Release Date: 8th May 2020

As is the norm with Holding Hands I very rarely releases anything by someone I’m not already close to and Harry is no different. We run our party Sock It To Me along with Dr. Banana and Alec Falconer and are in the process of setting up a label together as well.

Harry starting sending over bits and pieces about a year ago that he thought might Dit well on the label and I was completely in love with basically everything that he threw my way. In the end this EP has come out very well rounded in my opinion with a good mix of heavy, sneaky and melodic goodness strewn throughout. Sarky is a total snakey breaky weapon, M1 is a sunset cruiser for the summer months, Howzat is a classic Holding Hands dance Dloor destroyer and Nudge is a back pack full of sleaze to get you groovin’ at the end of the night.

OK enough of my blather. Go and listen to the damn things yourself and decide if you like them, rather than trying to work it out from reading a bloody press release you weirdos.

All four tracks are produced and sculpted for the club. They want big sound systems and dark rooms.

Close your eyes, hold hands and experience transcendental space flight...

a1. Harry Wills - Sarky

a2. Harry Wills - While My M1 Gently Weeps 

b1. Harry Wills - Howzat

b2. Harry Wills - Nudge

Release Date: 24th April 2020

Tony Pegas and Don Corrieri’s Gargoyle Records was active between 1995-1997. Based in Baltimore they released seven killer records under various aliases. I absolutely adore their super raw production style. Every track has got character for days and is packed to the brim with East coast attitude.

We’ve picked four tracks from across a couple of EPs for this Iirst reissue which all bang to the max and will Iit into quite a variety of club circumstances. On top of that there is a ridiculously sick Iifth track (Do You Believe) that was written during that time but never released. Potentially my favourite one of the bunch I am super excited to be able to get this one the release that it always deserved.

There will be a second EP to follow so keep your eyes peeled...

OK enough of my blather. Go and listen to the damn things yourself and decide if you like them, rather than trying to work it out from reading a bloody press release you weirdos.

All Iive tracks are produced and sculpted for the club. They want big sound systems and dark rooms.

Close your eyes, hold hands and experience transcendental space Ilight...

a1. Alienage - Filer Funkard 

a2. Alienage - Do You Believe 

b1. The Madd Scientist - Speed 

b2. Alienage - Danceaholic 

b3. Alienage - Dig It Beats

Release Date: 20th March 2020

It’s been a little while since I’ve put an EP out on Holding Hands. It’s been super fun working with On Loop, Touch From A Distance and Futureboogie but it definitely feels great to be back at home on my own label.

For my first release of the new decade I have whipped up four club focussed bangers with a nice bit of variety. A smattering of electro, breaks, 2-step and dark UK funky. They are all relatively fast paced but you should hopefully be able to find at least one track for a set at any time, early, middle or late.

OK enough of my blather. Go and listen to the damn things yourself and decide if you like them, rather than trying to work it out from reading a bloody press release you weirdos.
All four tracks are produced and sculpted for the club. They want big sound systems and dark rooms.

Close your eyes, hold hands and experience transcendental space Delight...

a1. Desert Sound Colony - The Bruce 

a2. Desert Sound Colony - The Ventus

b1. Desert Sound Colony - Mega Globule

b2. Desert Sound Colony - Pompey Cruiser

Release Date: 7th February 2020

I came across this record by chance when I was shopping at my local record shop Palace Vinyl and Chris the owner was packing his bag for a gig that coming weekend. He was listening to bits on the shop sound system and in-between a couple of records in the stack that I was checking out on my headphones I caught little bit of the A side of this one. I immediately removed the cans and made him put the record on from start to finish.

He told me his copy wasn’t for sale and when I looked on Discogs, as is often the case I found a few pricey copies and none of them available in England. I knew at that moment I would be attempting to reissue it myself. Fortunately Walker was pretty easy to find and now spends his time in Portugal building an amazing self sustaining echo oasis.

I picked my two favourite tracks from the original and recorded a pretty hefty remix of the B side to round out the EP. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do :D
OK enough of my blather. Go and listen to the damn things yourself and decide if you like them, rather than trying to work it out from reading a bloody press release you weirdos.

