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\'Electric City\' is a tribute to the city we love and where we fell in love with house music, Toronto. A tribute to its community of house music DJs, producers, promoters, club owners, everyone involved, and then all the party people/ the dancers (including those of us who can\'t dance but love to ;)

This is a tribute to the house we got into, grew into, grew up in, and fell in love with each time we heard these tracks. A huge hi-five, hug and thank you to all the singers, producers, and DJs that made and played these tracks!!

\'Classic House\' is a shifting definition... just depends on when you got into house music and when those first 5 to 6 formative years were for you. For us, tracks made in 1985-1996 are considered \'classic\' but we started partying in 1990, and from 1990 to 1996 we were privileged to have heard and danced to the earlier tracks.

For "Electric City", I wanted to go for the \'what old is new again\' intent, so it\'s not entirely a classic house mix because it contains some instrumental tracks that were created past \'96 and I included covers and remixes of classics that had the same feel, had great sound quality and didn\'t care when those were actually produced.

For the regular classics, the sound quality was paramount also but had to make exceptions for "Move" and "Music Take Me Up" because they are such wicked tracks (which were my poor attempts at transferring my vinyl to digital). I\'m sorry but on "Emotions Electric" was a CD version I bought at Sam The Record Man (sadly not in biz anymore)... back to my apology, I cranked the bass too much so...

Over 5yrs ago, I wasted almost two months in the cracks of time between work and family recording a crate and a half (150 records) into my computer. Realised afterward that because I had a crappy sound card the digitized tracks were flat sounding).

After that Jim and I just started buying classics on Beatport, Traxsource, Itunes, and Defected, and probably 90% of the time the sound quality was excellent.

Got a few classic tracks from friends like Eric Ling, Gene King, Devon Wills, and Tyrone Solomon. Then Roberto Pinto told me about Discogs and all my classic house vinyl dreams are gonna come true. We keep saying but bear repeating: "This is the best time for house music. Period!"

As always, we hope you enjoy this mix and that it gives you that house feeling from head to toe. (If you were so inclined, then please donate any amount you\'d like to with the PayPal button on the right side of this site. We\'ve had two donations in the last four years of operating this site, but hoping to set a record this year & you can be a part of that;)

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Listed are the 40 tracks in order and a few sentences about each: (Really want to give you a little history of our early journey):

1) This is a cover by FCL - "It\'s You" (2012). The original in 1986 was called: "It\'s You" by E.S.P. I Love this acapella cover!! Thought this would be a great start to this mix. Don\'t have a good quality version of the original.

2) A Guy Called Gerald - "Emotions Electric" (1989) DJ AKI from the warehouse days made me love this track, it\'s so beautiful. Bought it on CD many years ago and always wanted to put it on a mix.

3) Murk (Oscar G & Ralf Falcon)/ Coral Way Chiefs *moniker - "Release Myself" (1992) First heard this at a warehouse party on Spadina Ave, south of Dundas St in Toronto\'s main downtown Chinatown. It was at a "PTS" party!! Peter, Tyrone & Shams dominated warehouse parties for a few summers. Tightest house DJs. Shams actually played this track off of reel to reel!!!!!!!!!! Mixing from reel to reel to vinyl turntables- BADASS!!

4) Bobby Konders - "The Poem" (1990) Jim & I first heard this at \'RPM All Ages Sundays\' DJ\'ed by Matt C. Jim flipped out and bought his first house records the next day. Think we met weeks later both stomping like maniacs at the speaker bins. We were 16 and were like: "WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS SHET!! THIS MUSIC IS WICKED!!!"

5) Satoshi Tomiie - "And I Loved You" feat. vocals by Arnold Jarvis (1990) This was a record from my very 1st record purchases. It was summertime and I walked into a record store on Yonge St., downtown called "Carnival" and met Tyrone Solomon (of PTS fame!). Nicest guy and bought Shades of Black\'s "SHADOWS" EP on some label called \'Intrigue\', I think. Can\'t imagine how many times I\'ve heard this beautiful record and at countless parties.

