Homegrown Records, a sub division of Basement Records owned* by Phil Wells AKA ‘Basement Phil’, ran from 1993 to 1996 and was predominantly known for its output of early Breakbeat infused happy hardcore.
Unknown & Temptation – Feel It (Hyper On Experience Remix)
True hardcore anthems such as DJ’s Unknown ‘Volume 1’ and Mystic & Fire’s ‘Volume 2’ saw huge DJ support around the the early to mid 90’s and the label churned out a steady stream of breakbeat hardcore for a considerable number of years.
I assume you might question why I have featured this label in a Jungle Book article, the reason being that Homegrown 21 featured a remix of ‘Feel It’ by none other than Hyper On Experience. Best known for their early Jungle anthem ‘Lord of the Null Lines’, released on Moving Shadow in 1993 these talented producers crafted the darkside sound like no other.
The ‘Feel It’ remix retains a certain feel from the original, although it adds subtle elements of melodic, uplifting pianos that cross with edgy cut up jungle breakbeats. It’s a great tune that I don’t recall hearing at the time of release although I the original was still being rinsed to death at events like Dreamscape and Helter Skelter.
The main piano and vocal drop on this tune is really one of those ‘arm hair’ moments not usually found in early jungle in this respect. Hyper On Experience did a great job of maintaining credibility by crossing over their influential sound, keeping the vibes from the original and bringing something new to the breakbeat hardcore scene.
Another label in the Basement family worth checking out is 4 The Floor Recordings which was supported heavily by both DJ SY and DJ Seduction. The first release by Beatmen called ‘Untitled’ is well worth picking up as a ‘lucky dip’ purchase on Discogs if the early hardcore scene is your thing. Don’t think ‘chipmunk vocals, 200 beats per minute and thumping kickdrums’ though, that came way later in the 90’s…
*It is documented that DJ Unite took over Homegrown from release 29.