All three tracks are produced and sculpted for the club. They want big sound systems and dark rooms.

Close your eyes, hold hands and experience transcendental space flight...

a1. Walker - Untitled A

b1. Walker - Untitled B

b2. Walker - Untitled B (Desert Sound Colony Remix)

Release Date: 17th January 2020

I know it sounds completely obvious and all that but it really does feel like a bit of a landmark to be putting out the 10th Holding Hands record. What started as an outlet to release my own music has become so much more already, namely small family of artists who I believe are writing some of the music exciting dance floor slammers in the world. Almost everyone on the label is a long time friend of mine, often reaching back 10-15 years and it is a real privilege to be able to put out this amazing music and to watch it get such a great reaction from all you legends out there!

The 10th release comes from two of my best mates, Gallegos who I have known since he came up for a weekend of ridiculousness in my second year at Leeds to stay at another close friend Conor’s house. He is one of the best story tellers I have ever met and if you ever get to know him then you can look forward to many a riveting tale. He is also a criminally under appreciated producer and I hope that this release will do something to help get his name onto many more people’s lips.

He somehow manages to get the perfect and very difficult to achieve balance of melancholy, ferocity and banging-ness into his music. I find myself playing it when I’m driving home late at night after a show and getting totally transported to places far and wide. One minute you’re crying and hugging your best friend along to SHOULDACOULDAWOULDA and the next second you find yourself pulling shapes and faces you didn’t know you could whilst Blue Mountain or B45 slam you straight in the face.

Baby Rollén is another close friend from Leeds who I have shared a residency with for 8 years at Flux. We have appeared a couple of times together as collab artists, once on Holding Hands for I C Jangle, on Nick Hoppner’s Touch From A Distance for Glixen and on Futureboogie for the Beta Burner EP. He is a total genius on the buttons and one of the slickest DJs I know. On top of that he is total joy to write tunes with in the studio (See pouring sparkling water and flicking his finger in his cheek on I C Jangles for further proof) His mix downs are as to it as a tiger and sound reedonkulous in the club. Just check out B45 and Underwater Excursions and see what I am talking about.

These ones are face melters of the highest temperature so please wear the appropriate goggles and masks when listening.

OK enough of my blather. Go and listen to the damn things yourself and decide if you like them, rather than trying to work it out from reading a bloody press release you

a1. Gallegos - Blue Mountain

a2. Gallegos & Baby Rollén - Underwater Excursion

b1. Gallegos & Baby Rollén - B45

b2. Gallegos - SHOULDACOULDAWOULDA

Release Date: 6th September 2019

Adam’s first release on Holding Hands was a special one for the label. It really felt like the first time that we had a release that was properly doing the rounds. All the big dogs and cats were playing the living shit out of it and dance floors around the world were slamming’ and a jammin’ to the sound of Holding Hands.

Since then Adam has gone from strength to strength with more dynamite releases on Wex and Seven Hills, as himself and also in the duo Space Cadets with Lisene. I knew that his return to the label where it all began had to be even bigger than the first outing and boy did he bring not just the biscuits but the whole bloody tin along for the ride.

a1. Adam Pits - Stagga

b1. Adam Pits - Pest Control

b2. Adam Pits - Stagga (OCB Remix)

Release Date - 12th April 2019

Ahhhh the joys of creating a new label! I have started Holding Hands Again to bring to light some records from the past that I adore and think should be made more widely available so that everyone can slam them in the club.

Wiggle is a label that I hold very dear to my heart. It doesn’t need an introduction but suffice to say I play and love a lot of records off this classic label. A Long Weight by Timmy S & JB is probably my favourite release on there and so I am ultra buzzing to be able to announce that it will be the inaugural release on my new imprint.

In my opinion it really sums up the classic Wiggle sound. Squiggly wiggly synths, skittering pacey drums and weird FX. These tracks have been doing the business for over twenty years and I fully expect them to continue to do so for many more decades to come.

