DJ Haus – what a hero.
One of the producers behind throwback garage unit Hot City, the last couple of years have seen Haus step out on his own, manning the brilliant Unknown to the Unknown record label. Here’s what we said about Unknown to the Unknown in last year’s Best Record Labels of 2012 feature, where it ranked ninth:
We didn’t set fixed parameters when deciding our favourite record labels of 2012, but something we did do was prioritise labels that released vinyl – not for reasons of vinyl fetishism, but because we feel that the labels prepared to put their money where their mouth is when it comes to releasing their product deserve more reward. Unknown to the Unknown is an exception, mostly because it doesn’t operate – or, indeed, even pretend to operate – as a normal label would. Instead, it relishes in the disposable, more-is-more nature of digital age music, turning what’s often an unwanted quality into a celebration of our trashy times. Starting life as a YouTube channel, the Unknown to the Unknown discography effectively reads as a diary of what label boss DJ Haus is into that week, but unlike, say, Mad Decent’s Jeffree’s sub-label, it’s frequently illuminating, with contributions coming from artists both established (Marcus Mixx, DJ Stingray, DJ Q) and new (Walter Ego, Palace).
A year on, Unknown to the Unknown is still on top. It’s very much an extension of Haus’s personality: the more established artists that release on the label are, in Haus’s own words, his heroes, and whether it’s cajoling Legowelt to play synthesiser solos in a cape, releasing raunchy home videos of Marcus Mixx or shooting DJ Q into space, he presents their music in a way that nobody else would. Who else would have the imagination and the balls, frankly? The last twelve months have also seen Haus introduce newer artists into the UTTU army – grime firebrand Spooky dropped ‘Baby’ through the label, Slackk’s Minor Triads was an early 2013 highlight and Mista Men, Checan and Delroy Edwards are some of the best new dance producers around – as well as launching a new vinyl label, Hot Haus Records. As we say, dude’s a hero. His FACT mix is stacked.
Tracklist:
Lords Of Midnite – Drown In Ur Love
Vin Sol – Edges Of A Vortex
Alias G – 3XG Anthem
Photonz – 1551
Legowelt – Visions In My Mind
OHM – Tribal Tone
Walter Ego – Fruit Punch
Champion Presents Hayfever – Ground Collapse (forthcoming Formula)
PALACE – Eclipse
Trumpet & Badman – Bang Dis
Shadow Dancer – Hydrate
DJ Haus – Speak N Spell
Matrixxman, POL Style & Vin Sol – Born to do it
PALACE – Trust
Deckstar – Make It THrough
Zibba – Say To You 2013 Remaster
Classififed Say To You
South Yorks Slugs – Short Back N Sides
Mumdance – Spring Time
Jess N Crabbe – Big Booya (Kodiak Remix)
Mista Men – Anything U Want
Marcus Mixx – Use Your Mouth To Love Me (Teeth Mix)
Dubbel Dutch – B Leave
Spooky – Baby
DJ Q – All Junglist VIP
Lake Haze – Tsunami Riddim
Delroy Edwards – Yo Bitch (white)
Wesley Jay & Shimano – Jazz Music (white)
DJ Stingray – Assassin
