HIPP-E is a house music icon.
His solo work and his partnership with Halo as H-Foundation since the late 90s delivered some of the stand out moments in global house music.
He stamped his own unmistakable spin on the groove and continues to do just that today.
Hipp-E was one of the artists responsible for pioneering the west coast sound on revered labels such as Siesta, Tango and Nightshift in the 90s, an infectious strain of house born from the US west coast scene which set fire to every dance floor on the planet and in turn inspired the modern sound of tech house we hear 20 odd years later.
His influence on electronic music continues to be huge and in addition to a fabulous new solo EP entitled More To Come, there’s the exciting prospect of new H-Foundation material coming in 2023 as he returns to the studio with his friend Halo Varga.
To mark the release of Hipp-E’s new EP More To Come, an amazing three-tracker of deepness containing his usual and unmistakable flair for the groove, we caught up with the man himself and asked him to compile and talk us through a playlist of DJ mixes from ten artists past and present that inspire him and his music. What he has come up with is nothing short of an education and will be a treat for any house music fan.
Hipp-E told us:
“Along my journey I’ve been amazingly blessed to connect and communicate my appreciation for people that have been a source of inspiration from when I started to now. These artists are a huge part of what brought me into music and who have now brought me back to wanting to continue and build more memories and keep contributing to this lovely world with my own music.”
THE PAST – YEARS OF AMAZING MEMORIES
DOC MARTIN
Doc martin is a legend of the US, and the world, he was one of the biggest influences not just on me and what the “west coast” sound would become, I’m honoured to have worked with him on many levels and to call him a true friend, his sound continues to evolve both as a DJ and Producer and very excited to work on more projects for years to come.
HALO VARGA
I met Halo in 97 we hit it off instantly, he came to California where I was living and worked with me to learn how to use the MPC, we then worked on that trip to produce our ep 420 sessions which included Hear dis sound. Halo and I are brothers for life, and I have a tremendous amount of respect for his ability to find some of the best music around, he is one of the most technologically sound DJ’s I’ve known we have finally reunited to produce a bunch of new H Foundation material all set for release in 23 with touring to follow!
DJ DAN
Very much like Doc, anytime I heard of amazing early years race Dan was always headlining, you can’t mention west coast Icons without knowing DJ Dan, when I first met him he was such a kind and welcoming person that helped shape my sound in the early years, we have since become family and will always cherish our deep relationship.
DUBFIRE
Icon, producer DJ extraordinaire, yet always manages to stay humble and respectful to everyone in the industry. Ali and Sharam as Deep Dish are obviously some of the most prolific artists that have contributed loads to music, but I’m always amazed at the pace, schedule and discipline of Dubfire and all these years later we remain friends and he always answers a call or message, massive love and respect for this man!
JIMPSTER
I would say Jamie is one of my all time favorite producers, his label Feeerange Records is such a dynamic and diverse label, I had every record as they came out no matter what the genre, always class! To finally get in the label I was able to connect with Jamie, and found he was a gem of a man. We still chat from time to time and hope to get new material on Freerange in the future.
PRESENT INSPIRATION IN RECONNECTING ME TO WANTING TO PRODUCE AGAIN
FOUR TET
technical and precise in his production, I love the range this man has for making deep abstract sounds to jacking party rocking tunes. Big fan and hope to be able to connect with him in some way!
JUSTIN MARTIN
Absolutely top 5 on my list of DJ’s. He is a great person and super humble, and his ability as a DJ is top notch! I always make sure to get to any set I can and he never disappoints. I am truly happy to call this man a friend and looking forward to working with him in the next year!
DJEBALI
I had started hearing his production when I resumed digging for music and would always find a whole section of Djebali tunes in my playlists, in 21 we connected and started work on a collaboration for PIV coming out early 23, he has since visited me in Denver where we had a great time in the studio and have several productions in the works. Great guy and wicked DJ/Producer
CHRIS STUSSY
I’ve followed the Amsterdam scene for a while and when I started hearing the jacking housey vibes of Chris I was an instant fan the energy he has in his sets is quality and all the music coming from the Netherlands has the feel of what I would say we used to do on Tony Hewitt’s labels like Tango, Detour, and our shared label Nightshift.
PRUNK
I have yet to meet this man, but his sets are electric and he is driving a new era of sounds in house. his label PIV sparked a big interest when I started hearing the house vibe they were pushing and massive respect for the pin point trajectory of the label. looking forward to getting to know him and their team in the coming years as I plan to have more releases on this great label!
Hipp-E – More To Come EP is out now on Gabu Records. Stream it below by clicking on the artwork for the EP.
