A Brief Introduction to Night Slugs

It’s hard to introduce something or someone that you yourself have been familiar with for quite some time. It’s just hard to know where to start or how much the readers already know but in the case of the Night Slugs label, anyone who’s flicked their browser over the popular electronic music press should be a little bit aware of the tight knit crew of producers and DJs behind some of the biggest dancefloor records of the last couple of years. Begat in South London by Bok Bok and L-Vis 1990 to represent a particular breed of club music that wasn’t getting the shine or recognition it deserved, Night Slugs launched officially as a record label in early 2010, having existed as an open minded London club night for some time before that. Their first release was the ‘Square One EP’ by Mosca, another Londoner whose productions were similarly influenced by everything from grime and house to ragga and garage. Featuring the 8 minute long epic ‘Nike’ the EP showcased the warped and grimy side of London’s musical underbelly presenting a perfectly formed statement of intent for the label. Mosca – Square One Mosca – Nike Further colouring in their canvas with eleven further releases from the Night Slugs originators and Canadian artist Egyptrixx, UK bastard house don Lil Silva and Velour, the not so secret pairing of Bristol producers Hyetal and Julio Bashmore, Night Slugs has grown from a London centric dancefloor movement to a globally recognised brand – US house beast Claude VonStroke just remixed Girl Unit’s breakout anthem ‘Wut’ early in the year, personifying the influence and reach that the small imprint from South London is having. Girl Unit – Wut (Claude Vonstroke Remix) Shrewdly Night Slugs have also been running a no frills white label imprint alongside the label which has become home to esteemed releases from Hessle Audio co-founder Pearson Sound, who put out his refixes of classics from Rod Lee and Hardrive, alongside Jam City’s shimmering ‘Ecstasy (Refix)’ EP and pieces from Lil Silva, Kingdom and Egyptrixx. It’s a very productive second (or even third if you take the club night as a functioning appendage) arm through which the label has risen to notoriety. Pearson Sound – Deep Inside Remix Jam City – Ecstasy (Refix) With Night Slugs taking over Room Two to launch L-Vis 1990’s debut album ‘Neon Dreams’ on Friday we’ll be profiling some of the artists appearing on the bill (people like Jam City, Girl Unit, Kingdom and Julio Bashmore) in the run up, over the forthcoming week as Night Slugs help take over our blog space. Stayed tuned for more info.