As decent true to it's roots house seems to be fighting the good fight at the minute, thought I'd list some moments that have made it such an inspiring musical movement. Lest we forget...
Swag - Dark Corners (Version One)
I pretty much lived in Sheffield's Warp shop for years and became good mates with Chris. He'd done early studio work with Richard Brown and told us they'd come up with summat good. A glitch in one of the hardware synths led to a farty fat belch sound (that was luckily caught on tape) cranking out, and a beast was born... One of the top house production duos had slammed onto the scene and continue to inspire to this day.
Salt City Orchestra - The Book
The massive first release on Paper and one of the best examples of 90's British house. Such a great track with top production that still sounds wickedly cool now. Everything you need to know about the true house sound is in this record. Si Bradd kicked ass on his Toko stuff too, but no recent news of him that I know of.
Solaris Heights - Midnight
Easily my favourite Solaris release and a record that I'll never get bored of playing or hearing. A track that never failed to work the dancefloor in Scuba with it's very clever use of Class Action beats. The music's great, the singing is super smooth, and I reckon it'll always sound ace.
Johnny Fiasco - Take 5
This has got to be one of the best deep house tracks ever made, and one that gives me a buzz whenever I hear it. The chords are gorgeous and the beat is super fat. One of those track that I can't begin to understand how it came about, but I'm humbled that it did.
Rithma - I Wish I Could Be Beautiful
After visiting Rithma's web site you get the idea that he's an odd character but has shed loads of talent. This was a track that my luvly BeX chanced upon and made me check out - it blew my fuckin head off! Rithma's singing is just tops, and the arrangement of the elements is off the wall - but that bassline when it kicks in is just awesome. Love it. Always get asked what it is too whenever I play it.
YSE - Bounce Back
2007 release on the wonderful Lost My Dog label, and a track that really really did it for me. A wonderful analog bassline that just rolls along and creates a great moody feel. Groovy and chunky with an almost Nu Groove 90's appeal, it's one of the last tracks to really get me hooked. Simple sounding, but really killer!
Couldn't resist...
I'll eventually add more when I get the time... But for now, have a gander and watch this video of Sheffield old school coolness - Sheffield's Street Crew. Footage taken from the early breakin days, unearthed and lookin fresh and cool as an eskimo's toes...
Sounds Like
Mi sen, with a little help thru these:
The mighty KRK's
Record Label
Odori, Junky Trunk, Groove Baby, Clean House Music
As I've been on here a while now and settled in, I thought it was time for a change of profile and new intro. The new layout & design comes courtesy of my fantastic Mrs - RE-303 (also known as Rebecca). The background image for the profile is cleverly pilfered from my website dodgyhipmusic.com. Give it a regular visit as it'll be getting more stuff added at some point. Cheers to Colin at Boys On Fire for setting it up.
Anyway, just in case this is your first visit to my page this is what I'm about... I've been DJ'ing since '89 when I got my first (and only) 1210's from Cloud Electronics in Sheffield.
I say first and only 1210's 'cos I've still got the same pair. Yonks later and they still work like new and look tops - even with the usage they've had over the 15 plus years, this is why I'll never stray from Technics decks - a worthy testimonial I'd say.
I was only 16 when I got 'em and they cost a fortune for me then. I'd had a mixer (a Realistic contraption with no frills included) bought for my birthday about 6 months before, which sat unused for an agonisingly long time. I'd already got a hefty record collection for a kid my age - I'd been obsessed with collecting better and more records than my mates from a crazily young age. I can't remember for definite what my first record was, but it was either The Prince by Madness on 7", The Specials debut LP, or Too Much Pressure by The Selecter.
Of course, I didn't have a very hi-tech set up at that point - it really consisted of a record player with built in speaker that turned into a kind of suitcase when the lid was on. I'm not 100% sure but I think it had a 78rpm setting - useful for speeding up John Bradbury's (drummer with The Specials) breaks to D & B proportions I guess. That tinny speaker got it's fair share of abuse though, cos any spare money I had when straight into more chonk.
When the early '80s Two Tone scene ended it felt like a big deal - looking back now I'm pretty sure it was - and there wasn't much music (Talking Heads being an exception) that really got me for a while. Until I heard White Lines that is...
Ya know those records that you wait all day by the radio for so you can tape them (putting it on play-record+pause to do it quicker and with a bit less of the "clunk" sound that was impossible to avoid when the taping started), well this was one of those for me. Being a kid in Sheffield, I had no idea whatsoever about drugs, crack, smack or gack, so never really knew - or gave a thought - about what they were rapping about; I just dug the Liquid Liquid groove (the band sampled for the bass in the track, who I understand are still going and working with DFA). I listened to the tune so many times I still remember the words now - even the uuuuuuuuurrrRRRAAA’s that were grunted by the Grandmaster.
