The original sister label to Ram Records from the old Ram HQ studio in Essex, Liftin Spirit Records now celebrates it’s 25th year with a special ‘RELOADED’ limited vinyl series of remastered classics, alongside rare and previously unreleased tracks since the beginning in1992.
DATs from artists such as Andy C, Ant Miles, Shimon, Joint Venture, Interrogator and Red One have been located in the archives. Also from the Ram & Liftin HQ came tracks for the Deep Seven label in 1993 and all these rare DAT masters have been located and now re-cut by Simon, the original Ram & Liftin vinyl masterer at ‘The Exchange’. Initially, Deep Seven remasters will present on a printed white label and unreleased tracks will have a black label.
Whilst scouring through the Ram and Liftin Spirit master DATs, we have come across one of the most requested and unreleased tracks that never made it to vinyl. Shimon’s 1995 track ‘Flava’ is now available to own after 26 years of obscurity. This Amen smasher that preceded ‘Nightflight’ also comes with a track that forms an early incarnation of what eventually morphed into ‘Recharge’. This has been aptly named ‘First Charge'. This release is anticipated to be one of the hottest and in demand slabs of wax emerging from the whole of the Liftin Spirit Reloaded series.
Cup-A-Cha: In 1995-96 the tracks were flowing out of the studio and Ant Miles would often sketch out beats while waiting for Andy C to return. Cup-A-Cha literally fell out of the computer one day and Andy felt it needed to go out as was, especially with the emotion laden piano trills towards the end; reminiscent of the sound of Foul Play who Ant adored. This track actually got Moving Shadow’s attention and Ant was invited over to release various tracks as ‘Higher Sense’ as a result of the vibe of this tune.
The Futurist (Ant Miles Remix): Originally the title track on Red One’s debut Liftin Spirit release in 1994, ‘The Futurist’ was indeed a sound and rhythm ahead of its time which inspired Ant Miles to load up the track for a special remix featured here. This went on to be backed with a remix of ‘Alive ’N’ Kickin’ that Andy C and Ant created as ‘Origin Unknown’. This mix captured the sound and vibe of The AWOL raves that are cherished greatly by all of D&B/Jungle heads of the time.
Soon Come:A collaboration between Ant and Andy C that went on to inspire yet another alias for them as ‘Concept 2’ on Liftin Spirit. Ram was often swamped with releases for months to come, so this found its way to the sister label. ‘Concept 2’ smashed it out the park in later years with tracks such as ‘Cause and Effect’. A Desired State production in full effect.
Bad Influence: Originally a B side for Stakka & K-Tee on Liftin Spirit, being in a similar vein to ’The Futurist’. This track also became an anthem at The Awol nights back in the day with its heads down, haunting, roller vibes.
a1. Ant Miles - Cup A Cha
a2. Red One & Ant Miles - The Futurist (Ant Miles Remix)
Alive ’N’ Kickin: Red One (Scott Bourne) was a friend of Andy C’s who actually went on to manage Ram Records in its latter years. Having an open door policy to the studio back in the early 90’s, Ant Miles invited Scott to bring some samples and ideas over and helped him to create two tracks. Both ended up as the fourth release on Liftin Spirit Records in 1994. Now morphing into the Jungle / Drum and Bass genre and moving away from the older Hardcore sound, this Amen tear out featured vocals from Val Kilmer’s ‘The Doors’ movie. It was tough to follow the previous successes of the previous release on Liftin Spirit, ‘Cold Fresh Air’ , but the more musical soundscape layers were starting to cement the Liftin Spirit sound of which it became renowned. A smasher for the record box of the era that was hammered by Andy C.
Living For The Night: Two lads Shaun and Kier from Brighton, Sussex, sent in some demos to Ant on cassette which greatly impressed him back in 1994. He immediately invited 'Stakka & K-Tee' over and helped them to finish off their ideas in the studio. 'Living for the Night' was actually the second release from them on the label and again showed off their editing skills with precision tooled drum breaks and thunderous bass lines.
Rugged and Raw: Stakka & K-Tee were by now regular visitors to the studio and this track was their final release on Liftin Spirit before venturing out on their own. A favorite of Ant Miles and championed once again by Andy C, this track tore up dance floors all over the globe, eventually being remixed by ’Splash’ of ‘Babylon’ fame.
