Label Realm: Dope recorDs

Enter the "D" section of label realm:

Dance Pool was a successful mainstream dance label company in Frankfurt Germany. Several famous acts released music in the label, such as Culture Beat, Jam & Spoon, The KLF. In the 90's, it served as the label to release classic eurodance tracks (Culture Beat - Mr. Vain, Ice MC - Think About The Way, Maxx - Get-A-Way) that ruled the dance charts. The last release can be found in 2003...

Data Records was not a classic label per se, however it was a great introduction for trance newbies at the turn of the millennium (1999-2002). Some indicative examples are ATB - Till I Come, Storm - Time To Burn, Zombie Nation - Kernkraft 400 and releases by Kamaya Painters and Oliver Lieb (the original version of Subraumstimulation is a tech-trance masterpiece). It was a sublabel of Ministry of Sound, originally focused on trance music. After the unification of all genres in one label, Data Records lost its touch.

A classic one! Deconstruction Records was established in 1986 by Pete Hadfield and Keith Blackhurst, but it reached its glory days when Hacienda's resident DJ Mike Pickering joined as A&R. All the masterpieces from the early days of UK house music can be found here: T-Coy - Carino, Guru Josh - Infinity, N-Joi - Anthem, M People ‎– How Can I Love You More and K-Klass ‎– Rhythm Is A Mystery are a handful of them. The label was also the first production home for Sasha and Way Out West. The legendary status of the label was maintained until 2000.

Dedicated was a British independent record label that released music between 1990 and 1998 by Spiritualized, Spacemen 3, Global Communication, Beth Orton (in the U.S.), Chapterhouse, Cranes and others. It was based in London and founded by Doug D'Arcy. The label deserves a reference just for the release of Global Communication - 76:14, one of the best ambient music albums (thank you Mr. Pritchard & Mr. Middleton for the blissful experience of 12:18).


Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Tune #99: James Holden - I Have Put Out The Light

James Holden is a no stranger in the electronic music industry. A prodigy of the progressive sound, he composed in 1999 his first track, Horizons, which was released one year later by Silver Planet Recordings and became an instant success. The track was a runaway club hit, supported by top disc jockeys like Dave Seaman, Sasha, John Digweed and Nick Warren (the latter along with Jody Wisternoff created even a banging remix). The subsequent releases were also successful, with Nothing (both the Original Version and the 93 Returning Mix) reaching the pinnacle of progressive trance of that era.

Holden's hits made him a highly sought name for remixes by the big players (Madonna, Britney Spears, Depeche Mode). In 2002, Sasha invited him to be part of the production team for his album Airdrawndagger (the album's eighth track, Bloodlock, was a collaboration between Sasha, Holden & Junkie XL). In the meantime, Holden showcased his DJ skills in mix CDs. His first one (Fear Of The Silver Planet) was supported by Silver Planet, mainly consisting of his productions and remixes. The second one was the fifth installment of the Balance series (curated by EQ Recordings) and it is till this day one of the greatest mixes ever conceived.

The "progressive" phase of James Holden lasted until 2005, when he decided to focus on different music styles. This transition is reflected in the early releases of Border Community, Holden's label home. His first works in the label can be described as minimal progressive house, which progressed to experimental IDM. Under the label's umbrella, several innovative artists produced solid compositions, like Petter, Nathan Fake, Avus, The MFA and Luke Abbott.

I haven't followed James Holden's work for years (as a matter of fact, his new orientation is not my cup of tea), but I recently discovered one of his early works, which has escaped my radar. In 2002 he created his third EP for Silver Planet, titled Solstice/I Have Put Out The Light. The B-side of the EP is presented in the current post.

JAMES HOLDEN - I HAVE PUT OUT THE LIGHT



IHPOTL is the characteristic sound of Holden's early output; hypnotic driving pads and tweaked vocals. In my opinion, it can be considered as a precursor to the acclaimed Nothing track. The ethereal yet sedate voice of Jenny Holden (James' little sister) is tweaked for a darker emotional experience.

An interview with James Holden from the old days can be found here.

A pinch of Greek electronic music

As already stated in a previous blog post, progressive house & trance were blooming all around the world at the end of the previous century until the mid 00's. Sasha & John Digweed hammered the dance floor of Twilo in New York circa 1998-2001. The success of Global Underground mix CDs, which were circulating in music stores and P2P programs, championed the prog music to the masses (including myself). 

Meanwhile in Greece, there was only a handful of radio stations, which broadcast exclusively electronic music tracks. A personal favorite from my youth years was Liquid FM, although I should mention that I was never a fanatic radio listener. My first encounters with EDM were through Paul Oakenfold Essential mixes that existed in Napster.

Following the trend of prog music, mid 00's was also a fruitful period for Greek artists in the area of EDM. One of the first examples is George Pallikaris, a.k.a. G-Pal. Although he started with more tech and deep house sounds, he released his fifth EP in Bedrock Records (2001), showcasing his first takes on progressive house. Very soon, he developed from an rising artist into a popular DJ and producer, with successful releases, such as Ocean Of Blue (2002) and Ophra (2003).

