LESSON 4: MAKE A MESS!
"I remember house before it was called house. I remember house when house respected house. I remember house when house grew on the roots of house. I remember house when house was soul music and r'n'b, before house was disco. I remember house before the superclubs. I remember house when people knew the lyrics of house. I remember house before record labels sold the house. I remember house when house was about love..."
Luke Solomon is undeniably one of British house music’s unsung heroes, with an impressive track record of underground success.
Don’t believe us ? Then read on!
No-one could debate Luke Solomon’s dance music credentials. From setting up the seminal label Classic Recordings with Derrick Carter to taking quirky house to the UK Top 10 and international charts, with his band Freaks, to DJing around the globe and performing live, Luke has been there for many of the more interesting 4/4 moments of the last decade.
After kicking off his DJ career at Middlesex University in the early 90’s, it wasn’t long before Luke was moving in the upper reaches of house music. A gig with Derrick Carter led the two to become friends, after which Classic Recordings was born. For 9 years, the label introduced the world to the likes of DJ Sneak, Tiefschwarz, Isolee and Freeform 5 and garnered a cult following until distribution difficulties led to the last single issuing forth in 2006.
Running alongside this was the birth and growth of Freaks, the production team Luke started with Justin Harris in 1996. Under the Freaks moniker, Luke & Justin have turned out a slew of singles and longplayers on their own Music For Freaks imprint to include the albums, The Beat Diaries, Meanwhile Back At The Disco and The Man Who Lived Underground. These albums spawned some of Freaks seminal singles such as Turning Orange, Where Were You When The Lights Went Out and of course their huge underground hit, The Creeps. They have also found themselves remixing the likes of Alison Limerick, Pulp, Damon Alban, Kasabian, The Streets & Duran Duran.
However, besides having chart success throughout the world and running a successful label, Luke really feels like his own career is just beginning. As a solo artist he has had releases on a variety of labels to include the very respected Crosstown Rebels. His 1st artist album “The Difference Engine” was released in 2008 on Radio Slave’s much applauded Rekids label. A sprawling trip of an album, the 13 tracks span all manners of genre and moods with the dancefloor energy offset by an experimental ambience not normally associated with house. While Solomon productions of old were filled with an off kilter sense of fun, there is a serious side to “The Difference Engine” that belies the cheerful confidance of the man behind it. The personal feel of the album is further fuelled by the lyrical content and one of the standout moments is “The Darkest Secret”, a track featuring Earl Gateshead of Trojan Soundsystem and reminiscent of John Cooper Clark, the 70’s punk poet. For Luke, Earl was an obvious choice to work with as he filled the role of the poet perfectly, so they ended up writing the song together in an ice cream shop in Chalk Farm!
But what does the future hold for Mr Solomon? Well besides continuing to travel around the world to DJ (playing the likes of Panorama Bar, Berlin, Fabric, London, Moxa Club, Italy, Zukunft, Switzerland, D-Edge, Brazil) releasing new material from Freaks on Rebirth Records, creating a new club moniker, Lukatron which will see it’s first release on Quintessential and continuing to remix under Luke Solomon and Freaks guises, Luke has also just finished recording his 2nd artist album “ Timelines” which features the likes of Jon Marsh from The Beloved, Tiger,Tiger & Natalie Broomes on vocals.
So whether it’s a second coming or not, one things for sure, Luke’s credentials are most certainly not to be argued with.
https://lukesolomon.com
https://www.facebook.com/lukesolomon
https://www.facebook.com/ClassicMusicCompany
https://classicmusiccompany.bandcamp.com
https://powerdance.bandcamp.com
>>LINE UP:
Luke Solomon (CLASSIC MUSIC COMPANY, POWERDANCE LONDON UK.)
DJ Aleksi (SMOOD, DEPT.)
Mr.A (Resident)
>WHERE? DTM, MANNERHEIMINTIE 6B, HELSINKI
>WHEN? SATURDAY 31.03.2018
>WHAT TIME? 21-06
>HOW MUCH? 10€ (BEFORE 23) 12€ (AFTER)
>FOR WHO? ALL THE REBEL GAYS AND QUEERS AND THEIR
FRIENDS
FOLLOW US ON IG: #rebelshki
LIKE US ON FB: rebelshki
LISTEN TO US ON SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/user/djmra/playlist/3rMhyKuP8s2CNOYemkxRcR
