The elusive Shin Watanabe, gives us an insane 13 track double LP of absolute deep house mastery. When talking about deep house here, we mean along the lines of greats like Master C+J, Quest, Burrell, or Blue Jean to name a few. Late night mid-tempo dark house sleaze for the corners of the club. Total old school deep cuts in the truest of traditions.
A Chicago legend who paved way in the underground with his Mr. Peabody record shop, the one and only, Mr. Mark Grusane steps up to L.I.E.S. with “Angry Birds”. On this six tracker Grusane locks in and demonstrates an important facet of the Chicago sound that is often overlooked with a nod to the infamous “Reactor” sound pioneered by DJ RUSH. A rare style mostly shunned by jocks (and producers) on the modern floor, this record is full of straight up circle pit machine programmed madness, chaos of the highest order…This is for the ones who know, the ones who have been obsessed, and the ones who need to know…this record sets it all off. Full on referee whistle chippin, neck snappers for those who dare to step into the real jackin zone. Hi octane, full swerve, blowing through red lights all nite long.
Another massive offering from the one and only Mick Harris, continuing on in his Culvert Dubs Sessions experimentations with a new 2xLP. Once again Mick delves deep into the shadow realm of slow beat, psychedelic heavily textured, grinding dub techno. Eight tracks of absolute industrialized, delay swept, full pressure, sound system shaking murk ridden, dark water dubs. Top form work when Mick lets loose in this wild style, just the right balance of beauty, restraint and brutality. Total heavy weight music.
Sounding like a lost Nu Groove record dug up in Detroit basement and played at the clubs of Ibiza in ’93, Nicky Benedek and Tom Carruthers team up for a dream collaboration with the six track “Process 9” LP. These are detailed and anthemic tracks to be played at the night club, the perfect balance of rough drum programming and deep, lush synthwork, everything has fallen into place when these two hit the studio together. Absolute essential gear for lovers of the late nites and endless mornings.
Absolutely killer 11 track double pack of raw techno missiles from Bari, Italy’s hero, DJ Plant Texture. Ultimate club gear that will do total damage anytime, anywhere. No nonsense, committed to the art of music..no false idol worship…just blistering true to form blasting techno cuts made to mix and send em’ into a frenzy. No trends, straight for the throat!
NYC’s Sweater on Polo follows up his acclaimed L.I.E.S. 12 inch from 2023 with debut full length double LP, “Almighty Grand Essence”. This is pure to form 1985-1988 Chicago House worship, and while many have attempted to recreate this sound, most fail to deliver with correct reverence. Names like Saunders, Mixx, Virgo Four, undoubtedly appear in this conversation with Sweater on Polo taking cues and transforming the vintage sound into re-imagined dancefloor classics. Raw but clean, psychedelic but functional…this nine track record can move the crowd in all the right ways, with the lush deepness of “The Creation” to the nu-wave-house hybrid of “Proto Wave” or BMX beat track closer Psychotic Seance, its rare to find a young producer tapping into the vaults in such a focused, effective manner.
A special 15 year anniversary record celebrating L.I.E.S. Records. L.I.E.S. and Nation join forces on this huge release with a new collaborative project out of Chicago from “DuKe” and The Stranger. Two sided-12 inch housed in a full picture sleeve, once again we hear and see the scope of the broad range of what is, and can be “dance music” through the adventurous production of DuKe & The Stranger. Two eight minute versions alternating in time space and rhythm … this is the future, past and present wrapped into one from the visionaries.
This is a collection of House tracks spanning the last 15 years of the L.I.E.S. label. As the catalog touches upon numerous genres, L.I.E.S. makes the heavy lifting easy and gives fans, old and new, a focused sampling of some of their favorite and maybe even overlooked House tracks from over the years. From mega hits to forgetten classics here are 20 tracks for you to play on the floor.
This is PAY WHAT YOU WANT for the this week, so be quick!
Long in the making, Compton’s own AshTreJinkins debuts on L.I.E.S. with the seven track Left 2 Rot LP. The seasoned producer delivers an amalgamation of reimagined electronic styles going from stripped back. Terrance Dixon-esce minimal techno psychedelia to classic 2013 L.I.E.S. hybrid cuts sitting in the hazy grey area between gnarled house and techno. An ode to the City of Lost Angels from where he hails, this record is a perfect backdrop for the dystopian ruins the city has become over the last years. Stark, gut wrenching cuts that will leave you for dead as the title suggests.
