FEATURED RELEASE
Classic Alert! Merwyn Sanders and Eric Lewis are two of Chicago house music's great unsung heroes: Friends since childhood, they started making music together in their early teens, only releasing a handful of tracks for legendary labels Trax and Saber during the late 1980s - raw and soulful house music anthems such as 'Do You Know Who We Are' or 'Ride'.
While these recordings are considered classics by collectors and fans, they have never brought their originators the kind of fame and recognition that some of their peers have managed to achieve.
Trax Record's infamous marketing ploys have certainly contributed to this, publishing the duo's releases under several different names such as M.E., Ace & The Sandman, and Virgo Four, despite prior Trax project Virgo, which consisted of Marshall Jefferson, Adonis and Vince Lawrence.
The ensuing confusion didn't help much to ensure Sanders and Lewis their deserved place in house music history, but this might change now the crate diggers at Rush Hour have remastered and reissued eight of their best tracks. This is an unmissable opportunity to get your hands on some of the finest house music ever made. Essential Release.
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Tevo Howard continues to amaze us with his heart-felt take on Chicago house. Yes, he is probably using the same gear as Marshall Jefferson did some 20 years ago, but as long as he churns out tracks as brilliant as 'Laboratory' with it, we honestly couldn't care less. Timeless house music.
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Reissue of Rick Wilhite's classic 'Soul Edge EP', which was his first release on Moodymann's KDJ label in 1996. Featuring the original Theo Parrish and Kenny Dixon remixes and an unreleased bonus version by Rick himself, this is a big historic release and shouldn't be missing from your collection.
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Second instalment of Rush Hour's gold digging for ultra rare Detroit house music. Originally released in 1997 on Kenny Dixon's KDJ label, 'The Godson EP' has been out of print ever since. All tracks have been meticulously remastered and now come with an unreleased Moodymann remix. Essential!
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Reissue of the ultra-rare 80s fusion/funk album by the elusive producer Mandré, whose releases on Motown were hyped as being 'funkier than Parliament'. Most of the original copies were accidentally destroyed in a warehouse and have been a sought after collector's nugget since. Special!
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A great collaboration of current Chicago house shooting star Tevo Howard and his father, blues singer Rick Howard. Heart-felt old-school tracks driven by piano chords and a twist of acid in the timeless style of Tevo's productions for his Beautiful Granville label.
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This EP features two takes from Tom Trago's live sets: Side A is an extended discofied version of 'Use Me', while Side B is an exclusive from his set. Here he strips the classic 'Over & Over' to the minimum before sliding into the original groove only for a moment, only to continue to ride the rhythm again.
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Double-Album released 22-01-2010 on Rush Hour
An impressive body of work like Anthony 'Shake' Shakir's deserves an equally impressive tribute: 35 of Shake's best tracks, originally released via his own Frictional imprint and Dan Bell's 7th City, have been carefully selected, remastered and compiled in this essential volume. Don't miss.
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FaltyDL takes it into more synthetic territory for his debut on Rush Hour. Everybody into the more unusual type of house/dubstep hybrids should check this EP. Reminiscent of Martyn's lower paced house tracks and even of some of the old Clear records, this is another excellent release for FaltyDL!
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Compiled by Cinnaman and Jay Scarlett, this EP gathers the best of the new breed of instrumental beatmakers. Danny Breaks and Adlib drop some bass experimentations, and gifted newcomers from Vienna, Quebec, Karachi and L.A. offer up shuffling disjointed beats and great wonky business.
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One of the outstanding album releases on Rush Hour in 2009, Tom Trago's 'Voyage Direct' combines house, techno, funk and disco for an entirely convincing full-length. The maturity of production and the range of influences makes it hard to believe that this is a debut album. Recommended.
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Incredibly comprehensive compilation of Daniel Wang's early material for his Balihu imprint, including unreleased tracks as well as works by fellow artists. This is a perfect translation of the classic disco vibe into modern age sounds and a must for all disco and house heads.
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Killer retrospective of Detroit house legend Rick Wade and his highly sought after releases on his own Harmonie Park label. This 'best of' is split evenly between uptempo club tracks with keyboard loops, filtered disco samples and warm padded drums, and jazzy deepness. Bargain - don't sleep!
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Double-Album released 15-10-2008 on Rush Hour
A compilation of Kenny Larkin's best works of his impressive career. This 21 track release includes remastered versions of some of his most sought-after classics like 'Azymuth', 'Vanguard", 'Chasers' or 'Soulman'. An comprehensive look back on some of the finest futuristic techno ever produced.
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Carl Craig's first album under his real name, 1995's classic 'Landcruising', has influenced a whole generation of producers. Reworked by the man himself and rereleased on Rush Hour together with bonus versions and unreleased out-takes ('Sparkle'). A hands-down classic and essential purchase.
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If you're too busy to browse through Rush Hour's impressive 2009 catalogue, get this exquisite selection compiled by the label itself. From amazing tech-house by Tom Trago or Ibex, to futuristic breaks by Nosaj Thing or Danny Breaks, and classic house by Wilhite and Wade, it rarely gets any better than this.
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