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.

How did such an epic song like “Rushing to Paradise,” with enough content for three songs come together?

As unsatisfying of an answer as this may be, it just kinda turned out the way it turned out. We try to just approach the creative process organically, by having a starting point that’s a collection of our influences, but eventually giving way to nature. We try to allow the story to tell itself, and an essential element to letting that process take shape is trusting our instincts. Making dance music is (in a way) like reading a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure book: While you may start at one place, if you don’t trust your instincts and feel the music you’re making, you could end up being chased towards a cliff by a pack of stampeding rhinos.

Have you done much sampling in your House of House tracks?

Next to none. While we don’t feel that sampling is necessarily “bad” or “lazy” (or whatever negative connotation that’s been tethered to it), we just find it simpler to play the parts ourselves. So, save a few drum sounds and vocal snippets, we try to have the wealth of material come directly from us.

The sound of early house and disco is easily recognizable in your music. Were they strong influences on you growing up?

House? Without question. I think almost more influential than mid-to-late 80’s Chicago house is late-80’s to early-90’s New York and New Jersey house. The tracks were deeper, more solidly structured and the overall sound was richer, but there was also a harder edge in the drum programming. New York in the early-90’s saw house music being closely linked to hip-hop. I mean, look at “How Do I Love Thee” by Queen Latifah. That’s practically a house classic. Or take a record like “Looking At The Front Door” by Main Source and compare that to Earth People’s “Dance.” There is something of shared sense of melody and rhythm that both records have. The way parties went down when I was teenager was that you’d have your hip-hop room and you’d have your house room and usually, you’d see the same kids dancing in both rooms. At that time, house still maintained a heavy sense of machismo yet there was also the dichotomy of have the gay vogue scene being just as heavy of an influence, but unfortunately, that’s not the case so much these days. So, even though on the surface it may be difficult to detect, hip-hop is definitely a big influence on what we do in House of House.

“Rushing to Paradise” was such a huge hit. Where do you go next from there?

Country music? Or a maybe we’ll do a Man is Bastard-style noise band. Nah, that’s totally not my answer.

“Rushing to Paradise” was released on Whatever You Want. How did that come about, and are there any more plans to release again through them?

WEWW is a great label with impeccable taste and a discerning ear for detail. We’re open to exploring all horizons for releasing our music. We just want to keep challenging ourselves and striving for to the next plateau.

Is there any chance of a House of House/Still Going collaboration?

We’ll have to check our tea leaves and get back to you.

So far you’ve done remixes for The Juan McLean and A Mountain of One. Are you picky about doing remixes, and do you have any more lined up soon?

Picky indeed. Sometimes remix treatments are applied to perfectly good songs that just don’t need it, so we try to approach with caution. But if there could be an interesting direction we feel we may be able to take the source material, then that is something we can get excited about. We’re just really careful about what we put our names on. But yes, there are more on the way.

The Juan McLean remix in particular features a far more sparse, aggressive sound than previous HoH outings. It seems almost to have a UK funky feel in terms of drum patterns. Is this a new direction for you guys, and is the new bass music coming out of the UK registering with you at all?

We listen to and play lots of techno in our sets, so it’s not so outside of the realm of possibility for us to put out some harder material. I’ve always appreciated musical developments coming out of the UK. I also have always found it funny that within minutes of a new strain of electronic music mutation that takes shape, the UK has already given it a name and dedicated a segment in NME about the new “movement,” albeit only hours old! It’s tough not to find that somewhat endearing. Nonetheless, there are some seriously interesting developments coming out of the “bass” scene. The “jocky warble-bass” dubstep stuff is kinda of ubiquitous and clowny at this point, so the more nuanced, subtle and soulful side of that scene is where I feel you find the real meat of the artistry.

You’re both New York-based musicians. How important is the city’s musical past, particularly in terms of house and disco, to your sound?

Almost more than anything else, this city is the main drive behind what we do. The musical history here is so intensely rich, so layered and multi-faceted, it’d be down right offensive to NOT be inspired by these surroundings. There is nothing more “house” or “disco” than New York. We built dance music culture.

How do you rate the scene in New York at the moment in terms of parties, atmosphere, and musical appetite?

Rudy Giuliani was a real funny dude. Apparently he enjoyed ruining everything that made New York “New York.” He resurrected prohibition era cabaret laws (i.e. no dancing without a license) which put some serious hurt on the club scene. So, as much as I’d like to place blame on rich real estate developers, trust fund babies and clueless hipsters for taking the edge off of this city, it really all points back to Giuliani. The guy basically sold all of the the soul of the city. And for those of us who care, I think it’s all of our jobs to take it back and restore the order.

I’ve noticed that you’re big fans of the Underground Quality stable of artists, throwing a Levon Vincent track into a set, or supporting the latest DJ Qu release on Deconstruct. As a label and roster of artists most readily associated with New York, in the same way, as say DFA are, do you think there is overlap between your sound and theirs, and what about their sound do like so much?

