FROM running Hot Creations with Jamie Jones to launching his own label in 2016, Lee Foss has been instrumental in spearheading today’s modern house sound.
His Repopulate Mars imprint has welcomed some of contemporary house’s most well-known talents, from Michael Bibi to Detlef, whilst the label showcases continue to demonstrate Repopulate Mars’ thriving musical output.
Fresh from showcases in Miami, the 7th March last year saw Lee Foss bring his Repopulate Mars label to E1 in the capital. We caught up with him ahead of that party and asked him to talk us through ten tracks that define his label.
Michael Bibi – Hanging Tree
One of the biggest tracks the last few years, Michael came to me with this demo and was not 100 percent sure what to do with it but knew he had a hit on his hands. It’s unbelievable the attention this track got while keeping its credibility and specialness… such a perfect use of a vocal and a fresh but minimal production.
Detlef – Swagon
This was the first major hit on the label, the first of many Beatport number ones and it really opened the floodgates in terms of good label submissions… Detlef really created a whole new vibe around an amazing re-sung hip hop vocal for the ultimate sing along house jam.
Chris Lake and Lee Foss – Lies, Deception and Fantasy
This was the first chance Chris and I got to work in the studio together after talking about it for quite some time. It was a fun session and it really shows in the funk of this absolute bomb.
Martin Ikin – No No
Martin is such a great London character, I was so happy to get him on the label. This one has a monster bass line and cool vocal.
Ben Hemsley – Caress Me
This is such a hypnotic track. Ben is a great up and coming artist from Newcastle and I think he really nailed his sound with this one, I actually found this song already self-released and asked Ben to re-release it with Repopulate.
Detlef – Music Please
I signed this in Miami just after Detlef made it… that drop is elegant in its simplicity and it’s a testament to Alex always growing as a producer, using the details to make people go off.
Eddy M – Dropping
An absolute monster tune from Eddy M on our Repopulate Stars Summer Jams compilation that hits the sweet spot between big room and cutting edge funk. He’s a really exciting up and coming artist and looking forward to hearing more from him.
Solardo – Todays News
It was exciting to work with Solardo again after their big hits on Hot Creations… this one has an amazing viral video vocal sample over a very smooth beat and heavy sub bass line with a familiar melodic sample. Absolutely killed the dance floor.
Eli Brown – Hysteria
This was the a-side to Eli Browns first release on Repopulate… it’s a great mix of monster bass and tough drum work mixed with a fun summery melody for interesting payoffs on builds and a track that works in any type party/venue.
Prok and Fitch featuring Kevin Knapp- The Homie
This came as a very interesting instrumental demo but I could tell it was missing something so organized a vocal from Kevin Knapp. Luckily he came up with a vocal that really hit the ball out of the park and it makes for such an original quirky track.