6) This is a cover by Phonique- "Feel What You Want" feat. vocals by Rebecca (2012)\\xa0 The original was in 1994 by Rob Dougan & Rollo Armstrong & Kristine W (also featuring her vocals) Jim bought doubles of the original Kristine W. We were crammed into his bedroom when he 1st played it for me- I FLIPPED OUT!! Jim loved phasing doubles and then playing them purposely slightly offbeat- sounded wicked!! Now you can do it with a \'delay\' effects button.\\xa0 He made a mix on cassette tape, then we went downtown looking for a warehouse party. Love this cover done by Phonique and Rebecca, they keep the original feel but brought a freshness to this timeless vocal track.

7) M.A.W.- "I Can\'t Get No Sleep" remixed by David Morales (1995) First time I heard this was at a warehouse party near Wellesley St., around 6 am, after working nightshift at 7West Cafe. Vince Ailey\'s friend was DJing. Can\'t remember his name but was a towering Spanish guy, a great guy. The way he expertly slowly drifted these two minutes of drum intro into the last song. I was dancing non-stop and when that India\'s vocal came in...\\xa0 Breathtakingly beautiful!

8) Tommy Musto - "Take Some Time Out" feat. vocals by Arnold Jarvis (1987) This vocal still gives me goosebumps!! Was a fav at many warehouse jams!

9) This was remixed by Bush II Bush- "You\'re Gonna Miss Me" (2007) Original by Turntable Orchestra (1988). Turntable Orchestra \\u200e\\u2013 "You\'re Gonna Miss Me" (1988) Love the original the best but don\'t have a clean, good quality digital copy and my vinyl\'s all scratched up. This is a really good remix bringing modern-day tight, bright sounds to this classic vocal.

10) Bang The Party- "Bang-Bang You\'re Mine" (1990) The first time I heard this was at my pal, Moses\' house, we were wrecked and he was mixing this and Fingers Inc tracks. We were all 16yrs old and couldn\'t believe this house music stuff!!

11) This is a cover by Xakosa- "Miss Me" feat. vocals by Kenny Thomas (2013) The original by Turntable Orchestra \\u200e\\u2013 "You\'re Gonna Miss Me" (1988) This is such a good cover with a jackin\' beat, had to include also even though played another version already.

Back in the day, DJs like AKI and PTS would tease you by playing parts of a track, 5-6 times during the night- just a sliver, a few beats each time, just enough of a hook. That\'s how they broke tracks! By the 5th time, everyone was so excited that the whole room was bouncing with hands in the air!

12) Bobby D\'Ambrosio\\u200e\\u2013 "Moment Of My Life" feat. vocals by Michelle Weeks (1997) \\u200e This is one of the most uplifting vocal house tracks out there! Michelle Weeks baby!! Man, there are probably 250 classic house tracks I\'d love to put in mixes if I only had clean digital versions. One can dream.

13) M.A.W.- "I Get Lifted" feat. vocals by Barbara Tucker remixed by John Ciafone (1994) Don\'t know a house DJ worth his salt that doesn\'t have two dozen Masters At Work vinyl records. Priceless track. Feelin\' this?

14) Masters At Work or M.A.W.(Little Louie Vega & Kenny Dope Gonzalez) - "I Can\'t Get No Sleep" feat. vocals by India (1993) Had to include the original. The first time we heard this was years before that David Morales remix played earlier. We were at "Kat Klub", just southwest of Church St & Queen St E. Kevin Williams, rubbed the cellphone cover off of the record on his jeans and SLAMMED this down. He could MIX!!\\xa0 India was a successful Freestyle (Gino Beats) singer who transitioned to house music. We thanked the stars that she did. Her vocals are very distinctive.

Kevin was actually the first LIVE house DJ I had heard at 16 at "GO GO\'s", in the \'White Room\' on Richmond St & Duncan. He BURNED through records with fast change-ups.

At the end of the night, Jason Palma said there was a STACK of records in a pile beside him OUTSIDE of their sleeves!! He mixes with a frenzy! Jason told that story and I felt it on the dance floor but wasn\'t privy to the DJ booth ; ) I got in with my cousin\'s 21yr old ID, I guess since every Chinese guy at that time looked the same ; ) Great for me!

15) Thompson & Lenoir (LNR) - "Can\'t Stop The House" (1987) LNR, same guys that made the warehouse classic "Work It To The Bone" and "Work That Mutha Fucker", under his alias, Steve Poindexter!!