At the same time, many young talents emerged in the scene, including Stelios Vassiloudis, Kosmas Efstratiou, Christian Cambas, Giannis Douskos and Nikos Galatsopoulos. All of them appeared in an essential Greek compilation CD, Local Underground, paving the way for progressive house music. The prog craze was everywhere. The most popular Greek radio station for electronic music, Best Radio 92.6, was musically oriented on this genre, while having the support of the affiliated label Klik Records. The dancefloors of the Greek night clubs were full of clubbers dancing to the tunes of this era.

EDM has surely changed a lot since then. Progressive house is not considered "hot" now, surrendering its place to other music genres, like deep/tech house and techno. Obviously, the same pattern applies in Greece. There is nothing wrong with that, cause it's all about good music, not music styles. However, I am very curious to listen to the upcoming album of Way Out West and how Nick Warren and Jody Wisternoff (masters of progressive house) evolved through these years!

Tune #4: Way Out West - The Gift

Το παρόν post θα αναφερθεί σε ένα πολύ αγαπημένο μουσικό σχήμα, το οποίο είναι οι Way Out West. Ένα από τα πιο καταξιωμένα τραγούδια τους είναι φυσικά το The Gift.

WAY OUT WEST - THE GIFT


Αποτελούμενο από 2 πολύ γνωστούς DJs, Nick Warren και Jody Wisternoff, το μουσικό duo δημιουργήθηκε στο Bristol το 1994 , όταν ο Jody συναντήθηκε με τον Nick σε ένα κατάστημα βυνιλίων, στο οποίο εργαζόταν ο δεύτερος.

O Nick Warren άρχισε να ασχολείται επαγγελματικά με τη μουσική από το 1988, όταν έπαιζε ως DJ reggae, indie μουσική σε clubs του Bristol. Από τις αρχές της δεκαετίας του '90 ήταν από τους πιο δημοφιλείς DJs της περιοχής.

Ο Jody Wisternoff ήταν από την ηλικία των 13 χρονών ένας break dancer που είχε ένα hip hop background. Κι αυτός στις αρχές του '90 άρχισε να εργάζεται ως DJ σε clubs με το όνομα Sub Love.

Το The Gift κυκλοφόρησε το 1996 ως single και εμφανίστηκε στο πρώτο τους album (Way Out West) το 1997. Δανείζεται τα φωνητικά της Joanna Law από το διασκευή της στο τραγουδι The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face. Τα breaks του σε συνδυασμό με τη χρήση με των piano samples και basslines δημιουργούν μία ωραία μουσική ατμόσφαιρα, η οποία αναπτύσσεται προοδευτικά μέχρι να ακουστούν τα φωνητικά.

Το Δεκέμβρη του 2009 είχα την τύχη να τους απολάυσω live sto Fuzz Club. Στο set τους δεν έπαιξαν την original version, αλλά ένα νέο remix που έκαναν οι ίδιοι. Μπορείτε να το ακούσετε παρακάτω.


WAY OUT WEST - THE GIFT (WAY OUT WEST 2010 MIX) [LIVE AT FUZZ CLUB IN ATHENS]

Tune #2: Lustral - Everytime

Μετά το μαγευτικό ήχο της Stella από τους Jam & Spoon περνάμε στο επόμενο κομμάτι. Κάνοντας μία αναδρομή στο παρελθόν, σας παρουσιάζω το Everytime από τους Lustral...

LUSTRAL - EVERYTIME



Οι Lustral αποτελούνται από τους Stephen Jones και Ricky Simmonds, οι οποίοι είναι γνωστοί και με άλλα aliases (The Space Brothers, Chakra, Ascension, Essence, Ultra High, The Realm). To Everytime κυκλοφόρησε το 1997, αποτέλεσε τη μεγαλύτερη επιτυχία τους ως Lustral και μιξαρίστηκε από μεγάλα ονόματα, όπως οι Way Out West και οι Nalin & Kane. Τη δουλειά τους ως Lustral ανακάλυψα σχετικά πρόσφατα ακούγοντας ένα compilation, αν και τους 2 καλλιτέχνες γνώριζα από παλιά ως Chakra από το κομμάτι Love Shines Through και ως Ascension από το κομμάτι Someone.

Το συγκεκριμένο τραγούδι με γοήτευσε από το πρώτο άκουσμα. Η όμορφη μουσική του σε συνδυασμό με τα απίστευτα φωνητικά της Tracy Ackerman σου μεταδίδουν ένα ωραίο αίσθημα ευφορίας και ηρεμίας.

Αν και έγινε γνωστό κυρίως μέσω του remix από τους Nalin & Kane, τολμώ να πω ότι περισσότερο μου αρέσει η original version, η version του 2007 και το remix από τους Way Out West. Τα 2 remixes και η 2007 version παρουσιάζονται παρακάτω, για να κρίνετε και μόνοι σας:


LUSTRAL - EVERYTIME (SPECIAL EDIT 2007 VERSION)



LUSTRAL - EVERYTIME (WAY OUT WEST SUNRISE MIX)



LUSTRAL - EVERYTIME (NALIN & KANE MIX)