We definitely are feeling some of the stuff coming out of that camp, especially Fred P. He’s sort of like the sleeping monster on that label. His output is not as high profile as some of his label mates, but it definitely deserves to be. Though, I’m not so sure there is an overlap of sound or one particular “sound” that is dominating New York at the moment. That’s the best thing about it. Everyone is trying to come from a different place and it makes the pool of records to pick from all the more interesting.

What other artists are really making waves for you at the moment, or pushing the envelope?

In the electronic/dance realm, I’m really excited about the stuff coming out of the Mordant camp. I’ve been listening to the Vindicatrix and Mordant Music LP’s pretty much non-stop. The Emptyset record from last year is pretty brilliant. Peter Van Hoesen is doing some great techno along with Samuli Kemppi, Traversable Wormhole, Ancient Methods and Sandwell District. Theo Parrish is a genius and still keeps everyone else playing catch up. STL’s approach to music is really respectable and garners damn good results. Really excited that Terre Thaemlitz resurrected his DJ Sprinkles moniker and is consistently putting out music again, because it’s some of the best stuff around. Redshape is still killing it and pushing things. And even though they only have thre records out the stuff on W.T. Records is quite nice as well.

You’ve toured relatively little over the last year, is that a conscious decision, or can we expect more traveling in 2010?

Mainly it was a matter of circumstance more than anything else. We’re both ultra busy all of the time, so it can sometimes be tough to nail us down. But this year, we’re dedicating ourselves to touring as much as we can. So definitely expect a lot more traveling in ‘10.

Release-wise, what else can we expect from 2010?

We’re currently polishing off some more remixes but the main focus is just working on new House of House material. So, you’ll be seeing more releases coming out of our camp for sure.

[Hyperdub] (buy vinyl) (buy mp3s)

Terror Danjah and Hyperdub seem like a neat fit. One of grime’s finest and most innovative beatmakers was given a fitting retrospective on Planet Mu in 2009, and here he delivers his debut on Kode 9’s equally innovative label. For those that listened to Gremlinz (The Instrumentals 2003-2009) or any of Danjah’s After Shock productions, you’ll know what to expect. Mr Danjah crafts gold out of the detritus of electronic music. Rave sirens, the trademarked Gremlin sample, and piano house riffs are recontextualised into a broken carnival of beats that are recognizably his own.

“Acid” opens with a zinging rave moan that spills out into a spaghetti junction of bleeps, cruches, and that ever present, somewhat menacing chuckle. “Pro Plus” (featuring DOK) sees Danjah aim squarely for the dance floor, delivering the goods in an off-kilter 4/4 exercise. Marimbas mix with slabs of bass to form an eerie voodoo house style, saturated with flair. Whether your ‘avin it large or in search of more digestible fare, this Hyperdub/Danjah pairing should do the job just fine.

When does east become west? I mean who’s to say Auckland isn’t west, rather than east, of L.A.? Listening to the New Zealand-based Jellphonic aka St. Liquor-ish’s 100 Snakes EP on the brand new Clone Crown Limited (I know, another Clone sub-label), it soon becomes clear he’s not an artist that bothers with such arbitrary geographical distinctions. This is the wheezy west coast sound taken to its illogical antipodean extreme, a synth(etic) ass wallop of electric boogie-woogie that constantly threatens to collapse under the various anxieties of influence the record operates under. Clone has always been a deliciously on-point label, reminding us not only of what we should have listened to first time round via their unparalleled reissues, but also of what we might just be listening to next. I know next to nothing about Clone Crown Limited’s raison d’être, but on the evidence of this release, they are intent on slowing down the BPMs and ratcheting up the funk.

Opener “100 Snakes” kicks off proceedings with some real life percussion, fleshed out by elongated 303s. A vocoded warbling segues into a series of miscalculated arrangements, and before you know it we’re left with a poor man’s Vitalic with a thing for Dilla, playing warm-up at a Dam Funk concert. The instrumental that follows is quite literally that: “100 Snakes” without the vocals. I can’t decide which one I dislike more. Luckily, on the flip, “Sexxy” featuring Reggie Blount somewhat rescues proceedings. Featuring some female vocals, sparring with a creepy, libidinous male, the skippy beat and synth injections just about manage to keep this treading water. Final track “The Only One” is the real highlight here. 1970’s B-movie dialogue flows into a shimmering lake of moonlit synths that dissolve into a breakdown reminiscent of Mount Kimbie, affording a top notch selectah a handy way to close out a set. This whole DJ Quik and Kurupt meets George Clinton thing should work, and I’m sad it doesn’t. It’s not so much that anything here is bad per se — production-wise it’s all pretty tight — just hideously calculated and painfully derivative. Don’t pack up your synths and buy that Air New Zealand flight just yet.

