Crate Diggin': Waifs & Strays Influences Playlist

Musical partners Amos and Rich are two badass talents from Bristol who are currently raising their game in house circles as Waifs & Strays. Starting off on their musical journey as two DJ's at two different speeds - Rich operating as a self proclaimed lover of jungle, drum n' bass and the deep inflection of dubstep producing under his 'Soundbox Productions’ guise whilst Amos enjoyed the best part of a decade denting house-loving dancefloors - until their passion for different music styles spilled together to form Waifs & Strays. The duo sparked a body-moving frenzy back in September when they played under the Futureboogie banner in Room Three and further to their dance floor prowess for the party promoters and imprint they also impressed with their trademark of bass-tinged, infectious grooves on the ‘Be Patient EP’ which they released back in 2011. So, with just four sleeps left until Waifs & Strays return to midst brick walls of our third disco room, next to PBR Streetgang and the Futureboogie DJ's themselves, the duo have taken us crate digging and picked five records each that represent some of their greatest musical influences. Rich: Waifs & Strays - Top 5 Leftfield and Dub Influences Squarepusher – Red Hot Car Probably Squarpusher's most accessible track. The drum programming is perfectly mental while the chorus gives some respite from the madness with lush electronic chords and swells. All glued together with some seriously dubious lyrics! Omni Trio – Renegade Snares This was a tough choice because there are so many great early jungle tracks out there on labels like Moving Shadow, Metal Headz, Ram etc. I went for this one for its beautiful combination of Amen breaky magic and gorgeous melodies. It's one of those that instantly transports you to the first time you heard it. El B – Digital Over 10 years old now and still sounding frrreeeesh! These dark sub heavy beats are the roots of the London dubstep sound which has now spread worldwide and in my view it's still the best side of the genre. Its a rump shaker! Goldie – Timeless Not much needs to be said about this, the LP is 21 minutes long and its amazing throughout. A huge inspiration to producers of all genres. Roots Manuva – Witness the Fitness One of the first Hip Hop LPs I bought was the Run Come Save Me LP and this is the dancefloor banger of the pack. Vocally there's not many as interesting as Manuva and in combination with this freaky acidic hip hop beat he's unbeatable! “Taskmaster burst the bionic zit splitter, Breakneck speed we drown ten pints of bitter!" Amos: Waifs & Strays - Top 5 House Loves and Influences Lil Mo Yin Yang - Reach It's just one of those tunes that for me sums up a party going in full swing. Its just a relentless, no holds-barred party tune and that has really stood the test of time. Global Communication - The Way (Secrets Mix) This is probably the house record I wish that I had made more than any other. It just rolls and loops over and over for over 10 minutes with these snippets of the vocal coming in and out and then the synths come in at the end, basically I can listen to it all day. Crydajam - If you give me the love I want I first heard this on a trip to Ibiza in 2001 and literally couldn't get it out of my head for days. I couldn't remember the words properly (try singing to a person in a record store) and it took weeks to find out what it was, to then to find it wasn't available in the UK! I wrote an email to Crydamoure (the label owned by Guy-Manuel from Daft Punk) and they sent me a copy (for free) from France and I played that record to death! Dennis Ferrer - Son of Raw One of my favrourite house records. I love every bit of this record. It might not be the most underground of tunes but the way the tune loops and loops just adding little bits until the vocal appears right at the end of the record is amazing. Afrilounge - Lux Dementia This is a real lesson in restraint and tension. It's such a stripped back record to start with and the tension builds until it drops into a minute long break and then it drops back in and this beautiful grand piano comes in over the top. Proper goosebumps record! Waifs & Strays will be joining PBR Streetgang and Futureboogie DJ's in Room Three this Saturday, for more info and tickets go here.