STRICTLY Rhythm recently announced its 30th anniversary celebrations,
One of the record labels that helped shape the face of house music since its inception in New York three decades ago, they have been responsible for unleashing so many iconic tracks from Ultra Nate’s No.1 anthem ‘Free’ to Erick Morillo aka Reel to Real’s ‘I Like To Move It’, along with more underground cuts such as Phuture’s ‘Rise From Your Grave’, Josh Wink’s timeless ‘Higher State Of Conciousness’ and Roger Sanchez’s first hit under his Underground Solution alias, ‘Luv Dancin’.
To commemorate the landmark, Strictly Rhythm have released ‘The Definitive 30’ album – 30 classic tracks that define the label musically, artistically and culturally.
The artists on ‘The Definitive 30’ read like a who’s who of the history of house featuring the likes of Louie Vega, Kenny Dope, DJ Pierre, Erick Morillo, Danny Tenaglia, Lil Louis, David Morales, Barbara Tucker, India, Osunlade, Dennis Ferrer, Roger Sanchez and many more.
We caught up with one of the legendary artists and DJs on that list, Roger Sanchez and asked him for his own personal ten track playlist of Strictly Rhythm tracks and to tell us why he chose them.
The Underground Solution – Luv Dancin
My first underground hit on the NY scene that truly set the stage for my entire career.
Logic – The Warning
The vibe of this track captures the deep sounds of the NY underground but added energy.
Ultra Nate – Free
River Ocean – Love And Happiness
The combination of Latin Tribal rhythms with La India’s voice is so powerful that it sent chills down my spine.
Aly-Us – Follow Me
This was a major tone setter for the “conscious” House music lyrics and movement.
Barbara Tucker – Beautiful People
Barbara’s voice took us to church on the dance floor.
Harddrive – Deep Inside
This track showed how powerful taking one line from ‘Beautiful People’ could be when placed with a driving track.
Roger S – Livin’ 4 The Underground
This was one of my moody tracks that describes how I was feeling about the underground NY sound and scene at the time.
Armand Van Helden – Witch Doktor
This was an alarm call to the dance floor in places like Sound Factory in NY.
The Funk Junkeez – Got Funk
I have always loved Hip Hop and this captured the energy of Wu Tang and merged it with the House vibes of NY.
Strictly Rhythm’s 30th anniversary compilation ’The Definitive 30’ is out now. Grab your copy HERE. The compilation is supported by a 3-part 2 x 12” vinyl series released across three parts up to March, plus ten digitally unreleased recordings – including tracks from Roger Sanchez.
