#virgo four

[thebonesofhoudini]

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Virgo Four - Do You Know Who You Are? [Trax Records, 1989]

[randomvarious]

Virgo 4 - "Blue Mood" Lost Trax Song recorded in 198? Compilation released in 1993. House / Deep House / Acid House

The confusingly named Chicago duo Virgo 4, who are also referred to as Virgo, but are not be confused with the other Virgo who were on the same Trax label that consisted of local legends Marshall Jefferson and Adonis, are more or less representative of the quintessence of Chicago house music's own alluring mystique. Their coveted compilation album, Virgo, which was originally released in the UK in 1989, and comprised of their first two 12-inch EPs, is often rated as being one of the best Chicago house releases ever made, even though Eric Lewis and Merwyn Sanders never really ended up releasing all that much, either together or individually. You'd think two guys who crafted some of the scene's most acclaimed music would've proven to be more prolific in their output, but the lack of it is essentially what contributes to their status as legends anyway. Every enthusiast loves finding that group that makes one or two things that're so breathtaking and then they go away forever, because there's something that's just so cool and irresistible about that, and for Chicago house, no entity seems to suit the whole of this concept better than Virgo 4 aka M.E.

And to that end, here's more Virgo 4 mystery: a track called "Blue Mood," which was released exclusively in '93 on a vinyl v/a compilation called Lost Trax, naturally on the Trax label, but whose date of recording is not actually known. It sounds like some cutting-room floor stuff that got salvaged and packaged onto a record with other cutting-room floor stuff from other artists, but its total rawness and lack of crispness would have me thinking that it was recorded at some point in the 80s, perhaps in '88, when Trax's head honcho, Larry Sherman, agreed to first start releasing Virgo 4's music, after having turned them down a few years prior, when house had barely distinguished itself, and Merwyn and Eric were even more of an unknown entity than they were in '88.

Probably would've been cleaned up a whole lot more before being officially released, though, because the sound on Virgo from '89 is a hell of a lot smoother and clearer than this, but the deployment of these classic placid string pads, which then get topped by thinner and squealier strings, is a sound that'll just never, ever go out of style for me, personally, no matter how ancient they may get to sounding. Not too much in the way of deep house was being made around this time—if this was indeed recorded in '88—and not much house music of any kind was sounding this dreamy either, to my mind. Can't really call this a pioneering track since no one seems to have known about it because it hadn't been released, but again, that level of mysteriousness only multiplies the coolness, intrigue, and overall satisfaction that it ends up delivering anyway. And maybe it's probably not as good as what ended up being on Virgo the year after, but for a group who ended up releasing so little anyway, I think they could've stood to put this one out at some point too, because all in all, it's still quality enough for my own ears. So good on Larry Sherman for showing it the light of day in some capacity, even if he's regarded by many as being a notoriously corrupt bastard that the music industry has an unfortunate history of being all too rife with.

[thebonesofhoudini]

Virgo Four - Do You Know Who You Are? (1989)

[fieldworklondon]

LISTEN TO FIELD WORK ON NTS EPISODE 89. 6 MARCH 2021

[zattirizat]

Virgo Four’un Resurrection albümü re-mastered yapılarak plak formatında tekrardan yayınlandı

2011 yılında yine Rush Hour etiketi ile yayınlanan beş plaklık box set Resurrection, demo tape’lerden elden edilen kayıtların re-mastered edilmesi ile iki plaklık hali ile tekrardan yayınlandı.  Virgo Four - Resurrection

Virgo Four - Resurrection by Virgo Four

[radiophd]

virgo four -- going thru life

[girlsboysartpleasure]

[house-a-day]

Chicago Dance Track