West London’s Slip 'n' Slide was one of the UK’s original House imprints. Starting in 1994 with early releases and remixes from artists such as Blaze, Deep Dish, X-Press 2, King Britt, Masters At Work, Kings Of Tomorrow and Restless Soul, it set the benchmark for house music in the UK and gave a platform to artists who then went on to become all-time greats. This series revisits some of Slip ‘n’ Slide’s standout releases, gleefully wading through the entire musical history of the label, blowing the dust off those albums and singles that deserve another lease of life, and a place in your classic house collection.

Following on from their ‘Basic Blaze’ LP, New Jersey based duo Blaze wrote and produced the lyrically inspiring ‘Spiritually Speaking’ in 2002. The title is self-explanatory, taking you on another spiritual journey, seeped in soul with undertones of jazz. Each song is carefully but beautifully arranged with outstanding percussions, emotional lyrics and soulful vocals. Alongside singles ‘Breathe’, ‘Do You Remember House?’ and ‘I Think Of You’, tracks like ‘Sweeter Than The Day Before’ stand out; an up tempo, feel good love song accompanied by stunning gospel vocals. ‘Spiritually Speaking’ sees Blaze take the template they created on ‘Basic Blaze’ and push the boundaries to create songs that work on the dancefloor but live far beyond that simple classification.


Blaze 'Spiritually Speaking'

1. Blaze ‘Melodies Of Love’
2. Blaze ‘Breathe’
3. Blaze ‘Gloria Muse (The Yoga Song)’
4. Blaze featuring Palmer Brown ‘Do You Remember House?’
5. Blaze ‘Sweeter Than The Day Before’
6. Blaze ‘Where You Are’
7. Blaze featuring Amira ‘I Think Of You’
8. Blaze ‘Black Byrd Interlude / Spiritually Speaking’
9. Blaze ‘One World’
10. Blaze ‘Roots Interlude’
11. Blaze ‘Black Byrd’
12. Blaze ‘Black Byrd Flying Free’
13. Blaze ‘World Peace’

All Tracks Written by Kevin William Hedge & Joshua Alexander Milan
Produced, Mixed & Arranged by Blaze‘Melodies Of Love’ - Percussion by Kevin Jones‘Breathe’ - Vocals by Philip Bailey
Horns by Collectively Chops Horn Section (Sax Solo by Dave Watson, Horn Solo & Trumpet by Joe Romano, Trombone by Jett Dieterle)
Horn Arrangement by Daryl Dixon
Guitar by Dwayne Potts‘Do You Remember House?’ - Vocals by Palmer Brown‘Sweeter Than The Day Before’ - Alto Saxophone by Daryl Dixon
Guitar by Dwayne Potts‘Where You Are’ - Tenor Saxophone Solo by Dave Watson‘I Think Of You’ - Vocals by Amira
Backing Vocals by Amira & Blaze‘Black Byrd Interlude / Spiritually Speaking’ - Flute Solo by Dave Watson
Percussion by Kevin Jones‘One World’ - Guitar by Dwayne Potts
Horns by Collectively Chops Horn Selection
Tenor Sax by Dave Watson
Trombone by Jeff Dieterle
Trumpet Solo by Joe Romano
Horn Arrangement & Alto Sax by Daryl Dixon‘Black Byrd’ - Soprano Sax by Daryl Dixon‘Black Byrd Flying Free’ - Flute Solo by Dave Watson
All Tracks Vocal Arrangements & Other Instruments by Blaze
All Tracks Published by Music of Nia Songs (BMI)/Haripa Music Publishing
P&C 2002 Defected Records Limited dba Slip ‘n’ Slide