Awareness: This release from The Interrogator was a collaboration with Ant Miles that followed on from Red One’s release in 1994. The energy in the studio inspired DJ Interrogator to venture onto the 'Sudden Def’ label as DJ Inter.
a1. Red One & Ant Miles - ALive 'n' Kickin
a2. Stakka, K-Tee & Ant Miles - Living For The Night
Expansion (Remix 1 & 2): Andy C and Ant Miles's penultimate releases prior the the inception of Ram Records were released on local label ‘Out Of Romford’. Under their usual guise as 'Desired State', ‘Expansion' was originally the B side to their Hardcore smasher ‘Dance The Dream’. Not long after, two further remixes (Remix 1 & 2) were created for the flip side to the ‘Dance The Dream’ Remix that followed. Both feature here in all their original Hardcore glory. Remastered from the original DAT for 2021, they continue as part of the Liftin Spirit Reloaded series on limited heavy weight vinyl.
Turn On: This track was Andy C and Ant Miles’s first ever collaboration together as Desired State, from what eventually became the Ram HQ studio in Hornchurch, Essex. Originally signed to Karma Records in 1991, it was oddly licensed to a label in the States and returned to the UK as an import! The track did so well, even as a higher priced import, it gave the pair the encouragement to continue on their path in the studio together and the rest is history as they say. Remastered from the original DAT once again, this one holds a special place in their heart.
Move Your Body: This particular track was never released to the masses, originally made way back in 1991, it was recently located on a DAT tape and has been brought into the the Liftin Spirit Reloaded series as a special unreleased bonus track.
New Decade's remix of 'Cold Fresh Air' is the first new production to grace the 'Reloaded' series. The owners of local label 'Out Of Romford', which released Desired State's 'Dance the Dream' back in '92, were the perfect choice for this project. Twisted amens layered with classic breaks and thunderous subs keep that authentic mid 90's vibe, whilst bringing a fresh take on one of the labels biggest tracks. Paired with a previously unreleased '94 VIP mix that was found in the DAT archives, we give you a fresh 12" of this seminal track on our 180g heavyweight vinyl.
The original sister label to Ram Records from the old Ram HQ studio in Essex, Liftin Spirit Records now celebrates it’s 25th year with a special ‘RELOADED’ limited vinyl series of remastered classics, alongside rare and previously unreleased tracks since the beginning in1992.
DATs from artists such as Andy C, Ant Miles, Shimon, Joint Venture, Interrogator and Red One have been located in the archives. Also from the Ram & Liftin HQ came tracks for the Deep Seven label in 1993 and all these rare DAT masters have been located and now re-cut by Simon, the original Ram & Liftin vinyl masterer at ‘The Exchange’. Initially, Deep Seven remasters will present on a printed white label and unreleased tracks will have a black label.
Deep Seven No.10, the infamous final 12” from Deep Seven that never reached a full release. Only a short promo run hit the shops in 1993 before the label closed for good. ‘Release’ brought to the series a continuation of the huge tracks that graced local label ‘Contagious’ in the early 90’s. As time passed, ‘The Jungle’ / ‘Musical Movements’ reached cult status, exchanging hands for hundreds of pounds when a copy surfaced on the market. The rarest of all the Deep Seven releases, with an additional version of ‘The Jungle’ that was not included on the original press. Remastered from the original DAT and presented on our 180g vinyl, this final 12” completes the entire Deep Seven back catalogue.
Its U: This track was a collaboration with ‘Rainbow Country’ and Ant Miles from the very early years 1991-92. This track was actually released on a first label attempt starting life as ‘Etheric Records’ that Ant later morphed into ‘Liftin Spirit Records’. A Hardcore stormer of the era, smashed by DJ Randall and Grooverider back in the day.
Highlander: Again from way back in 1991, although under the guise of Desired State, this track featured on Ant’s friends label ‘Strategy Records’ which was inspiring Andy & Ant to formulate their own labels.
Turntable Overload: A remix from 1992 by Andy C and Ant Miles for Royal T & DJ XL originally released on Strategy Records. Once again encapturing that early 1990’s Hardcore sound that Strategy became well known for.
Move In Motion: The second flip side remix that Ant & Andy created for Royal T & DJ XL, once again, originally released on Strategy Records and remastered from the original DAT.
![Shimon - Flava / First Charge [180g 12" Vinyl] - Unearthed Sounds](http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0488/8057/products/admm61_{width}x.jpg?v=1607622022)
