Rush Hour’s cream of the crop

Rush Hour’s cream of the crop

23 September, 2009 | 6.17AM

• Written by: Terry Church
• Filed under: Music News: amsterdam, dj charts, rush hour

Music flows through Rush Hour’s small base in Amsterdam, like water through the city’s canal system. A continuous stream of imports and exports, vinyl and CDs, artists and DJs, pass through this company which feeds the wider world.

Rush Hour is a record store, a mail-order and distribution outlet, and a record label, but at its heart, it is simply a filter. A mill that dips into the ocean of today’s music and extracts the best bits.

“We only buy and sell the cream of the crop, a special selection of the best music we can find,” says Rush Hour’s co-founder Christiaan Macdonald. In 1996, Macdonald met Antal Heitlager and through a mutual appreciation of quality house and techno, they set up a mail-order company from their own homes.

They imported hard-to-find grooves from Chicago, Detroit, New York City, the UK, and Germany, and sent it through the post to anyone who wanted it. Then a year later, they opened a small record store in Amsterdam’s city centre.

“None of the music we liked was making it into the stores in Amsterdam, and we felt the city was a bit empty musically, so we opened the shop,” says Christiaan.

“We aimed to fill the void left behind by the other stores, and apparently we weren’t the only ones thinking that, as Rush Hour began attracting lots of music lovers. It worked.”

Rush Hour began as a house and techno store, and even though those sounds remain a core part of their business, they also sell jazz, funk, dubstep, disco, hip hop, and electronica.

“Diversity is the key to our success maybe, but we don’t do everything. Over the years Rush Hour has been known to cater to certain sounds, which people have dubbed the ‘Rush Hour Sound’,” says Macdonald.

With a brand and a sound emerging, Macdonald and Heitlager launched Rush Hour the record label in 1999, an idea that began on the shop floor.

“A lot of music people started coming to the store, and soon we were distributing some of their labels,” says Christiaan. “A lot of guys were hanging around, talking about music in the store, and some of them were producing music in their bedrooms, so we decided to create a platform for those people who we met. At first it was local people, guys like Aardvark, and Aroy Dee, but also producers from abroad.

“Dan Curtain was one of the first US people on the label. Over the years, we’ve put out a lot of music, but it’s difficult to describe the Rush Hour sound because we are broad in our outlook.”

That can be seen from their extensive backcatalog, which includes Detroit techno from producers like Kenny Larkin, Carl Craig, and Rick Wade, classic Chicago sounds from Abicah Soul Project, and techno and electronica from Dutch artists such as Tom Trago, Technose Distrikt, and Comtron.

In 2007 Rush Hour Recordings celebrated its 10th anniversary, and this year the label has released a inspiring amount of forward-thinking releases.

“We’ve recently been putting out a lot of reissues, because everything goes in cycles and a lot of younger kids are starting to explore the roots of today’s music,” says Macdonald.

“We have a compilation from Daniel Wang coming up, who I’ve always loved. His music is fun, and not too serious. We also have a compilation from Anthony Shakir, and Tom Trago is working on a new Voyage Direct record.”

Disco sounds have also begun to wheedle their way onto the Rush Hour label, as well as into the record store.

“I think it’s inevitable that as kids grow a little older they try to find out the heritage of the music they listen to, and then discover the history behind it all,” says Christiaan.

“All of the sudden there’s an interest in disco music and disco-flavoured house so we’re repressing a lot of disco music now as this generation wasn’t around when it first came out.”

Macdonald is happy to talk about music, and seems in his element when he is asked about trends and music theories. After 14 years of buying and selling music his knowledge runs deep, and with a willingness to share ideas, he isn’t the archetypal moody-guy-behind-the-record-store-counter-with-a-superiority-complex.

It’s the way Rush Hour has always been - a place to discuss music.

“Rush Hour has always been a social place,” says Christiaan, “And that’s why we always kept the store. When it did a little less sales a few years back, we wondered whether we should close it, but then we realised that it was the key to our whole company. Music should be a social thing, and people hang out at the store. We do in-store events, and that’s very important.

“There’s always a few pillars that support any music scene, and one is obviously clubs and radio, and I would say another is record stores. Whenever one of these falls off, it damages the scene.”

Despite this sentiment, Macdonald sees the value of digital download stores, and believes that “Digital download sites were a good addition to the existing situation. We began as a mail order company, and like digital, it helps people in small villages or cities far away to get good music. Availability is important.

“Actually, I think it’s the other way around now, and physical stores are a good addition to digital. I sincerely hope that physical stores don’t disappear and I dont think they will.”

Will digital ever be able to replace the record store experience of having someone with knowledge personally recommend you music? “Amazon and other sites try to do the whole ‘if you like this, you might like this’ thing, but it’s always automated and not that helpful, plus you can’t ever really replace that personal, face-to-face touch.”

Well, we can always try. With this in mind, we asked Rush Hour’s Christiaan Macdonald to personally recommend his top 10 favourites from the label’s releases in 2009:

Christiaan’s Rush Hour 2009 Top 10

Kink & Neville Watson ‘Blueprint’

‘Blueprint’ was released at the tail end of 2008, and it got picked up this year. I really enjoy their take on the classic Chicago house sound. Both tracks are equally good I reckon.

Nebraska ‘Terrestrial Variations’

This got originally released about 10 years ago. We dusted it off and re-released it at the start off this year. ‘My Brother’ was a big track in Amsterdam when it came out and it still is.

Nebraska did a second EP for us and a third one will be out in November.

Tom Trago ‘Voyage Direct’

‘Lost In The Streets Of NYC’ got added to this release at the very last minute and I’m happy that we did include it as it is my favorite cut now.

I like the diversity within the genre of this album - something there for everyone. ‘On The Side’ goes down well too: raw house shit!

Rick Wade ‘Presents Harmonie Park’

Rick’s music is that original Detroit house sound that we love so much here. Hard to pick a favorite as this is a compilation of his best work, but if I had to choose one, I’d go for ‘Prime Time’. Banging!

Future Beat Alliance ‘Dark Passenger’

This was the last release in the LTD series. My pick from this release would be ‘Relentless’, which is an apt title for this track.

This how I like techno to be, bombastic, dramatic, and steady.

Rondenion ‘Love Bound’

More raw house stuff here, and I love ‘Carnival Time’. ‘...Night and Day I was patient, but I had all I could take.... Tonight is party time’.

Cinnaman & Jay Scarlett present ‘Beat Dimensions Vol. 2 (A)’

One for the heads. Check the Nosaj Thing ‘FWD’ track. This is probably as techno as hip hop can be. This compilation is full of beats like that.

B.D.I. ‘City & Industry’

This is just out, B.D.I. is a new new producer from Ireland. I enjoyed the ‘Aardvarck meets Recloose’ vibe that these tracks have. Wild!

Daniel Wang ‘The Balihu Years 1993 - 2008’

‘Like Some Dream’ is Danny’s first release and it is probably his most loved. A full ‘Best Of’ compilation is on the way.

Tom Trago ‘Voyage Direct Remixes’

The Yuro Trago is my favorite remix of the bunch - good for a party. Motor City Drum Ensemble gets a lot of good feedback too, as does anything he touches these days, it seems.

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