical expertise in several house tracks of the 80's and later he became a producer for popular artists (Taylor Dane, Mariah Carey, Laura Branigan, Celine Dion).

I am not a big fan of the early Chicago house music (though I respect classics such as Mr. Fingers - Can You Feel It). However, Work It actually works for me. It is a simple composition production-wise, but its simplicity and funky jam are the elements that make the track addictive for non-stop listening. I believe the fact that it was released on small independent NY label prevented it from being a classic track of that era!