It is 20 years later and this record still stands the test of time. I distinctly remember when this record dropped it was a huge game changer, and really put the thick tripped out sound of the West Coast on the map, and created a sound that would be imitated for a while to come.
In the mid to late 90’s there were records by Dj Buck, Doc Martin, Leaf Recordings, Wicked, Come Unity etc that laid the foundation to this record by bringing the sound of the whole coast to the world. On “Hear Dis Sound” there was this perfect blend of the artwork done by Skribblez and this rich dubbed out party rocking set of tracks that captured something that had yet to be seen or heard on such a large scale as such a pivitol moment in the lineage of dance music. This record opened so many doors for so many of us all over the world, whether you call it “West Coast house” or whether it fit into the new genre known as “Tech House” is irrelevant- it was a massive hit.
At the time this came out, I knew Hipp-e from the days of the underground rave circuit in North America from the 90’s and I didn’t really know Halo at all then as he was more a part of the midwest North American scene, originally hailing from Chicago before moving to San Diego. Their success was almost over night after this record dropped, they were a global phenomenon.
About the same time Peace Division had also kind of honed in on this type of sound with a double pack, but their take- a more UK style and I think each others successes piggybacked each other. You literally had these 2 production duos pop out around the same time with a comparable vibe and people wanted more of this type of stuff to play, and thus that sound and movement was born.
For the anniversary the original mix has had a set of remixes from artists who truly understand how to bring new life to this project. Each remix brings something new and unique to the legacy of this track.
The first remix from the Romanian Duo- Livio and Roby has a very interesting modern,yet classic take. The deepest and most musical of the package, this rendition ditches the dub elements for a more straight to the floor groove that develops into this vintage almost Larry Heard esque piano riff, string section accompaniment and rolling synth bass. Its a highly developed excursion into the real deep house sound from the 90’s.
Next up we have Yoyaku and Irenic’s Roger Gerressen bringing us a warm rich percussive outing. He himself is known for these deep stripped down drum grooves with ever evolving pads and dubbed out elements, so his take on this captures the feel of the original, perfectly melding it to his trademark pads and shuffle hats that we have come to expect from this staple of the underground.
Parisian mainstay D’Julz does what he does best, forward driving bass, hints of dub, and this evolving groove that takes you on a journey style arrangement. I remember about 5 years ago I wanted a rip of this and he had one, its like fate that he remixed it.
Per Hammar bring forth his futuristic forward thinking approach to the project, tight clean production and that swirl of soundscapes often heard in the projects. His track builds and builds to this pivitol breakdown that is sure to destroy any dancefloor, and swiftly right back into a nod to the original.
The head honcho at Fuse- Enzo Siragusa brings his signature style of pumping pulsating grooves sweet dichotomy of introducing lush chords in the breakdown. He then pulls it all back into the meat of the track and back into the chords again. This rendition has a type of feel akin to a vintage Mood2Swing dub. This has a nice balance that would work amazing in a club setting or in an underground warehouse. -Words written by: Jay Tripwire
A1 – Hear Dis Sound
B1 – Hear Dis Sound (Livio & Roby Remix)
C1 – Hear Dis Sound (Roger Gerressen Remix)
C2 – Hear Dis Sound (D’julz Remix)
D1 – Hear Dis Sound (Per Hammar Remix)
D2 – Hear Dis Sound (Enzo Siragusa Remix)