One of the positive aspects of living in a reissue culture is that people who didn’t get their props first time round do so on the rebound. Merwyn Sanders and Eric Lewis are two such guys. They released only three records in their short-lived career, but those first two (under the names M.E. and Virgo Four, released on Chicago’s legendary Trax label), were compiled into their eponymous album Virgo. Not to be confused with the other Virgo, the house supergroup of Adonis, Marshall Jefferson and Vince Lawrence, the album is regularly described as “the greatest house album you’ve never heard.” You can, however, knock the “n” off that description now with Rush Hour’s re-release of the album, as part of their Trax reissue program. Rush Hour’s reissue means Virgo’s dreamy and deeply emotional music has never sounded so good. It also means that the limelight is now shone on Merwyn and Eric, two humble men who freely admit in the liner notes to this edition that their lack of profile in the history of house music is due to the fact that they were “horrible at networking.” They were kind enough to give us their thoughts on the reissue, how a dog was responsible for their record deal, and why their school discos were considerably cooler than yours.

Sometimes you just need to let shit get out of hand. Oni Ayhun seems to understand this perfectly as nearly everything on his fourth record dives right off the deep end. The text accompanying the record on his site discusses both acid and music, but laden with chemical formulas and instructions it’s difficult to decipher. Even the record’s center label is a skewed picture of which might be clearer had I held on to my Avatar 3D glasses. Needless to say, those looking for a return to the melodic stylings of OAR003 should immediately accept that any traces of melody here are accidental: incidents arising unexpectedly from mixing “alkaline component(s), one or more acid salts, and an inert starch.”

Ever since the breakout success of their ecstatic “Rushing to Paradise (Walkin These Streets),” a full-blooded rollercoaster of a house anthem, House Of House have kept a surprisingly low profile. In a year when deep house was dragged kicking and screaming from the underground into global dance music conscioussness, the theatricality and the sheer emotional exuberance of the track ensured that it featured prominently in most late-summer DJ crates. The duo, made up of Saheer Umar and Still Going’s Olivier “Liv” Spencer, have a slew of remix projects scheduled for 2010 which kicks off with one for The Juan Maclean to complement their A Mountain of One “Bones” remix from 2009. In this insightful interview with both guys, they finally break the silence about their hit, where they’re going from there, and just how important New York is to their sound and that of the many game-changing house acts emerging from the city at the moment.

Although Levon Vincent has seen his profile rise dramatically over the past 18 months he’s anything but a newcomer. Having spent nearly a decade making house music after many years studying music generally, Vincent’s recent fame can be seen only as welcome payoff to someone who has spent his fair share of time in the trenches. Enmeshed in the much-discussed revitalization of New York house with his own imprints, Novel Sound and Deconstruct Music (with Anthony Parasole), alongside Jus-Ed’s Underground Quality stable, he blends his influences into a thick, rich soup of raw house music that finds him wearing his heart on his sleeve. LWE caught up with Vincent in Paris before his appearance at Rex Club kicking off a month of touring around Europe to discuss everything from Thriller and Discreet Music, the newest musical instrument in his arsenal, and the struggles of being a vinyl proponent in America.