HousePlanet.DJ - Your House Music News Portal - HousePlanet Distribution

Strictly Rhythms earliest DJ mixes are unexpectedly unearthed at a NY Studio.  ‘The Lost Tapes’ as they are now known, get a full re-release starting with ‘Little’ Louis Vega at the legendary Underground Network NYC and TONY HUMPHRIES first ever STRICTLY RHYTHM mix.
As part of the Strictly Rhythm 20th anniversary celebrations due in Feb, we’ve unearthed something musically akin to that of Harrison Ford in the Raiders of the Lost Ark! Unbelievably the bosses at Strictly have uncovered all the original mix sessions recorded by the very first Strictly artists when they were mere fledgling DJs.  For the first time in years, since their original release in the early 90’s, the record company are making these rare recordings available once again, releases that include mixes by the likes of Armand Van Helden and Lil Louis as well as Messrs Humphries and Vega.
When we say ‘unearthed’ these tapes, originally recorded onto DAT, were found in a studio in New York. Then they were filed away with many other recordings and forgotten about for years. Thankfully they reappeared for us to enjoy and appreciate.
These original recordings were in fact the first commercially released DJ mixes on CD. The 90’s had just been chimed in and it was the beginning of a trend to grip dance music firmly 20 years on. It’s crazy to think that these were the first DJ mix CDs, we think that is pretty historic.
The first two releases are by Little Louie Vega at The Underground Network NYC and Tony Humphries 1993 special Strictly Rhythm Recording which were both available Nov 2nd.
Louie Vega’s residency at the Underground Network is the stuff of house music legend.  Hosted by Barbara Tucker and Don Welch at Manhattan’s Sound Factory Bar, the Underground Network became a magnet not only for the dance music faces of New York, but for producers, DJs and professionals from around the world. It was the club that established Roger Sanchez, Erick Morillo and Armand van Helden.
Little Louie Vega At The Underground Network is just a little bit of the essence of those heady nights, a smooth blend of bumpy beats and soulful sounds, DJ Pierre and Erick Morillo mixed into Butch Quick and Joey Washington; the evolution of the style that went on to make Louie one of the most in demand DJs on the planet.
As for Humphries, in 1990 he was already established as the New York area’s leading dance music DJ and his influence was such that he became responsible for breaking countless records by playing them in his sets and on his weekly mix show for New York’s Kiss FM.  This Tony Humphries Strictly Rhythm mix features several of the classics that he was first to champion – Photon Inc’s ‘Generate Power’, Djaimin’s ‘Give You’ and Aly-Us’ ‘Follow Me’ – mixed in with club favourites like Hardrive’s ‘Sindae’ (produced by MAW) and After Hours’ ‘Feel It’ (co-produced by Roger Sanchez), and more commercially slanted songs like Cynthia M’s ‘Love Storm’ produced by DJ Pierre and Simone’s ‘Hey Fellas’.  The mix is a brilliant soulful snapshot of Strictly Rhythm’s early years; check the Hump’s classic blending progression of track-vocal-track-vocal.

THE LOST TAPES:  ‘LITTLE’ LOUIE VEGA AT THE UNDERGROUND NETWORK NYC

DOWNLOAD NOW

Louie Vega’s residency at the Underground Network is the stuff of house music legend.  Hosted by Barbara Tucker and Don Welch at Manhattan’s Sound Factory Bar, the Underground Network became a magnet not only for the dance music faces of New York, but for producers, DJs and professionals from around the world.
The late 80s and early 90s were a blast for New York clubbers: Frankie Knuckles, David Morales, Roger Sanchez, Tony Humphries, Junior Vasquez and scores of others played regularly in the city at spots like the Red Zone, The Roxy, The Tunnel and the Sound Factory.  But as the scene commercialised with wannabe glam clubs and the emergence of the flamboyant and musically harder club kid movement, the original house heads got edged out.  Their response was to do what they always do; head back underground to smaller, more intimate clubs where the DJs are selected for the music they play and the music they play selects the crowd.  That was the Underground Network, the club that turned sleepy midweek into party night.  
Little Louie Vega At The Underground Network is just a little bit of the essence of those heady nights, a smooth blend of bumpy beats and soulful sounds, DJ Pierre and Erick Morillo mixed into Butch Quick and Joey Washington; the evolution of the style that went on to make Louie one of the most in demand DJs on the planet.

