Tripoli Trax Records

In 1994, Puregroove Records owners, London based DJ Ziad, his brother Tarik and Mick Shinner came up with the idea of starting a little label of their own in the flourishing dance music scene. It was intended as an outlet for the progressing sound of what would some years later come to be known as 'Hard House' - but this was sometime before pigeon-holing became all the rage, and diversity was welcomed. Little did they know that this label would become instrumental in shaping the underground scene as we know it, with some of the most seminal releases and featuring every big name for the last 10 years.

The first releases were signed by then A & R man Steve Thomas, and encapsulated the sound of Trade, the original harder afterparty which ran weekly at Turnmills in London for 12 years. The style of music was given the moniker 'handbag house' at the time and was very European. They featured tracks and remixes by DJ Ziad, Knuckleheadz, Freak & Mac Zimms, Mark N.R.G., Tony de Vit, Steve Thomas, F1, Fruitloop, 2 Slags (Karim & Fidel), Exit EEE, Lemon8, Floorshow, DJ Misjah & DJ Tim, Jas van Houten, and OD404 amongst many others.

At around the turn of the millenium, the emergence of Hard House in to the UK clubbing mainstream was mirrored in the releases of the label, with it taking on a more UK based approach and the tracks becoming more like the Hard House we all know now. Absolute classic signings like 2 Slags - Pet Rescue, Phenomania - Who Is Elvis? and OD404 - Let Me Tell You Something/Ram Raid nestle among more mainstream tracks like Knuckleheadz - Bezerk (Ingo remix), South East Players - Horny Drum Machine, and Club Caviar - Game Over, truly representing the diversity of the scene at the time.

Steve Hill took over the A & R job at Tripoli around the end of 2001, and imprinted his own 'party music' ethic on the label, as well as giving the sleeve designs a makeover. Harder tracks in the classic Tripoli vein like F1 - Cuz I'm Rockin', Base Graffiti - Spray Can and the re-release of Ace Of Space - 9mm Is A Classic were mixed up with more uplifting sounds, again representing the emergence of the UK Hard Trance sound. Two of the best - Prime Mover - Feel What I Feel/Oblivion and Steve Blake - I Get A Rush (K90 remix) still sound amazing today.

In Early 2004, the club scene was splitting up and the label's identity to the vinyl-buying public became much more important. People needed to know when they picked up the vinyl what sort of sound was going to be pressed on to the plastic. Steve Hill also made the decision to move back home at this time, and from release 101 the decision was made to revert to the more underground sounds of Hard House and NRG. Marc Johnson was chosen as the ideal person - with his production and DJ history, and allegiance to the harder styles - to head up the next phase of Tripoli's impressive history. The sleeve design was reverted back, and the next 19 vinyls were a perfect snapshot of the underground Hard House/NRG scene in the UK.

Marc made an effort in this time to bring back some of the Tripoli old guard like Pete Wardman, OD404 and Base Graffiti alongside relative newcomers like James Nardi, Ben Stevens and Sam Townend, and to try and return to the sound and style Tripoli Trax was once famous for. A lot of these releases, like Champion Burns - Emergency (OD404 remix), 200 Degrees - Hellfire (Paul Glazby remix), and Marc Johnson & DMF - Pandemonium will always be in my record box, but tracks like Devilfish - Mangeltramp and Alex Calver & Sam Townend - Shake It still hold their own in early sets. The day the owners took the decision to put the label on hold in 2005 was a sad one indeed.

Fast forward to 2007, and behind-the-scenes negotiations have finally resulted in the label returning, and returning as strong as ever. It is once again to be headed up by FlashPoint Records boss Marc Johnson, with Insekt co-promoter and Combat Records owner Chris Comben joining him. The next few releases are shaping up very nicely indeed, with the aim of the label to release quality, accessible UK hard house tracks, and hopefully continue the Tripoli Trax legacy for years to come. For those that are missing some essential early Tripolis, as much of the back catalogue as can be found is being digitised and will be put up for download in the near future, but in the meantime, just check out what’s coming up!