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)
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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
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…
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.
