records

[cara_grace pdx]

I'm studying abroad in England right now and, as of last night, have decided to start spinning again. I want to spin house (deep and progressive) and want to know what labels/ tracks I should look for. Any suggestions?

[bluesubmarine]

Hi there,

I spin Progressive, and Tribal House. My favorite labels are Yoshitoshi, Shinichi, Choo Choo, Saw, Silver Planet, Hooj Choons, Vudu, Harlem, Low Pressings, Pure Music, and etc. My favorite DJs are Deep Dish, and D. Ramirez, so I guess that's why I like those labels. They sound like deep & dark tribal beat with strong bass line.

This is a Hooj online record store where is located in UK, so you should check this out : http://shop.hooj.com/index.cgi?task=load&content=news

Good luck for your djing! :)

[FireWater]

Go to Birmingham and check out Hard to Find records. Nice selection and you dont have to deal with the shipping that I do..lol

Good luck getting back into the groove. It is indeed hard to leave :)

CJ

[cara_grace pdx]

Thanks for your help. I'm sure I'll see you when I get back to PDX - we'll have to meet up at some point. Cheers - keep in touch PDX!

[Micro_1394]

Hooj Choons press's are the shiznit!

[cara_grace pdx]

I checked out that website. You were right - it is very wicked cool.

[djakranox]

you should check out funktek,anything by junior jack,kid cream or joey beltram, mostly anything on ihr bumps,subliminal records thers just a few hope it helps.
akranox

[confident wino]

dont go for labels, go for producers.
Ron Trent
Chez Damier
David Alvarado
Kevin Saunderson
Boo Williams
Ludovic Navarre

[tr0llaccount]

unfortunately the hooj choons label is now defunct. personally i felt that although they had put out some KILLER tracks, a lot of their last releases just weren't very interesting.

the shop at www.hooj.com is still up and running.

[milgramShock]

20:20 vision records
London.

[Lizard King]

Don't listen to Paddy, he don't know shit 'bout records ...

[cara_grace pdx]

Wicked. I'll be checking it out for sure - once I get a chance to get out of this shitbox university town and do some REAL shopping.
Cheers!

[Justin]

Originally posted by muzak
unfortunately the hooj choons label is now defunct.

When did that happen?


As to the actual topic:

On the major label tip: Subliminal and all its red-headed step children: Deep Vision, Santos, and Subliminal Soul.

Positiva and Multiply are worth checking out.

Defected. Not so much a label as a distribution network. They take massive house tracks and make them even more massive under their logo. Pretty much everything they call theirs sounds great. But, everything they call theirs is displayed prominently in every record store everywhere, so it won't be as fresh as you might like.

Another decent quality distribution network / "label": XL

The thing with all major labels though: everyone else is checking them out too. By the time you can even buy a Subliminal or a Hooj (R.I.P?) or a Yoshitoshi, everyone has already heard it. Plus, if you hold onto a major label track for a year, it becomes so old and well known it's often worthless except for nostalgia value. Compare that to one-off minor label tracks, where you can play it to people ten years late and sound fresh, because it's still new to the audience. One of the real luxuries to the house genre is the thousands of labels and thousands of producers enabling every dj to have their own sound and their own "exclusive" tracks.

Less than major, but good: Zeitgeist. German disco house. Phil Fuldner, a fucking legend in my eyes, drops by occasionally to produce or engineer and there's some other real talent on it. Unfortunately it's affiliated with BMG, so if that icks you out, sorry. (FYI, lots of labels are affiliated with majors. Perfecto, Multiply and some big ones are either partners or subsidiaries of the majors.)

One really interesting label that gets no play but should: Filtered, out of Fla. OK. Nothing truly amazing, but some of the tracks are definitely worth checking out.

I was loving on the Relentless label last year. Lately it's been spotty.

Soma. Can't stress this one enough. Funk D'void and Slam's label. Some decent B list talent too, like Percy X.

Always, always sort through the white labels in the store. Often shitty, but once in awhile theres a true gem. When you find that gem you get the perverse thrill of knowing its yours, and your one of the only people to hear it. A couple of my most prized possessions are white labels.

But generally, ignore labels, look for producers. Actually, ignore producers too. Just set aside a couple hours for your record store visits and listen to as much as possible before you're forced out from 1)a headache 2) hunger 3) becoming unable to differentiate sounds or 4) getting kicked out.

[corbettfields]

Just go to Plastic Fantastic record store and do what you're told! it works really well..

[djowns]

Hope your enjoying the UK Cara! If you don't stop by amsterdamm your 100% fired however.

[cara_grace pdx]

Been to Amsterdam. It was a very random adventure. We were going to go to Paris - but then we took a wrong turn, decided to keep going and, well, found ourselves in Amsterdam. It was tight. And, I'm going back next weekend. Tonight and tomorrow, London - records, clubs. The days after, the world! Missing the West Coast - see you all in March!!! Keep chatting!

"Music exalts each joy, allays each grief, Expels diseases, softens every pain, Subdues the rage of poison..."

[U812A]

I may get some shit for this but Tidy Trax is where it's at...

[cara_grace pdx]

It´s all good. Tidy Trax are, really, quite cool - circumstances pending of course. I must admit that I have to be in just the right mood to listen to them.

[the_planet]

You just described almost every single release on Loaded.

[cara_grace pdx]

Cheers! Missing Oregon! Again, thanks for the tips!