Justin Jack’s New York house classics

Justin Jack’s New York house classics

25 June, 2010 | 9.18AM

• Written by: Justin Jack
• Filed under: Music News: black legend, classics, kick junkie, ralphi rosario, river ocean, sizequeen, soho

In the 80’s, I was a kid influenced by the disco my babysitters would play when my parents went out. But my first trip to the record store, New York’s Rock & Soul and Eightball Records shops, I brought back a pile of 12” records. Feeling like a kid in a candy store, my appetite for house music was more than a fix; it became a passion filled with spine-tingling moments that will live for a lifetime.

The Kick Junkie, ‘Kick It In’

Listening to all the mix shows coming out of New York, one of my personal favorites came from The Kick Junkie aka Keith Litman on Cutting Records, with electronic stabs and straight-ahead percussions bumpin’ along the scat riff “Aya-Nim-Ba-Yo”. I will never forget the first time I heard this—I flew across the room to make sure the tape deck was running! 

Sizequeen, ‘I Am Ready’

A few years later, I was just old enough to enjoy the New York nightlife and began hitting up all the big parties. Peter Rauhofer, Junior Vasquez, and Hex Hector all held big nights at the infamous clubs of the city: Roxy, Sound Factory, Palladium, USA and Limelight. One track that could be heard throughout the city on any given night was Sizequeen’s‘I Am Ready’. Pure energy: with its tribal beats and infamous hook “I Am Ready”, it was the peak track of the night for months and would eventually evolve into a true classic for Peter Rauhofer’s Star 69 Label.

Soho, ‘Hot Music’

This next track brings me back to a place on 14th Street in Soho called Nell’s, a dimly lit bar with a small dancefloor where resident Derek Corley would grace the decks every week and play the most interesting mix of flavorful house music.  Soho’s ‘Hot Music’ is a track that uses a funky jazz horn and percussion to bring the “live” element to the music. What a tasty joint! 

Ralphi Rosario, ‘You Used To Hold Me’

A true pioneer in house music is Ralphi Rosario. Well known for ‘You Used To Hold Me’ and his remix of Nikita Warren’s ‘I Need You’, a favorite of mine. The melodic vocal hook grabbed me from the start, but Ralphi’s arrangement and use of the one-bar piano loop and kick/hat shuffle made this one of my all time favorites!

Joey Beltram, ‘Future Groove’

Joey Beltram’s ‘Future Groove’ is another personal gem in my archive of classics; a tough, filtered street-style vocal chant rocking the Juno 106 stock sound that would go on to inspire countless club classics. (Also check out ‘I Like to Move It’.)

Black Legend, ‘You See the Trouble With Me’

One of my all-time favorites is a mix of spoken-word soul and deep funky production by Italians Enrico Ferrari and Circo Sasso, aka Black Legend: ‘You See the Trouble With Me’. It’s got a soulful spoken-word vocal borrowed from a Barry White sample with a deep bass line that opens up into a disco break. This track sent me spinning, combining all the elements of house music that I love at the time. 

River Ocean, ‘Love & Happiness’

The unveiling of River Ocean’s ‘Love & Happiness’ at Warsaw in Miami during the ‘94 Winter Music Conference by Louie Vega, where the industry-only crowd packed into this south beach club for the legendary Magic Sessions Party, was a legendary moment. The mix of live Latin percussions and big house beats came alive, while the vocals of India made the experience electric. There was not a head in the room that did not walk away talking about how “magical” this track truly was. A classic was born!

Whether you are educating and inspiring the next generation of punters, or offering a train-spotting trip for the old skool heads, classics are epic moments in electronic music history that have set the tone for many of today’s big tunes!

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