Wish I had a clean copy of that! The first time Jim and I heard this was at 616 Yonge St., around Wellesley. When AKI threw this down, we almost put our fists through the wall it was that exciting!! FLIPPED OUT! That\'s HOUSE MUSIC. \\u200e

16) Murk (Oscar G & Ralf Falcon)/ Liberty City *moniker\\u2013 "Some Lovin\'" (1992) I loved this track so much that for a whole summer, every warehouse I went to, I \'requested\' this track. Drove AKI and the rest nuts. But this vocal was SOOOOOOO DIRTY!!! That MURK feel, those baselines!! Then we saw Liberty City perform it live at The OZ on Mercer St.

17) Jestofunk-"Stellar Funk" remixed by Lazzaro (1997) This congo instrumental I played the crap out of back in the vinyl days, mixed it with dozens of different vocals. My personal policy is NEVER REPEAT a combo and it\'s brought joy to every situation. Great track!!

18) Joe Smooth- "The Promised Land" feat. vocals by Anthony Thomas (1987) What this track does to you is HOUSE MUSIC. Beautiful in every way. Can listen to this and have listened to this OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

19) Instrumental mix by M.A.W. (date?) M.A.W.-River Ocean \\u200e\\u2013 "Love & Happiness" (Yemaya Y Och\\xfan) feat. vocals by India (1994) Jim bought doubles of this also and he played the crap out of it! Like a great dessert that\'s good with EVERY meal. Tracks like this make mixing so much fun because each new combo is a rebirth in emotions.

20) Inner City- "Big Fun" (1988) was when the original by Kevin Saunderson was made, but this remix was made in (2003) by Juan Atkins First time I heard this was at Focus on Joseph St around Wellesley. Nope, not the \'Focus\' at City Hall, that was before my time. Play a few bars and people go MENTAL on the dancefloor! Infectious.

21) & 22) The dub mix was remixed by Soul Clap Raze- "Break 4 Love" (2011) vocal mix remixed by Soul Clap.
Raze- "Break 4 Love" (2011) Original (1988) Raze - "Break 4 Love" feat. vocals by Keith Thompson I LOVE EVERY VERSION of the original also, the full vocal, the instrumental bringing out this timeless baseline, and the Spanish female vocal version. Jim bought these remixes and I just lost it. Can\'t believe Soul Clap got the original vocal by Keith Thompson. They keep the original sounds but brought them to the current times. Like the beginning of the dub and didn\'t like the beginning of the vocal, so I mixed them together. The original is the best but will have to save it for another time.

23) Remixed by Michel Cleis \'Floreo\'(2010) was based on the original M.A.W.- River Ocean\\u200e \\u2013 "Love & Happiness" (Yemaya Y Och\\xfan) feat. vocals by India (1994) Jim had double records of this original MAW vocal! This remix revived this track for us!

24) Murk (Oscar G & Ralf Falcon) - "Tried So Hard" feat. vocals by Bobby Pruit (1993) This track reminds me of one of the 1st times I met Vince Ailey, a great Toronto House DJ & producer but back then he was one of the BADDEST dancers! And not that hip-hop dancing to house music crap, real house dancing. We were at a PTS party on Duncan, south of Richmond. The ceilings were low and sweat was dripping off them. That was nasty, but the MUSIC was so addictive, no one left till after 5 am!!

25) Kerri Chandler & Johnny McDougald- "Something Wrong" (1992) Killer track! Chandler is a bricklayer, this is a foundation dub. New house lovers are gonna say "WTF??!!" Jim and I often wonder when we hear a wicked track.. \'how did they come up with this track? the ideas? the sounds?\' We should start producing so we can make someone else think that. Hopefully soon...

26) Fingers Inc. (Larry Heard, Ron Wilson & Robert Owens) \\u200e \\u2013 "Music Take Me Up" feat. vocals by Robert Owens (1985) My first exposure to house music in a serious way was Fingers tracks, think over a dozen like \'So Glad\', \'What About This Love\', \'Distant Planet\', \'You\'re Someone Special\', \'A Love of My Own\', \'A Path\', \'Mysteries of Love\', \'I\'m Strong\', \'Can You Feel It\' and the list is endless. Tracks got attention those days. We burned the grooves off these records!!