[FXHE] (buy vinyl)

Omar-S is dead, long live Alex Smith. OK, Omar-S isn’t dead, but still, long live Alex Smith. The most provocative and precocious of the Detroit new-school is back on his latest outing for FXHE and this time he’s releasing under his God-given name. Oh, and this time he is on fire. Here with Me is a stunning micro-statement of intent, an atomic particle of sonic abundance that twinkles brightly amidst its creator’s finest achievements.

“Three Blind Mice” plums for a Booka Shade-esque intro that threatens to go stadium-sized, but is stabilized by the shilly-shally of a laissez-faire hi-hat, weaving, quite literally at will, through the track. Touching on the sound explored on 2004’s “Day,” “Here with Me” is the undisputed heavy-weight at this particular weigh-in, a smorgasbord of acid squelches, deep-as-you-like piano chords, and the authoritarian soul of Diviniti. The EP is an essential for this alone, although it’s hardly the only worthy track. So often EPs with more than one good track include a couple of dud ones to bulk up the release, but not here. “Stop Running Around” makes you feel guilty for wishing to disagree and bust out the moves, while “Sign and Drive” provides a glistening approach path for Here With Me to land on. Smith’s laconic chuckle at the start of the track only adds to its convivial, almost conspiratorial tone. The continuity and charm of the compositions on show makes this project feel grander than it perhaps means to be, like the unwitting reduction of an album to its crystal form. If Alex Smith continues making tunes like this, it’s going to be a long reign.

As soon as minimal descended from opera to operetta, from the clinical distillation of techno’s essence to its buffoonish, showboating bastard-child, it was inevitable that producers would one day revisit it with a dewy-eyed nostalgia. LoSoul has always worn his influences on his sleeve, and as a producer working throughout the decade of minimal’s far-reaching reign, it seems both fair and correct he should have something to say about its demise. Leaving behind the cushy environs of Playhouse for an outing on Dan Ghenacia’s Freak n’ Chic, he gets his opportunity and delivers a fitting eulogy.

“Time Passes” borrows freely from the minimal palette — think rushing samples and distorted inhalations — but adds (how dare he!) a libidinous vocal courtesy of Fadila. Of course, minimal never held much truck with vocals unless you count taking a samurai sword to them, and in this instant Fadila’s drug-addled drone represents an update to the paradigm, maximising the track’s minimal bent. Nonetheless, the ping pong beat, an endless back and forth, soon begins to grow old. Luckily, Dyed Soundorom steps in and rejigs the beat for all the disco house heads out there, which, as far as Fadila’s now soulful-sounding vocals are concerned, makes for a far more interesting juxtaposition. Sultry chords add to the funkier outlook, especially when the siren from hell pitter-patters into the brew, joining the dots between Losoul’s disparate experimentation and the eternal needs of the dance floor. Time passes, sure, but some things never change.

If one were to single out an overarching narrative for the trajectory of electronic music in 2009, it would surely be the emphasis on the past — on the founding myths and legends that electronic music emerged out of — as a source of inspiration. With disco breaking out from small-scale revival to established Room Two, even Room One fare, with deep house announcing itself as the heir apparent to the ubiquity of mid-decade minimal, and with the cavernously retrospective, Detroit-flecked techno of the Berghain/Hard Wax crew dominating tracklists, it seems that in 2009, the only way to look forward, was to look back. Accordingly, Mathew Jonson chimed in with his take on the theme for Ghosts In the AI, his last Wagon Repair release of the year and the decade.

The EP is the first solo production to come out of Wagon Repair’s new Berlin studios. The eponymous opener couples handclaps with a disconcerting electro warble that aims to growl you into submission. Unlike “Marionette,” which played an elegant game of cat and mouse between the ascending chords and the descending beat, a ruse that was wholly of its time (think James Holden’s “Sky Is Pink” remix), “Ghosts” posits no internal dialog, but instead searches for a middle ground between Drexciya-era electro and late-00’s techno. On the flip, “Technology” is also at once old and new, which is fitting given its curious back story. Apparently created around the time of “Octagon”’s release in 2004 on It Is What It Is, it has only seen the light of day now following a gentle push from Jonson’s brother, Nathan, better known as Hrdvision. The elusive is grounded only by a repetitive synth pattern that seems to hint just as much at the dawn of a new age, as the closing of an old one. This unresolved dichotomy is further muddied by the beatless track “The Alchemist,” taken from Jonson’s score to the silent film “Faust,” a fitting companion piece no doubt, but unlikely to give the headphones, let alone the dance floor any cause for concern.

Admirable as Jonson’s endeavour is, the legacy of the past year has shown that creating something new out of something old, and doing it well, is no easy feat. Although the electro Jonson favours here seems more than due a comeback, the EP as a whole feels less like a statement of intent for next year than a footnote to this one.