A legendary figure on the UK house music scene, Luke Solomon has returned to the limelight this Autumn with the relaunch of his and Derrick Carter’s revered Classic label. He first made his name with the legendary Space parties with Kenny Hawkes in our fair capital city, running at the intimate Bar Rumba in Picadilly Circus from 1995 to 2002 – one of London’s best-respected underground house nights that brought names as big as Francois K, Dave Angel and Joe Smooth to the tiny basement club.
But it’s Classic that has earned him a place in the global house music conscience. Starting at catalogue number 100 and working their way back down to 1, he and Carter brought us classics from DJ Sneak, Isolee, Freeform Five, Tiefschwarz, Markus Nikolai and tons more – and their decision to relaunch the imprint with remixes of back catalogue tracks and new productions has been welcomed with open arms. Lest we forget also his superb live act Freaks - whose quirky blend of funk and tech-house makes for one of the most enjoyable live experiences in dance music – and the accompanying Music For Freaks label.
A true hero of the UK scene, he’s put together this Podcast for us rounding up some of his biggest and best-loved grooves from this summer, including some of the new Classic remixes.
Sum up this podcast in 10 words...
Something old, something new. Something borrowed and something else new.
What’s your personal favourite track on it?
I really like Derrick’s re- edit of Transfusion. It was great to re-discover a record on your own label that you had totally forgotten about, and then give it a new lease of life.
What’s the special ingredient in this mix?
I like playing odd records and I like having my own versions of records that I edit.
It tends to make it my own. With that as a combination I guess it adds up as one big special ingredient.
What’s the best gig you’ve played recently?
I had a lot of fun at the Space re-union I did with Kenny Hawkes. It was great to did out a lot of old records that we used to play at the club and play them all over again.
What have you got coming up
I have been super busy. Finished remixes on new single on Rekids. I mixed People, Places, as has Tobi Neumann. I have also just finished a single for Innervisions, and a single for Buzzin’ Fly. Taken up a new residency under the Little Creatures moniker at EastVillage in London…I could go on
J
And finally, do you have a special message for our readers?
Listen hard, dance harder….
Tracklisting:
Loco Dice - Tight Laces [Desolat]
? - ? [Front Room]
Droido - Doodles [Missive Music]
As is Now - Unknown [CDR]
Rob Mello - Critical (Fabrice Lig Remix) [Classic]
EP - Kink [Dot Bleep]
CDV - Transfusion (Derrick Carter re-edit) [Classic]
Mark Broom - Bounce [2020 Vision]
Pied Plat - Unknown (Luke Solomon Re-edit) [CDR]
Luke Solomon - Return To Darkly [Crosstown Rebels]
Radioslave - Bell Clap Dance (Simon Baker Remix) [Rekids]