Mono/Loco lands on Red Snapper with a paean to a pivotal time and place in the growth of the global house movement.
After the acid house revolution of the late 1980s, his native UK went 4-4 crazy. The dance press of the early 1990s was filled with news of nights in previously unfashionable venues as the big-name DJ circuit started to coalesce. The result? One nation under a groove.
Mono/Loco (aka Chris Reed) was in the thick of it, regularly attending venues such as Shelley's in Stoke, Quadrant Park in Liverpool and the Eclipse in Coventry - as well as Manchester's legendary Hacienda.
Heroic Dancefloor contains multiple nods to the soundtrack of that podium-pounding period, fusing its wide-eyed fervour to a contemporary sensibility. Yes, there are ravey stabs, snatches of diva vocal and held strings, but also pulsing pads and a smooth rolling groove.
'I was incredibly lucky that my formative clubbing experiences were at that point in time,' says Mono/Loco. 'It was political as well as hedonistic. The movement might not have changed the world as much as we thought it would, but it changed me.'
Heroic Dancefloor is the latest release from the Natural Rhythms family of labels, which also includes Grass Green, Electric Orange and Black Sands. Like Red Snapper, all take their names from Aotearoa-New Zealand's beautiful natural environment.
Completing the EP are remixes from fellow members of the Natural Rhythms collective, Soulfoundation and nineteen79.
The Soulfoundation (aka Red Snapper boss Sean Murray) interpretation is a similar mix of then and now - albeit inspired by New York and New Jersey rather than northern and central England. Stripped-back. With shuffling Todd Terry-style drums and swinging stabs, it's an altogether darker and dubbier affair.
Nineteen79's deep tech take is a big-room barnstormer firmly rooted in 2024. Weaving expertly processed parts from the original over defiantly different drums, it builds to a breakdown before roaring back to life with some breakbeat action.
Three very different mixes for three very different but equally heroic dancefloors.
After the acid house revolution of the late 1980s, his native UK went 4-4 crazy. The dance press of the early 1990s was filled with news of nights in previously unfashionable venues as the big-name DJ circuit started to coalesce. The result? One nation under a groove.
Mono/Loco (aka Chris Reed) was in the thick of it, regularly attending venues such as Shelley's in Stoke, Quadrant Park in Liverpool and the Eclipse in Coventry - as well as Manchester's legendary Hacienda.
Heroic Dancefloor contains multiple nods to the soundtrack of that podium-pounding period, fusing its wide-eyed fervour to a contemporary sensibility. Yes, there are ravey stabs, snatches of diva vocal and held strings, but also pulsing pads and a smooth rolling groove.
'I was incredibly lucky that my formative clubbing experiences were at that point in time,' says Mono/Loco. 'It was political as well as hedonistic. The movement might not have changed the world as much as we thought it would, but it changed me.'
Heroic Dancefloor is the latest release from the Natural Rhythms family of labels, which also includes Grass Green, Electric Orange and Black Sands. Like Red Snapper, all take their names from Aotearoa-New Zealand's beautiful natural environment.
Completing the EP are remixes from fellow members of the Natural Rhythms collective, Soulfoundation and nineteen79.
The Soulfoundation (aka Red Snapper boss Sean Murray) interpretation is a similar mix of then and now - albeit inspired by New York and New Jersey rather than northern and central England. Stripped-back. With shuffling Todd Terry-style drums and swinging stabs, it's an altogether darker and dubbier affair.
Nineteen79's deep tech take is a big-room barnstormer firmly rooted in 2024. Weaving expertly processed parts from the original over defiantly different drums, it builds to a breakdown before roaring back to life with some breakbeat action.
Three very different mixes for three very different but equally heroic dancefloors.
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