House Is A Feeling

I had 3 beers last night which is unusual for me these days, and weirdly I got this sudden compulsion to hear DMX Krew’s “I Won’t Forget”. Actually it’s probably not weird, this is what always happens when you drink isn’t it, I just don’t really remember! It’s a record I first heard in a DJ T set about 3 or 4 years ago I think, when I was first getting into Get Physical. It came out on Spectral flipped with some Osborne tune (which is shit as far as I recall). I remember when I was in NYC last year there were hundreds of Spectral records in every store, but not this one.

Anyway after a fruitless Soulseek search, I realised that it would almost definitely be on Beatport. And sure enough it was. So I promptly bought it and played it 10 times in a row. As Chicago House imitations go this sounds pretty authentic, but when what you’re imitating is creepy sex breathing noises I think things become a bit tongue in cheek. I remember my friend Gareth saying about DMX Krew that whatever style he imitates you sort of laugh and think “look it’s Ed DMX! as Chicago house!”.

There’s definitely that feel here, and yet I really think this record is about as good a pastiche of early house as I’ve ever heard, to the point that I like it as much as many of the classics. I suppose when you hear a guy groaning breathily over some slamming hardware sounding beats and he’s English, you think “how amusing”, but if he’s from Chicago and the record is from 1987 you’re all “amazing timeless house music”. “I Won’t Forget” is somewhere between the two of these reactions.

In a parallel universe this went to number 1 in the charts. The only thing that annoys me about this tune is that it’s only 4 minutes long. It just starts to really get good then it ends. All dance records should be at least 6 minutes long! There should be a law. Anyway, check it out, I really love this tune still.