Both a fan of the number and the machine, Michigander Music boss Brian Kage has always related eight to the paths we take in life — and being on the right one. For the label's eighth release, Kage pays homage to electronic music's futuristic past by bringing it up to speed with the present, including reimagining one of his own releases from when net labels were a thing.

Opening with "808 and the Great Lakes State," there's a clear influence — in title and sound — from a certain seminal pioneering Manchester techno group, 808 State — who formed and debuted in '88, by the way. With the recent passing of one of its members, Andy Barker, the track exists as a tribute to the formative moments and blissful memories of those '90s experience. The most iconic touches of this new age techno and acid sound are all there, but the end result is something more subtle, more spacious, and more patient for the modern ear.

Kage follows up with a new mix, re-envisioning "Eight Ways" — a deep, pulsating techno journey originally released on Thinner almost 20 years ago. With the "808 Mix," Kage takes the mentally stimulating hypnotism of the original and emboldens it into something more body driven by way of 808 bass kicks and sharpened hi-hats — a matured version begging for immediate dance floor play. The underlying liquid pads remain, with symphonic layers of increasingly dramatic piano chords, fluttery synth lines, and a heavens-opening ebb and flow of angelic melodies.

Finishing off the release, "Learn to Surrender" is pure electronic Detroit techno through and through. Electrically charged dub chords build on top of a revolving synth and rhythmic bass line, interwoven to constantly propel the track forward. Midway through, meditative vocals provide a mantra for surrendering to life, having already led listeners to becoming lost in the fully immersive sea of sounds.

“808 and the Great Lakes State” is a purposeful, mental, and physical trip connecting the many points of electronic music — and of life itself — as only a truly timeless approach can.

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Brian Kage returns on Michigander with the, “Best Kept Secret EP.” Kage once again provides three deeply emotional dance tracks filled with his signature warmth that immediately draw connections between personal memories and Michigan’s natural splendor. Best Kept Secret starts the record off with tones of hypnotic bells that cascade down from within minor chords that hypnotize the listener until they are met with swelling strings to tie the infectious grooves to intelligent vintage percussion. Lush vocals continue building into an atmosphere of nostalgia and eventually gives way to that moment of intimacy that can only be felt outdoors while exploring with a person they love. Lost on Old Free-soil Road features a detuned analog synth-line that winds up and down over a bed of spooky night-time forest field-recordings which are encompassed by a jackin’ 909 beat . Suddenly, juno stabs straight from the 80’s pierce through sending the syncopated grooves back the direction they came from taking dancers along for the joyful ride. Cruise Control on US-31 rounds out the record with an infectious blend of pitched wooden toms, warm mid-range bass, deep 303 lines, and a smoky pad straight from a vintage rhodes. All these elements help keep the composition positive & relaxing, while expertly conjuring the feeling of sun on your face. This tune is the perfect tool for any DJ interested in luring day-partiers to a space where they can’t resist bobbing their heads and enjoying their summer outside.

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After releases on FXHE, Deeplabs, and Planet-E, Brian Kage returns with “The Arc EP,” a new record on his new label, Michigander. “The Arc EP” is dedicated to celebrating hopeful and inspiring times in the city of Detroit. The Arc - Dark minor chord stabs emerge and echo around a solid concrete foundation of classic 909 style drum patterns and deep pulsating bassline hits. The structure builds until giving way to a break of lush symphonic strings that pay tribute to Detroit in a nostalgic manner. The Arc (Stringless Mix) has been crafted for creating and releasing cascades of tension in the darkest of warehouses. D Drive – A saturated synth lead effortlessly bounces through two octaves in a classic groove that is unmistakably from an alternative universe where the 80s never ended. This feel-good jam will get even the toughest of crowds smiling and rocking out. Transcending – This contemplative soundscape flings percussive hisses rippling through a deep melodic realm. An atmosphere of timeless synthesis provides reassurance that it was a great decision to come out wearing comfortable shoes and dressed to sweat.

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Mona Lee aka Lissa Callens and WPH label man Red D go a long way back. Red D always knew it was a matter of time before Mona Lee would come up with some music he could not refuse. A gig together and the first notes of ‘The Reason’ and that was that.