This re release has been freshly remastered for maximum boost and it comes with a new acid mix that the guys found when they were looking through their old DATs. Tasty.

All three tracks are produced and sculpted for the club. They want big sound systems and dark rooms.

Close your eyes, hold hands and experience transcendental space flight...

a1. Timmy S & JB - I Got You

b1. Timmy S & JB - Hot Lumps (Acid Mix)

b2. Timmy S & JB - Hot Lumps

Release Date - 8th March 2019

When I started Holding Hands I was certain about a couple of things. I never wanted to press any stupid coloured vinyl and I wanted to put out some absolute bass bin shaking, massively ripping slam jams. I’ve done my best to stick with these ideals across the releases and I hope the effects on the dance floors round the world speak for themselves. For release numero 7 I have decided to switch up the format and put out a various artists EP. We’ve got a couple label regulars and a couple fresh faces, each bringing a different vibe but with one overarching theme. The tracks have gotta slam...

OK enough of my blather. Go and listen to the damn things yourself and decide if you like them, rather than trying to work it out from reading a bloody press release you weirdos.

All four tracks are produced and sculpted for the club. They want big sound systems and dark rooms.

Close your eyes, hold hands and experience transcendental space flight...

a1. Yutaro Sugawara - Warp

a2. Tape Fear - Car's Booked

b1. Breaka - Get Your Sweat On

b2. Guava - Super Cub

Release Date - 16th November 2018

Well you know what they say, home is where the heart is. I must say it feels all nice and warm to be back on the label myself as Desert Sound Colony.

I’ve put together a few more rippers for you to enjoy. I hope they serve you well in the club and spin a few people from one side of the dance floor to the other. Imagine everyone’s brains are attached to yoyos and you have control of them. You could metaphorically be walking the dog with their minds if you play these at the right time. Doesn’t that sound appealing...?

It is too awkward for me to ‘big up’ my own productions in the way that a normal press release seems to want, so I will just say that I have been playing these three out for the last six months and the results have been pretty much as described in the paragraph above. They are aimed straight at the dance floor, peak time tackle for when you also want to get everyone feeling pretty weird. Expect swingitty swung rhythms throughout and the feeling of having a rave in a drainpipe.

OK enough of my blather. Go and listen to the damn things yourself and decide if you like them, rather than trying to work it out from reading a bloody press release you weirdos.

All three tracks are produced and sculpted for the club. They want big sound systems and dark rooms.

Close your eyes, hold hands and experience transcendental space flight...

a1. Desert Sound Colony - Tickle Me Pink

b1. Desert Sound Colony - Birds Fly Dry

b2. Desert Sound Colony - Grabbing The Golden Goose

Released 7th September

Wow, how time flies. I can’t believe I am putting out record number five already. This release comes from star of the future Adam Pits. I have known Adam for a long time as he was a few years below me at school and then proceeded to go to uni in Leeds like I did. He is from the same crew as Breaka, and there must be something in the water up there because these guys and the rest of their mates are producing the best shit in town right now. It is a privilege to put out Adam’s first piece of wax because these two tunes are dynamite from start to finish.

All three tracks are produced and sculpted for the club. They want big sound systems and dark rooms.
Close your eyes, hold hands and experience transcendental space flight...

a1. Socket Power

b1. Balance Beam

b2. Socket Power (Junq Remix)

Repress Release: 17th January 2020

**REPRESS**

The fourth release is a big one for Holding Hands as they branch out into brand new territory with their first new signing on the label. Breaka usually runs in very different circles, producing footwork, juke and DnB from his home in Leeds. These are the first tunes of his at a slower tempo to be released but you can certainly hear those in6luences loud and clear in these certified UK 125-130bpm bangers.

Rory’s Theme has the tension of an early Metalheadz release but when it drops it makes the hair stand on the back of your neck. The synths fly high with exultation whilst the 808 sub kicks and rolls up and down your body. The track has the truly rare combined qualities of a pure elation mixed with enough stank face to get your gun fingers punching through the heavy air of a pounding club. Basically, it’s a certified peak time weapon.

