6 Records That Inspired “Raise My Spirit”: Nick Garcia
Throughout my career as a producer I’ve been through a bunch of different phases, each with its own set of tools, techniques, and approaches.
I love to try new things and often will develop entire projects around one way of working, then change it up entirely a few months later.
The one constant, however, is that the further along I get, the simpler my process becomes.
I am constantly getting deeper into the “less is more” mentality, and if you compare the records I was making three or four years ago to the ones I’m making now, there is a lot less going on.
This is a result of learning my tools better and realizing how to get the most out of them.
The Raise My Spirit EP is no exception, I think each session included less than 20 tracks total.
Like many lovers of house music, the more time I’ve spent immersed in the genre the more interested I’ve become in its history and origins. This has led to a fascination with early house music, especially the deeper sounds coming out of New York and Chicago in the 1990’s. I love these records because often there is so little going on - some nice drums, a groovy bassline, maybe a sample or a lush pad - and they manage to accomplish so much.
Unlike today’s DAW workflow where it’s not unheard of to have over 50 tracks in a session.
Oftentimes these early producers were working with 16 tracks at most, all sequenced with primitive outboard gear. Even the Pro Tools rigs of the late 90’s and early 2000’s offered significantly less functionality than the setups of today.
So today I want to dive into a few of the records from this era that have had a direct effect on my recent output, especially with my new release on House Cookin, the Raise My Spirit EP.
“The further along I get, the simpler my process becomes”
Nebularity - Easy Time [Adriatic Club, 1992]
This record really embodies the beautiful Italian dream house sound.
A simple melody, some gorgeous pads, and the iconic M1 piano make this an excellent warmup record.
House of Jazz - Lose My Mind [Urgent Music Works, 1995]
A great example of how one simple, sampled loop can create such great energy.
There’s really nothing to this record other than the drums and the sample, but it works so well.
Wam Kidz - In Love Again [Earth Recordings, 1997]
I absolutely adore the bassline on this record.
It almost feels like a precursor to the bass-driven minimal house records that would come a decade later.
Fresh & Low - Cool Side [Guidance Recordings, 1998]
Guidance Recordings put out some of the best Chicago house records of the 90’s, and Fresh & Low are one of the shining lights in the label’s catalogue.
“Cool Side” is a fantastic deeper cut that always gets parties going.
Solar House - Got 2 B U [Large Records, 2000]
Another killer bassline record, Solar House really stepped it up on this release with clean, spacious production and a distinctly jazzy touch.
Spiro Projecto - feat. Josefina Sanner - Bluesless (YMC Remix) [Wrong Steps, 2000]
YMC are, in my opinion, one of the most underrated groups in house music. They were ahead of the curve on so many things and their production was really on another level given the time period they were making music.
This remix of “Bluesless” by Spiro Projecto is quite possibly my favorite work from the group, but I encourage you to check out the Essentials compilation from Yoshitoshi Recordings (released in 2001) for a lengthy introduction to their sound.