Cut from the mega-mix these are five, long play, full length versions of tracks from the og megamix LP. Featuring two new and unreleased versions of the Robert Owens cut from the record. The Robert Owens accapella was discovered by R+L Productions and licensed officially from Mr. Owens. The other three tracks follow suit and are retouched new extended full length versions from the megamix.
The return of Texas heavy electronics, S.English is back on the label with a new 10 track tape of tense, metallic textured sci-fi slowbeat At this point English has honed in and perfected his own style of reaching some sort of unreal middle ground sitting between muslimgauze, s-core, and seico corp. Absolutely mindbending, headcrushing outsider electronics.
In your face new 8 track LP of vicious beat driven warehouse electronics from the L.I.E.S. boss, Ron Morelli. Straight and to the point, “Extinctionist” stands very much in line and continues further in the sonically unapologetic L.I.E.S. Records tradition of the last 15 years.
The ever prolific Tom Carruthers is back on L.I.E.S. flipping the script with a new double LP ”Downtown Rhithms”. On this one Carruthers takes his sound into uncharted territories with a style heavily indebted to the late 80s-early 90s New York House sound. Filled with heavy duty samples heads are sure to know, TC spliced, diced, rearranged and transformed them into something sounding like it came out of Todd Terry or Bones SP-1200 back in the days. Funky, deep, introspective, these 12 tracks are guaranteed to rock the floor wherever you may be. Perfect music for the summer heat, bumping out your car stereo or in the club, these cut will make em’ sweat guaranteed. True old school productions for real DJs! Featuring additional production from Risk Management’s Benedek and Lipelis on a couple of cuts.
Synth wizard, soundtrack composer, and Zombi member, Steve Moore expands further on his stark and drama filled cosmic sound with a new six track lp. These tracks call to mind to his early-L.I.E.S. releases, where Moore focused on cold arppegations and basic beat constructions to fuel his epic productions which center around pristine soaring synthscapes. A master of the genre, Moore gives us an equal mix of explosive, creepy home at the end of a dark street floor fodder as well as slower tempo cosmic headcrushers, all capable of getting your head or niteclub in a frenzy.
Risk Management Productions is new sub-label of L.I.E.S. Records, dedicated to preserve the integrity of dance music. The first release is a killer by Tom Carruthers with a four slamming old school Chicago style floor burner.
Legowelt returns to L.I.E.S. Records with a new album full of ultra-RAW hypnagogic lo-fi electrofunk. Classic, murky, cold as ice Hague-style slammers from the king of Smack. These eight tracks go back to the essence of the Legowelt sound, cutting through the noise of modern dance music charlatans, taking them to school with his undeniable signature stamped all over this release. A dancefloor classic in the making.
New release from the mysterious Body Habitat project, allegedly associated with the equally elusive German Army project, this is a 15 track tape full of broken industrial rhythms and seething sonic soundscapes, unrelenting California desert music.
YE GODS returns to L.I.E.S. with a new fill length, “No Albion”. Seven tracks of haunting ritualistic electronics, coming from the darkest realm of your psyche. Chilling ambience, voices from your nitemares, wishing to escape this world.
L.I.E.S. boss, Ron Morelli follows up his acclaimed “Heart Stopper” LP with a new six track mini LP. The six tracks on “Rhythm Master” focus on a departure from the more song based structures of “Heart Stopper,” presenting a series of raw “old style” beat tracks for the DJs to use and abuse as they see fit, although these tracks are not as cut and dry as the title may imply. Check the complex, jacking, drum programming of the Fingers inspired “Loose Screw” or absolute melodic deep house mastery on the closing track “Escapes.” and the late nite mix show drama of “Disco Gridlock” with its monstrous reverb drenched kick opening the b-side. All of these standing on their own and all of them displaying Morelli’s versatility as a producer in his ability to pinpoint and execute the many styles that made djs what they were back in the days.
The Hipodrome Of Music 