TR-One are a passionate pair, that much is obvious. Listening to their records, watching them perform or even just talking to them, it becomes clear very quickly that these two guys live and breathe what they do. And what they do is House.
In an era where laptops and analog emulation is the norm, their live show needs to be seen to be believed. Each one is a chaotic and euphoric trip through classic dancefloor-filling sounds made right there in front of you by an unimaginable host of vintage hardware (and a lamp). It sounds real because it is real. The same intensity carries through to their strictly vinyl DJ sets and original recordings. Living In, Now, a new 12″ EP on POGO records, drops on the 28th of May and they’re having a big ol’ party on Saturday in the Twisted Pepper to celebrate. You’ll find more details about that here.
So, to celebrate that launch and give you some insight into what makes TR-One tick, Dean Feeney and Eddie Reynolds have given us a personal guide to the Chicago House tracks that are most important to them. Some are obscure or rare, some not at all, but these tracks all sound just as good now as they did back in the heyday of Trax and the Warehouse.
TR-One’s Guide to Chicago House (Part One):
Fingers Inc. – A Path (from the “Another Side” LP, Jack Trax) – 1988
The partnership of Larry Heard and Robert Owens fostered some of the deepest early Chicago cuts with Owens’s vocals a perfect complement to Larry’s grooves. Here we have inspirational lyrics from Owens over a stripped down groove, and a fierce bassline wrapped around some reverb drenched drums which hit hard, really hard. Dark and jacking; it says very little yet proves that sometimes simplicity is the most expressive vehicle.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf8KnPHbViU?rel=0]
Glenn Crocker – Vibes (Chicago Underground) – 1992
Early Glenn Crocker (aka Glenn Underground) collaboration with Craig Gilliam and Steve Poindexter on the short lived Chicago Underground label. GU’s trademark deftness on keys is accompanied by jacking Chicago drums. We have an obsession with snares, this track being partly responsible. ‘Entercourse of the New Age’ on the flip is equally brilliant.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3WkojKMuKI?rel=0]
Maurice Joshua feat. Hot Hands Hula – Feel The Mood (Trax) – 1988
The B-side to the modestly titled ‘I Gotta Big Dick’, this simple yet perfect combination of 303, Roland Drum Machine (909 in this case) and strings with vocals rocking atop the groove which was created and perfected by early Chi-town producers. Straight-up acid energy to jack to in dark clubs; this has been a staple in our sets for years.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOf2XjJo5XE?rel=0]
Boo Williams – Out of Sink Jazz (Nitelife Collective) – 2000
This one is really special to us. Boo is a real hero of ours who, back when this was about to drop, gave a promo copy of it to a friend who then gave it to us and we’ve been playing it heavily ever since. This one goes deep with a soulful break around 3 mins in, followed by the unfolding of some of the sweetest solos in house music. The A-side is a solid house jam which samples Joe Tex’s ‘Aint Gonna Bump No More’.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX4jwt-8mdY?rel=0]
Ten City – That’s The Way Love Is (Steve Silk Hurley Deep House mix – Atlantic) – 1989
This is possibly one of the most beautiful tracks ever recorded, it simply has it all. Heartfelt and profound lyrics capture all the hope and pain of that most transient human experience which at different points in our lives has equal capacity to connect or haunt us. The lyrics are underpinned by a 303 line which seems to somehow match their intensity and emotion. Simply put – if you’re not moved by this, then you’re not human.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MABAAAFLNs?rel=0]
Your history lesson continues thus ->