Classic house that would make Kerri Chandler proud is the order of the title track. A bright piano melody, a good vocal hook and rough and ready beats in a crisp production that will shake up any dancefloor. Red D himself delivers a dub that focuses on the hooks and makes them shine even more on top of a killer funky bass line. For good U.S. house measure Atlanta’s finest Stefan Ringer steps up to deliver his trademark dusty twist on things. As a bonus you get ‘Spaces & Places’, a delicate organic deep house beauty with Mona Lee scatting ever so subtly to make you go out of your home and out of your head.

It’s house, it’s good and it will make you dance and sing.

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Ever since Levon Vincent came and played at Red D’s We Play House night in Ghent’s infamous Decadance club back in 2012 there has been a strong mutual respect between both veterans of New York and Belgium nightlife respectively. Levon’s unique form of house and techno music always finds its way into the crates of Red D and over the years the two have shared the bill on nights ranging from Berlin’s Panorama Bar to various festivals around Europe.

Getting Levon Vincent to join his U.S. Series on We Play House Recordings was a no-brainer for Red D and a matter of honouring their mutual respect. And so here we have it: a classic Levonesque piece of dubbed out house that moves and shakes across 10 minutes of heady deepness on the A-side and an equally dubbed out Red D affair on the B-side inspired by the likes of Maurizio and Echocord. An E.P. in the vein of its authors…with attitude and determination.

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Some 30 years after first putting on a slab of vinyl in front of an audience Belgian DJ mainstay Red D presents his debut album called ‘Fantasize Then Realize’ under his Red Basics guise. An experienced and versatile DJ if ever there is one, it was logical that his album takes in a wealth of influences from around the house and techno block and features some of his best musical friends and inspirations. From his ‘go to’ singer Lady Linn, to his musical friend and partner in FCL San Soda via Belgian stronghold Lefto, to his Detroit buddy Reggie Dokes: these are the people Red D has been working with and learning from for years on end.

The music ranges from the dreamy beatless title track to the sleazy spoken word ‘Just Like Hercules’ up to the Larry Heard-inspired deepness ‘Compelled’ and including the melancholy of ‘The Larkin’.

Locked down during the first months of the Covid 19 madness Red D had no more ‘I’m too busy to get into the studio’ excuses and all the inspiration gathered during the countless hours of DJ’ing and listening to records in the last 30 years simply poured out. Making track after track was daily (and nightly) business and after a while the idea of a full album simply came naturally. The next lockdowns were spent fine-tuning the tracks, coming up with lyrics and finalizing the tracklist.

The result is ‘Fantasize Then Realize’, Red D’s debut album and a testament to his sound and attitude.

Side A
Fantasize
The Larkin
Don’t Want It

Side B
Angelic Drums At Dawn (featuring Lefto)
Harmonie Dark (featuring San Soda)

Side C
Just Like Hercules (featuring Max Erotic)
Solid Dancer

Side D
Smoothness She Brings (featuring Reggie Dokes)
Devious Monday
And Rise (featuring Classy Lassy)

DJ FEEDBACK:

DJ Feedback ‘Fantasize Then Realize’

Mousse T:”22 Shoulders, hell yeah!”
Laurent Garnier: “Thanks a lot for these tracks. There’s some lovelyyyyyyy deeeeeepness in there. Love it.”
Levon Vincent: “I gave the LP a listen, nice one! I thought ‘Devious Monday’ was captivating and I liked the work with Classy Lassy as well. Congrats!”
Ka§par:"When a guys knows what he's doing, it sounds like it's real. Great tracks, loving it more and more the further we go."
Roberto Rodriguez: "Classy album! Red D quality!"
Nacho Marco: "Loving it, hard to pick a favorite. Thanks!!"
Kong: "Big up Bart, well done. Belgium = house = Red D!!"
Melon: "House music represent! Love it, feel it & gonna drop it. Great stuff :)"
Simon Caldwell: "Some really special house music on this album. Many thanks!!"
OOFT!: "Yes! This sounds amazing! Authentic underground house music just the way I like it :)"
Massimiliano Pagliara: "Nice tunes!"
Tomaz: "We all knew Bart knows where it's at but this is ridiculously good. Hard to pick a fave. The collabs are great, so are the ‘solo’ tracks. I picked the single with Lien as fave because that'll hopefully draw the deserved attention to the rest of the album. Top marks !"
Juliano: "Congrats for your album Bart ! love the deepness of the tracks and the authenticity you brought. Thank you"
Harri: "Liking these a lot, will play and support."
Alex Barck: "That's a great piece of work"
Quintessentials: "All around fantastic album! Congrats!"
Lauer: "Respect, amigo!"
Darko Esser: "Beautiful album, congrats mate great work!"

