Los Angeles warehouse DJ legend Jason Blakemore has relaunched his seminal Life Music label which helped document the California house music sound along with his other label ventures, Bassex Records and Fiveleg. Blakemore knows his stuff; he started DJ’ing in Los Angeles’ then-burgeoning scene as early as 1992 and has been a fixture of the North American house music family since.
This new Life Music offering involves the mysterious producer who simply goes by DOOD. Blakemore first noticed DOOD several years ago, as the young producer would usually be found sitting outside the entrance of some of the biggest ‘rave’ parties (perhaps too broke to get in?) furiously working on a rudimentary hardware sequencer or outdated laptop. After seeing this person dozens of times before and after parties, Blakemore decided to investigate. He found that DOOD was actually creating tracks inspired by the sounds floating out into the parking lots of these events, and had amassed quite a bit of releasable material.
As can be expected from this story, DOOD’s tracks are outwardly inspired by the sounds of the downtown Los Angeles underground scene. The sweatier sets of regular L.A. players like Doc Martin, Wicked’s Garth, and even Blakemore himself seem to figure into DOOD’s cool sound. The cut “Hypnotik” gets a few rubs here, including fellow warehouse denizen Knoe1’s Acid House Mix featuring an appropriately out-of-control 303, a slinky bass-heavy version from Austin duo Estupidos Borachos (of the Whiskey Pickle label), and a solid, dubby after-hours Lurky Dub courtesy of Jason Blakemore himself. As a bonus, there’s also “Vision Impaired” from DOOD, showcasing his in-the-red, fog machine drenched L.A. techno sound. These cuts are tailor-made with the west coast warehouse in mind; heavy dance floor movers and head shakers for the craziest of the crazies. The general public need not apply.
Luke Solomon - “I’m loving this loads.”
Alexander Robotnick - “I like Knoe1’s Acid House Mix and ‘Vision Impaired.’”
Dr. Dunks (Still Going / Rub-n-Tug) - “Love it!”
Severino (Horse Meat Disco) - “Mad stuff here.”
Orde Meikle (Slam / Soma) - “Nice tunes … road testing this over the weekend.”
Bear Who? - “‘Vision Impaired’ is sick!”
Cosmo Vitelli - “I like Jason Blakemore’s dub.”
Chris Udoh (Tigerhook) - “I love_Knoe1’s Acid House Mix_ as well as Jason Blakemore’s dub. Good stuff here for sure.”
W. Jeremy (House of Stank) - “The whole release is sick! Jason Blakemore’s Lurky Dub definitely a killer track.”
Tyler Stadius - “I love Knoe1’s Acid House Mix!”
Al Bradley (3am Recordings) - “Strong bass-heavy grooves here. The Knoe1 and Estupidos Borachos mixes working best for me.”
Louis Hughes (6th Sense Music) - “This is nice for those twisted moments!”
Adam Warped (Whiskey Pickle) - “Knoe1’s Acid House Mix has been slaying my dance floors. Stoked for the return of Life Music!”
Raymundo Rodriguez - “Strong vibes!”
[sic] (mu-sic / Fnoob Radio) - “Great release but it’s Knoe1’s Acid House Mix that is the shining light here. Lovely momentum and a really good crossover vibe that will appeal to those who like to play slightly more twisted deep house.”
Iain Rejekt (The Rejekts) - “Love it … aciiiiiid!”
Available now from Beatport.