27) Mondo Grosso- "Souffles H" remixed by M.A.W. (1995) How many MAW tracks are in this mix?? Little Louie Vega & Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez is so sick!! How many house tracks copied their swing? Standing on the shoulders of Giants! Let it grow!!
remixed by Tricky Disco - "Tricky Disco" (1990) Love this sexy sax mix! Didn\'t like this track till it wasn\'t being played any longer.

28) Jaydee - "Plastic Dreams" (1992) This is an anthem with killer keys!!
The original M.A.W. & Lem Springsteen- "Nite Life" feat. vocals by Kim English (1994) remixed by Armand Van Helden (1994) Love this vocal!! All our fav house DJs in the past played this track. Can\'t stop dancing to this.

29) Blaze- "So Special" (1990) This was one of my first records and has so many great memories attached to it.

30) Eddie Lewis & Kerri Chandler - "I Need You" feat. vocals by Kamar (1993) Nothing like seeing a smokey dark room with over a hundred people with hands in the air and singing along! House Karaoke!!

31) Cajmere - "Brighter Days" feat. vocals by Dajae (1992) remixed by Karizma & DJ
Spen (2011) Karizma smashed it with this remix!! He kept all the original elements and turbo-boosted the thump of this gorgeous vocal!

32)\\xa0 Dodha & DJ Spen- "Inrowd" (2013) This is not a classic instrumental but reminded me of the old days with its feel and sound. Actually reminded me of Mateo & Matos\' track "Raw Elements". I gotta get that vinyl on Discogs!

33) The original is by Jay Williams, Nelson Roman & Rob Hanning - "Sweat" feat. vocals by Jay Williams (1990) This remix by Jojo Flores, probably in 1999. \'Sweat\' reminds me of this club in North York, just outside of Toronto, but now part of the GTA (Greater Toronto Area). "Inner City" was a wicked club and one of the first to the playhouse. And the dancers there were incredible!! It was that time when everyone got tailored dress pants made and they all had slight to ridiculous bell bottoms. But it seemed so cool at the time watching these guys dance. Jay Williams\' vocals on this are legendary and JoJo made this killer remix that made this vocal alive again!

34) Martin Solveig - "Afro Deep" (1999) This is not a classic track but I played the crap out of this congo instrumental. The house feel can be expressed in limitless ways.

35) The original Show Me Love feat. vocals by Robin S (1993) were remixed by Steve Angello & Laidback Luke (2008) in this track. Jim played this remix for the first time at a party a few years ago and EVERYONE went bananas at a certain part near the beginning. You\'ll definitely KNOW when you FEEL it.

36) Nightmares on Wax - "Aftermath" (1990) This reminds me of a dance my friends DJ\'ed at Jarvis Collegiate near Wellesley. That was a party and we were all into HOUSE and danced like crazy. My friend, Noel Nanton (AN INCREDIBLE HOUSE DJ & PRODUCER), got me into the house at 15yrs old (I was in grade 10) and took me to go see Kevin Williams at GO-GO\'s and some friends had great friends at Jarvis Collegiate and we bonded with tons of house music.

37) Scotti Deep/ Fathoms N.Y. *moniker - "Braniak" (1995) Jim and I went BONKERS when we heard this for the 1st time at a warehouse party. Think it was at the 4th and 5th on Richmond St. It was such a raw and techy bouncy charger!

38) The original Romanthony- "Bring U Up" (1995) remixed by Deetron (2011) I don\'t know how many Romanthony records we own but he made some great ones. God Rest his Soul. This remix by DeeTron brought this trackback to the current state of affairs. Love remixes of classics that preserve the feel but make it fresh with higher quality sounds.

39) Fingers Inc.- "Bring Down The Walls" feat. vocals by Robert Owens (1986) Bought this digital copy from iTunes. Got every Fingers vinyl! This got so played out it almost sounded commercial. But for those who haven\'t heard it for years or for the first time - WATCH OUT.

40) John Rocco - "Move" (1987) I first heard this at Jim\'s house, this was when FreeStyle + House was the sound. We got into it probably by \'95. My best memory of this track live was when Kenny Glasgow, now famous 1/2 of the Art Department, dropped this right from the beginning at The Wellington, on Wellington, south of Spadina & King St. Toronto history. Killer thumpin\' intro. I never mix this track cause I want to hear that beginning.