The need for "un-normal" (I'll not say underground cos at that time there wasn't really a ground to be under) musical addiction went the same way it did for countless kids my age in England, along the (white) lines of…
Beat Street-Breakdance-Bambataa -Kraftwork-Chaka Khan-Captain Rock-Schooly D-LL Cool J-Cash Money & Marvellous-Average White Band-Freez-Mantronix-George Clinton-
Doug Lazee-Doug E Fresh-Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Will Smith-Rick James-D Train-Prelude-Paul Hardcastle-Herbie Hancock-Just Ice-T La Rock-Def Jam-Master Ace-BDP-2 Live Crew-
Public Enemy-NWA-De La Soul-Dee Lite-KC Flight-Detroit-UR-Red Planet-LB Bad-Master C & J-Trax-Todd Terry-Ron Allen & Hayden Andre-Plus 8-WARP-Rhythmatic-Unique 3-Erik Van Broek-Acid Jesus-Orlando Voorn-Sven Van Hees-MAW-Black Dog-B12-UMM-Future Sound Of London-D Jax-FNAC-Air Liquide-Strictly-Junior Boys Own-Swag-Switch...
You know the drill. All the dope music that boys nod their heads like divs to (well, not JUST boys, my BeX does too - but she looks cute - not divvy).
My DJ career started on pirate radio - as a lot of the Sheffield crew did - as DJ Jammer. I had quite a popular show due to the music I played (many of the above names being spun). This led to me playing at a lot of the all-nighters in and around Sheffield AROUND '91-93. I didn't really have a regular residency until Scuba, which was one of the best nights Sheffield's seen. It ran for 6 years I think, and was set up by Jamie Wilkins, Chris Duckenfield, Alec and Paul from Toko, and I played alongside some of the top names in underground house (biggest deal being on the same bill as Larry Heard).
So, with all this music shaping my cranium I've always felt I was in a positive position when it comes to producing my own material. But other than a few stints in Richard Brown's sweetly titled Tippy Tappy Bollocks studio in Wakefield, I never really applied myself as I should have or made a big strive to progress. I've always suffered from too many ideas to humanly contain in one head, but not the patience for learning how to tweak those god damn knobs (stop tittering) for myself.
As things are now, I've been battling with my aversion to reading the help files for music apps, and putting together a bit of kit at home so that I can learn the boring bits of making tunes, in order to produce the cool bits that us fellas judge each other by. Serious stuff. But not a million miles away from my Littlewoods catalogue bought suitcase-deck days.
I'm now working hard at getting these ideas and audio instincts out of my head and into Cubase under the name DodgyHip (old friends will know where the name comes from...). There are four tracks here and they'll be changing whenever I take the time to post new stuff. I don't know about how other people work, but I've got a maybe a dozen tunes on the boil that I know will be worth your listening time - once I get them all completed that is. The music I put on here’s gonna be house all the way – no downbeat stuff, no trend following, just the kinda house music I think works in a club.
Well, that’s it for the reading bit. So press play on the player and bump my play number up, if you wanna hear a mix I did a while ago as well you can listen here on RE-303’s site. If you’re into my tunes or you dig the mix, let me know or friend request me, and I’ll reply pretty sharpish.
Keep bumpin
Damien.
Available @ Beatport - search for Junky Trunk Recordings:
Latenight Society "Opacity EP - DodgyHip's Kept It Real Remix"
Out NOW on Clean House Music from Stompy - link:
DJ Sulli "Anonymous - DodgyHip's Dropped On The Head Remix"
Also out now as a digi download on Odori via Beatport:
Klaus "Dis Dat - DodgyHip Remix"
We've a new single out NOW through Thee Sheffield Phonographic Corporation. It's a split 7" single featuring our song "Dancing". The single also features fellow SPC band Slow Down Tallahassee.
We've have some great reviews for it & radio play on XFM and 6Music.
You can order the 7" single (or buy the digital download now) from Thee SPC website at www.theespc.com or from our profile.
If you buy the 7" vinyl, you get a special code to access the digital download for free.
Hi DodgyHip Music we have two new EPs just out on the label, click the images to check them out on beatport. thanks for your time DPR
Support from Jeff samuel, Da Funk, Shur I kan, Jay Epoch, Sebastian Davidson, Burnski, City Walkers, Xpansul, Ross Couch, Alex Douche, Harold Heath, The Messenger, Henri Kohn, Daniel Kyo, Cooccer, Roberto Rodriguez and more
Junky Trunk Records (Chicago, IL-USA) presents: JT013-Raymond Mather "Group Therapy" EP Original tracks by: Raymond Mather Remixes: RUDDER & Deviant Soundsystem Genre: Fidget (Electro-House, Tech-House on Beatport) Click here to listen http://www. myspace. com/junkytrunkrecords
Hey, Damien!! Thnx for add and for comment!! I appreciate it a lot!! :)) Your tracks are really low-blows..and hi-hats!! Love it...anonymous rmx specially!! Any new soon?
YYEAHHH BBOYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY... i like to see such great influences such as breakdance... i was bboying for YYEEARRS.. hence my tune congo and its influencess... i will be seeing you on the cleanhouse release.. YYEAAHHH
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