The NRK record label was conceived in 1996 by founders Nick Harris and Redg Weeks.
Since 1992 NRK had been one of the UK's pioneering DJ Agencies, holding the books for a multitude of artists and DJs like Larry Heard, Derrick Carter, Carl Craig, Dimitri From Paris, Ian Pooley, Motorbass and Mousse T.
Throughout their time as booking agents and promoters Nick & Redg yearned to channel their energy and enthusiasm directly into the music, they saw too many tired labels pidgeon-holing their output, terrified of eclecticism within the house sound.  |
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So, the NRK label was born, with King Street supremo Nelson Rosado penning the first release, 'House 'n' Kontrol back in 1996. The second release was to cement the reputation of Canada's Nick Holder as a leading light in deep house circles.
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His friendship with Redg (half Canadian) led to the signing of 'Paradise,' a sun-kissed, balearic, deep-house classic, complemented by an outstanding mix from the Salt City Orchestra. The desirable NRK catalogue gained much momentum in its first year, with killer-cuts from
Ian Pooley ('Calypso EP' and 'Gimme Sound,') Plastic Avengers (Sideburns EP, Oddsox EP,) Dimitri From Paris, Lenny Fontana and Freeform Five amongst others. |
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| By 1997 the label had now established itself as a force to be reckoned with in the worldwide house scene, it's refusal to be pushed into a certain strand of house music won it the respect of the music press and the record buying public alike. Soon artists like Claudio Coccoluto and Savino Martinez (as The Dub Duo) and Cricco Castelli found NRK an ideal platform to express their more experimental nature, The Dub Duo's much underrrated 'Back To Lo-Tech' album sat comfortably alongside straight up underground house cuts such as Francois K's amazing 'Time & Space' and Kamasutra's unashamedley joyous 'Burning'. |
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NRK continued to support their key artists throughout the year, Nick Holder's 'From Within' debut LP was released in 1999 to much critical acclaim, whilst singles from Kings Of Tomorrow, Soulgrabber, Sanjose and Miguel Migs continued to wow the critics. Indeed, Miguel Migs' debut release for the label; 'Inner Excursions' was heralded as a deep house perfection in many circles. Records like this from the San Francisco DJ began to give NRK a name for pioneering the West Coast USA sound, beloved by H-Foundation, Wicked Crew, Joeski, Dano and the Siesta, Grayhound and Tango imprints. |
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That sound, so popular in the clubs of today was typified by tracks like 'The Horny Hustle' from The Twisted Pair and 'A Night In Frisco' by Onionz and Master D. The imprint wasn't just a home to the West Coast vibe however, artists like 'disco-king' Dave Lee, aka
Joey Negro saw NRK as an outlet for their darker musical forays, his Akabu project was unleashed to the record buying public with 'Your Wildest Dreams' and much later 'Ride The Storm' with Curtis Mayfield protege Linda Clifford on vocals.
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The late nineties dance scene suffered a slew of tasteless, moronic mix compilations, mixed by the same old cliched DJ, mixing the same old pop-tastic dance tracks for the same old major label off-shoots. NRK spotted a gap in the market and unveiled the 'nite:life' project.
A new breed of mix compilation, offering punters a chance to hear fresh, cutting edge DJs play their cherished underground cuts, signed largely from independent labels with a similar ethos to that of NRK. The first in the series was from ex-Beloved frontman Jon Marsh, nite:life01 was completed in 1999 and heralded a new chapter in the NRK story, soon H-Foundation, Miguel Migs, Terry Farley and Ian Pooley (amongst others) were enlisted to fight the cause for credible house mix compilations. |
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However, the label wasn't going to forget it's catalogue in a hurry, established label artists like Nick Holder, Miguel Migs, Ian Pooley and Sirus continued to produce the goods, Sirus' etheral, spooky yet sublime track, 'An Eye For An Eye' was championed by Danny Tenaglia and led the way to his superb LP, 'On The Edge Of A Dream.' His Canadian sparring partner Nick Holder was also on fire with the classic 'Underground Alternatives' album that paved the way to Holder winning an award as Best Urban Songwriter at the prestigious Canadian Grammys.
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The singles catalogue was never overlooked however, as NRK continued to help break outstanding new artists into the scene, local boy Jamie Anderson's sound brought a new tech house vibe to the label, as did Chi-towns Mazi Namvar with his Audio Soul Project. Jamie's debut release 'Black Sun' pricked up DJs ears worldwide, it's ferocious tech-tribal drums defined a new era for the label and led to the inception of his superb debut long-player 'Blue Music' a year later. Audio Soul Project too, was to nurture his high-tech sound on NRK in a similar manner, with the jaw-dropping 'Techtonic Blur EP.' By this time NRK was a leading player on the world house scene, whilst many labels fell by the wayside with their blinkered, uncompromising attitude, today NRK continues to come up with the goods, with fresh, dynamic artists, beautifully crafted eclectic mixes, new ideas and an undying devotion to the dancefloor. |