As has become customary for Holding Hands, Puffer Jackets sits bang in the middle of several difference genres and influences. The sound of 2009-2012 UK bass mixed with the grime and 2-step of 2018. This one will turn a club upside down and inside out. You better hope you aren’t standing too close to the subs when it kicks in...

For the B2 Holding Hands head honcho Desert Sound Colony steps in for remix duties of Puffer Jackets. Slightly slowed and dubbed out, this one rounds out the EP perfectly with a deeper take on the Breaka sound. Perfect for the beginning of a night or for a hypnotic section of a set late on, this one is built to captivate you and take you drifting away...

All three tracks are produced and sculpted for the club. They want big sound systems and dark rooms. Close your eyes, hold hands and experience transcendental space flight...

a1. Breaka - Rory's Theme

b1. Breaka - Puffer Jackets

b2. Breaka - Puffer Jackets (Desert Sound Colony Remix)

Released 28th July 2017

After the success of their first release, DSC – Far Reaching/Too Hard, Holding Hands is back with their sophomore outing and as before it is taking no prisoners.

Inspired by a Nicolas Lutz set as he warmed up Fabric for Villalobos a couple years back, the Furnace has a break beat that will push the subs of any club to the limit. With every build and drop it increases in momentum until you are left with no choice but to throw down on the dance floor with unbridled passion. The Furnace may be all about the big beat but it is no one trick pony. The tune has a depth and weirdness to it that will certainly keep you coming back for more…

The Sorcerer is a collaboration with good friend of DSC’s, Guava. It is made up largely of recorded percussion and vocals at DSC’s studio in South London, which gives it a very special swing on the dance floor. The track lulls you into a false sense of security for the first third before finally letting the big freakiness out of the box. This is one for any DJ that wants to leave clubbers going nuts and scratching their heads at the same time.

Both tracks are produced and sculpted for the club. They want big sound systems and dark rooms.

Close your eyes, hold hands and experience transcendental space flight…

a. DSC - The Furnace

b. DSC & Guava - The Sorcerer

Released 21st April 2017

Holding Hands is blasting off with a bang of cosmic proportions, featuring two cuts from Desert Sound Colony’s dance floor alter ego ‘DSC’.

Far Reaching, as its name suggests, takes inspiration from the deep well of our musical past. Drum & bass, jungle, breaks, house and hardcore are all present. That being said, this is not just a revival record. These sounds combined take your mind out of the past and place it firmly in a previously unimagined future. Hard as nails to begin with, the track eventually builds to a glorious rapture.

Too Hard is deep like the Mariana Trench and made for dance floor meditation. Kicks rock you back and forth as a soft canvas of pads drapes itself over your mind. Space is the place people, space is the place.

Both tracks are produced and sculpted for the club. They want big sound systems and dark rooms.

Close your eyes, hold hands and experience transcendental space flight…

DSC Bio 2017

After several years writing and touring as the band Desert Sound Colony, Liam Wachs has decided to move back to his roots with a new dance music alias, ‘DSC’.

His previous releases on Scissor & Thread were informed by 60s psychedelia and his pastoral surroundings in the British countryside. Pulsating, and built on a core of slowed down club rhythms. Now with the advent of DSC and his own label Holding Hands, he is looking more towards London and Leeds where he spent his formative years. Small dark rooms with big sound systems are the inspiration. Beats and space are there for the exploration.

Holding Hands

Holding Hands is a record label with very simple goals. Put out banging tunes on black vinyl and get them to DJs who want to rinse them in clubs.

We aren't interested in all the bells and whistles. Colour vinyl where you can't see where one track starts and another ends. Lovely artwork is nice but for our purposes it's unimportant. 

This is music that hits you in the gut and rattles your bones. Music that makes the end of your nose itch as certain frequencies come soaring out of the sound system. These are the tunes that you hear when your eyes are rolling back in your head with your best friends all around you on the dance floor.

It is how it should be. In the club we are all holding hands.

a. Far Reaching

b. Too hard