House Is A Feeling

I am almost certain Beatport has recently added a lot of older Playhouse releases which it didn’t have before. Either that or I am wrong, which seems highly unlikely as this has never actually happened (apart from once in 1991, I incorrectly guessed a “Countdown conundrum”, suggesting an elaborate Irish swear word which was not subsequently revealed to be the answer.)

Anyway I’ve been checking back through old releases to find some really good stuff. It’s interesting how similar some of the releases are to what’s currently popular, and how different some others are. I also like the fact that I was about 16 when some of these tracks were coming out. At some point it’d be good to do a mix of Playhouse only stuff, but for now check out these few classics. (This is by no means a definitive list, just the beginning really! I’ve also left out some tracks which I’ve mentioned here before a few times, like Losoul’s “Open Door” or the “Lovelee Dae” remixes)

1. Bodo Elsel-Grooves (2000)

From the “Sines” EP check this bestial house track, an exercise in raw minimalism which still sounds taut 9 years later. You can practically feel the sweat as a crackling hats and percussion make a single looped Fingers style bassline sound more and more frenzied. Discogs says this was Elsel’s last release, one for Unsolved Mysteries to deal with.

2./3. Random Factor-Broken Mirror (Original/Freaks Turning Orange Mix) (1998)

This one I do remember, sort of. The original was around plenty of comps and clubs over the years, not least Trevor Jackson’s immense DJ Kicks album. This mix is new to me though, the Freaks turning the jerky electro of the original into a house depthcharge, a a classic example of the European house sound. The bump of this is unbelievably addictive too. It’s a mix that actually does justice to such an amazing original.

Original:

Remix:

4. Soul Phiction-Whizzdom and Understanding (1999)

10 years on from this, a lot of records sound exactly like it. Take from that what you care to, but it’s a damn good place to start. Soulphiction obviously still makes house music, but it’s frequently much more restrained than this, an inch perfect deep house record. I guess back in 1999 it must have been quite hard for these records to travel around the world, maybe it’s no wonder the sound is being revisited now.

You can buy these on Beatport.