It’s been 20 years since House of Downtown launched their first album Release in a packed out St James Theatre in 2001. The iconic dance music creators have just put out a new album of Release remixes, aptly named Re-Release and they’re launching it at Neck of the Woods this Saturday. We caught up with Christiaan Ercolano to talk about the house scene back in the early 2000s, celebrating both the original tracks and the new remixes and what to expect at the party this weekend.
It’s been twenty years since Release but right now feels like the perfect timing for Re-Release and the reemergence of House of Downtown. Was this timing planned or more cosmic or a bit of both? What is it about 2021 that makes it feel like the right time to bring these songs back?
None of this was planned full stop. It started this year when Tim Phin asked House of Downtown to play a 20th anniversary our:house event, which we were into!
Then at the weekly music meet with Dave Ti (DiCE_NZ ) he had the realisation that a 20y/o album that is "not embarrassing ... and worth celebrating”. Dave has worked his ass off pulling together House of Downtown’s years of club nights with his passion, and hard work into only a 2-3 month project, its amazing…and we have a (sort of new) great album to show for it!
Dave Ti
You’re one of New Zealand’s best known electronic outfits, but your roots are in hiphop, soul and RnB. How did that background affect what you created back then and does it still affect what you’re making now?
It totally affects the music. I hated the fast stuff for the longest time, but had also loved Nu Jack Swing back in the day, that music had a 116 -118bpm range, but it swung … a lot!
When the French kids started making slower filtered disco styles I was in … Nas Illmattic was the last hip hop album I bought after MOTORBASS.
I have a very deliberate everything house but house approach to every song, there are so many great grooves out there!!! Oh and vocal, vocal, vocals!
There will be some people reading this who weren’t old enough to hit the clubs back in the early 2000s. Can you describe the club scene back then for them?
Well, the person who had spent all the available money on vinyl was allowed to choose the music LOL. Dance music was also the chart favourite at the time, just like in 1978, so the nightclub was the main event in the city, you went in late and partied till the sun came up, simple. The “house scene” now often just bangs and builds, I feel the long 4 hour set with the considered musical journey is underrated and rare now – Sadly largely missing in clubland…and 7AM closing helped good things get worse….
Christiaan Ercolano
Are there any gigs from the heyday of House of Downtown that stand out as really special or memorable?
Oh yeah! An early Deep Hard and Funky. It was a disused movie theatre and the air con was not there! The gig went off and the ceiling was dripping with sweat, the drips were so heavy, I lost all the writing on my setlist, unreadable! Unreal stormer of a show!
You’ve recently released a new remix of Rise Above. What new experiences/tastes/tech/skills from the last 20 years contributed to making this remix?
The tech was CD ROMs, the original CD ROMs Emerson and I took to London to mix still worked!! We gave those stems to some friends for remixing all over the world (London, Berlin, Munich, Sydney, Ibiza), as well as a song available for the public to remix through The Rockshop - That could never happen in 2001!! The original taste didn’t change, but tech wise, everything has changed. Making music now can be a playful, zen like experience. The original Release album was made on 2 MPC samplers, with bits of records bent and twisted into time and pitch, sometime over days (or nights) … Now everything is a light, quick experiment … Knowing what was best is the harder part now
Roger Perry
DJ Phully
What kind of vibe or experience should people expect for this upcoming gig?
Oh always the party vibe. I’m gonna bring up-lifting grooves - I’m bringing unheard remixes of House of Downtown tunes! And I’m bringing the talkbox for extra funk! We are also bringing in old skool heavyweight Roger Perry, back in the House of Downtown day producer DJ Phully, and DiCE_NZ with his live percussionist, so it’s all on like 2001! A ONE TIME EVENT!!!
The A side of Re-Release is out this Friday on Spotify
GET TICKETS TO THIS WEEKEND’S ALBUM LAUNCH AND ONE TIME EVENT AT iTICKET