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Sampler for RED D's forthcoming LP project " How does one select a single from an upcoming full album? When you have someone like Lady Linn on vocals that is actually quite easy. Lady Linn has been the go to singer for Red D and San Soda’s infamous FCL project since day one. Tracks like ‘It’s You’, ‘More Than Seven’, ‘Can We Try’, etc would not have been the same without her sultry voice.

When making his debut album Red D called upon his musical peers to join in for some collabs and when Linn heard the basis of the track and the Red D-penned lyrics for ’22 Shoulders’ she was all up for it. Melancholy is the order of the day, but not without losing the power of the dance floor. It was after all the missing of that very same dance floor that inspired Red D to write this one.

Add the depth of the Larry Heard-inspired ‘Compelled’ on the B-side and you will know what to expect from Red D’s upcoming full album. Promotional copies of the album are already being rinsed by the likes of Prosumer, Laurent Garnier, Oliver Dollar and many more of Red D’s peers. So get on it matey!"

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Uni Son is the new ‘nom de plume’ of Jonathan Pardon aka Just Nathan, a long-time friend of the label and connoisseur of all things classy. So when he sent his album to WPH label boss Red D for an honest opinion and some pointers as to which label would like to release this the die was very easily cast. So for the third artist album on We Play House Recordings we present you ‘Moments In Unity’.

Inspired by those 4AM dancefloor moments where all are one and the whole history of club music ‘Moments In Unity’ is a stunning debut on all accounts. Uni Son has his very own sound that takes in original deep house, Balearic, acid, ambient and a lot more and delivers an instant classic from start to finish that will appeal to a wide variety of ears and tastes. Time to unite, both on and off the dancefloor.

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WPH label boss Red D has always considered Adham Zahran to be the Moodymann/Theo Parrish of Egypt, so it is only fitting that for his second release on the label Adham joins the WPH U.S. Series ranks. His deep dusty house sound oozes soul and groove and this release is no exception.

Opening track ‘Flowing Green’ kicks off the E.P. with shining chords that will go down like a treat on any house dancefloor in the hands of the right DJ. ‘No Sorrow’ takes things more heady, but make no mistake, it kicks like the proverbial mule if you let it roam free. On the B-side we first have Detroit’s mainstay Brian Kage on remix duties for the final track ‘Picture Of The Tree’, providing that extra motor city funk we all love. The original finishes the proceedings in – dare we say it – deepest fashion to round off another quality outing from the WPH camp.

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Being heavily influenced by the house sounds coming from the U.S. past and present it should not come as a surprise that Red D‘s WPH imprint is launching a new 12” series on which his favorite producers from Detroit, New York, Chicago and beyond get to shine in all their glory. A whole slew of Detroit and New York friends of the label have already confirmed to take part in this series, so good things await us!

But to kick things off we are extremely happy to present label boss Red D’s collaboration with Reggie Dokes, who has been a WPH regular since the very early days. Reggie Dokes and Red D a.k.a. RD² team up for three tracks full of electronic soul and analogue dirt, ranging from the ethereal beauty that is ‘Sharing Angels’ to the minimal dance of ‘Beyond Borders’ and the tribute to their respective cities of birth ‘From D To Shining D’. To complete the E.P. Reggie contributes the solo track ‘Birth Day’, bringing his trademark deepness to the table.

Time will tell if there was a better way to start this new series on WPH, but we are pretty happy with this one as it is. Stay tuned for more and enjoy!

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Krewcial is back on WPH after some seriously funky adventures on Marcel Vogel’s fine Lumberjacks In Hell label. We wanted to finish our 10” series in style and it’s safe to say that krewcial provided the goods. On the A-side ‘Plaster’ brings us raw vocal piano house of the highest order and a sure-fire hands in the air moment on any discerning dance floor.
On the flip ‘Proto’ is what proto says: raw house business for more Theo Parrish or Ron Hardy styled slam dancing damage. Since his house debut on WPH krewcial has been going from strength to strength and with this E.P. he shows no signs of slowing down.

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