THE LOST TAPES:  ‘LITTLE’ LOUIE VEGA STRICTLY RHYTHM MIX

DOWNLOAD NOW

Sometime back in the mid 90s, from Wednesday night to Thursday morning a few yards of nondescript frontage on 21st Street in New York’s Chelsea district became house music central.  The Sound Factory Bar on Underground Network nights was everything that its big brother, the Sound Factory (where Junior Vasquez held court) wasn’t.  The crowd was made up of hipsters, hardcore dancers and industry liggers rather than bridge and tunnel Saturday night party people and Louie Vega’s slinky selection of soulful, disco and Latin sounds at a tangent to the increasingly tougher style pursued by Vasquez.  This second Louie Vega Strictly Rhythm mix came in 1994, a year of heady heights both for Vega’s defining residency and for Strictly classics. Choosing from an embarrassment of riches, the Bronx pocket rocket blends River Ocean’s ‘Love & Happiness’, Hardrive’s ‘Deep Inside’, Barbara Tucker’s ‘Beautiful People’, The Believers’ ‘Who Dares To Believe In Me’ and The Boss’ ‘Congo’ with lesser known nuggets like Loop 7’s ‘The Theme’ and ‘Curious’ by Sun, Sun, Sun.

DOWNLOAD NOW

The world’s first commercially released house music mix CD?  We think the legendary Tony Humphries’ Strictly Rhythm Mix from 1993 is the one to beat.  A veteran DJ and pivotal figure in the history of house music, Humphries rose to international prominence on the surge in popularity of what became known as Garage, the soulful house sound that was born in Larry Levan’s Manhattan club Paradise Garage and grew up in Zanzibar, the big man’s residency over the Hudson River in Newark, New Jersey.  By the time the Zanz closed in 1990 Humphries was already established as the New York area’s leading dance music DJ and his influence was such that he became responsible for breaking countless records by playing them in his sets and on his weekly mix show for New York’s Kiss FM.  The Tony Humphries Strictly Rhythm mix features several of the classics he was first to champion – Photon Inc’s ‘Generate Power’, Djaimin’s ‘Give You’ and Aly-Us’ ‘Follow Me’ – mixed in with club favourites like Hardrive’s ‘Sindae’ (produced by MAW) and After Hours’ ‘Feel It’ (co-produced by Roger Sanchez), and more commercially slanted songs like Cynthia M’s ‘Love Storm’ produced by DJ Pierre and Simone’s ‘Hey Fellas’.  The mix is a brilliant soulful snapshot of Strictly Rhythm’s early years; check the Hump’s classic blending progression of track-vocal-track-vocal.

THE TONY HUMPHRIES STRICTLY RHYTHM MIX VOLUME 2

DOWNLOAD NOW

Tony Humphries assumed the role of the world’s premier garage DJ when Paradise Garage legend Larry Levan passed in 1992.  But although hugely instrumental in the development of the New York / New Jersey garage sound, The Hump was greatly influenced both by his frequent trips to Europe and his 1993 residency at the Ministry of Sound.  As the scene started to split into one faction who preferred the more soulful style and another that championed the new Wild Pitch and tribal flavours, Humphries was happy to incorporate elements of both in his continuing quest to uncover new producers, new records and new sounds.  His second Strictly Rhythm mix compilation reflects that unconventional approach as smooth tunes like Louie Vega’s mix of Erick Morillo’s ‘Dancin’’ and South St Player’s ‘(Who?) Keeps Changing Your Mind’ and ‘Stop Using People’ butt up against tougher grooves like M&M’s ‘So Deep, So Good’, Latin stompers like The Tribe’s ‘Latin Flavor’ and Armand Van Helden’s tribal bangers ‘Zulu’ and ‘Indonesia’.