Following well-regarded outings on Phonica Records and Wolf Music, and a superb “Many Shades Of House” compilation released this year, Lausanne-based Lea Lisa joins Smallville Records this June with ‘Poem For The Lost Souls’, accompanied by remixes from Kuniyuki and Session Victim as a special Double-12“ package.

For these tracks, Lea Lisa has worked with several musicians in the studio to transform the warmth and organic feel of real instruments into her musical universe. The original mix of ‘Poem For The Lost Souls’ leads, a jazzy house journey that ebbs and flows through fluttering flute melodies, ethereal chords, wandering piano and funk-infused bass grooves running atop organic percussion and disco tinged drums. On the B Side, the ‘Broken Mix’ follows, as the name would suggest, rhythmically shifting focus towards off-kilter drum breaks alongside the other melodies and again – all the ingredients that make a classic house track.

Opening the C-side on record 2, acclaimed Japanese artist and Mule Musiq regular Kuniyuki steps up to rework ‘Poem For The Lost Souls’, in typical fashion the Sapporo born producer extracts the core grooves from the original and shapes it into something uniquely his own, laden with warmth, soul and dynamics. The duo Session Victim then round out the release on Side D with their interpretation, fusing together the original synth melodies with their own amalgamation of intricately intertwined keys and atmospherics, underpinned by a shuffled rhythm section and bouncy low-end drive.

It’s coming with a gatefold cover-artwork by Stefan Marx for a cherry-blossom glimpse of Yoyogi Park in Tokyo.

Pre-order.

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Sometimes something comes along that is so special and will be a welcome embellishment to any discerning house DJ’s record bag. Sadly, not for the stick, as this remains true to the heritage of the music and is a vinyl only release.

A double vinyl gatefold album has been carefully curated, housing Lea Lisa’s memories of the best of her house sets from luminaries like Kerri Chandler to Lars Bartkuhn, to Mark Goddard, and Ron Trent.

Housed on French label Favorite Recordings- which is headed up by Pascal Rioux, the label synonymous with Jeremy Underground and his comp series: My Love is Underground – Many Shades of House is lovingly put together by Lea Lisa who has been about on the French underground scene for over twenty years. This compilation brings Lea Lisa to the fore with this excellent, chunky, sure-fire selection of four to the floor classic house treasures.

Pre-order.

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When was your first gig and how did you get it?
My first booking was at the Queen Club in Cannes where I made my first warm-up thanks to a friend DJ, my hands were shaking, I still remember it, it was just a crush. I caught the virus like this…

Where do you tend to play now?
What I really like is House Music and if I’m in peaktime, it’s the conductive line but I like to vary the styles, depending on the length of the set, I can go from broken to techno, you can place everything, I have no boundaries. It’s just the choice of the right record at the right time, the story you want to tell and the audience you have in front of you. It will never be the same…

Tell us about your record collection?
Wow, we can talk about it for hours, but what I can say is that I’ve sold a lot of it because I used to buy too much— Today I look at my collection and I say to myself, I will not sell any more. It is a part of my life, of my history, it is my background. I am proud of that.

Where do you like to buy records?
When I travel, I look for a record store, it is mandatory but I am in the business so I would say that I am spoiled with Innerdisc. It was Fred, my partner in the adventure who partly motivated me to come back through this project. For me, he is a mentor who has taught me a lot, and I am super proud to be part of the team. On our scale, through the store, we transmit and select qualitative music to our visitors who trust us every day.

Give us your top 3 records that never leave you record bag?
Please 4 😉

Presence (Charles Webster) The Spectrum Ep – Remote

Mark Goddard – The Truth – Funky Groove Records

Wamdue Kids – Memory and Forgetting – Communique

Kerri Chandler – Drink on me – Express Records

 

Who is your biggest inspiration in life?
Music, it directs everything…

Who is your biggest inspiration musically?
Kerri Chandler, Ron Trent…

How did you get to know the WOLF guys?
In early 2000, there was a blog of mixes and reviews called Wsound. He discovered one of my mix on this site and he got in touch. It was long before his adventure with Wolf. We have a lot in common musically. When I came out of my lair, after my Ep with Rich Medina, he proposed me to do an Ep for
them. There is a real meaning to this, he knows where I come from. I need to build a discography with people who understand my background. I am very happy to add a stone to their discography.

What do you think of their catalogue?
Lots of variety, they take risks on their releases, no compromise and very qualitative.

Any favourites for you in the WOLF catalogue?
Medlar et Lb aka Labat, Kandinsky & Mr Fries

Who’s your favourite WOLF?
The Legacy Ep ahaha and « Stranger » de Kandinsky & Mr Fries

Will we see you playing at a WOLF party soon?
They proposed it to me, just find the right date:)

What other labels have you released music on?
Mona Musique, the Nick V label I’ve known for over 15 years and Inner Balance directed by Jorge Caiado and Chez Damier. The paths always meet…

Tell us about this release? What’s the story behind it?
Kerri loved the track «Something for the dancers», he even offered to release it on one of his labels, but I was embarrassed to mix business and friendship, so I refused. I then wrote “From Garage”, which is the legacy of my time in New York, when I went to dance to body & soul etc… I wanted to do a warm up record that kicks off a party with a very garage vocal. For the remix, Stu & Matt once told me it would be great to have Kerri, but again, I was a little embarrassed to ask. Then I talked to Kerri about it one night, and he accepted it right away. He gave me a very nice gift, This Ep is all my musical legacy, and cherry on the cake, Kerri is part of this project, it make sens.

How do you find the music industry treats you as a woman?
There is a bit of machismo like every business, I am also very happy to see that women take a very important place on the line-ups but the problem is the sexualization of female djs, Putting a face and a body above music… We have to put the music back in the center.

Do you think that the music industry needs to change? To be more respectful to women in general?
Now we’re more in pure marketing, it bothers me in the sense that there’s a lot of starification, I’m having trouble finding the DNA and the essence of this culture, I have nothing against success on the contrary, it rewards hard work, but there’s a lot of opportunism and some careers are built on little things.

It’s not easy to get Kerri Chandler to remix. How did you manage this?
Friendship, and he liked a lot the track…

What do you have coming up next release wise?
I promise to send it to you as soon as I finish it!

What’s on the horizon for Lea Lisa?
Continue to produce, mix with the same passion.

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Sharon Andrews