For those of you who don’t know me, I’m the most recent addition to the VU team. My name is Alex D’Arcy, or just ‘D’Arcy’ to those I've met at parties and clubs either dancing or DJing (normally both!). 

I’ve been fascinated and obsessed with buying records and playing them whenever and wherever I get the chance after two life changing moments in 1994. First, discovering Jungle via a Randall cassette recording from Dreamscape 14, and then very quickly after, hearing some of Northampton's Radlands crew dropping the needle on Wu's 'Can It Be All So Simple' on some big Jamo speakers in a hazed out front room in NN1. That was my first taste of 1200s up close and personal. Its been a love affair ever since......

I was lucky enough to work with Tom Rose and the Reveal Records crew in Derby from 2000-2003, pushing the vinyl agenda, and I’ve been looking for an opportunity to get back ‘behind the counter’, wanting to combine my love for music and records, with my professional life. Thanks to a long standing relationship with Aidy, various discussions over the last 5 years and a touch of serendipity, I am now on-board as a business partner and member of the elite Vinyl Underground team. A privilege and a dream come true. 

As we christen the new Vinyl Underground Basement Blog, I thought I’d kick things off with a bit of a look at one of my favourite artists, Rick Wade! I hope you enjoy the read…

Rick Wade and Vinyl Underground (VU) have a special connection for me.

I moved back to Northampton and started shopping at VU in late 2003, which was when I first met Aidy.

We quickly found a common bond and rapport over the output of the Duke of Detroit AKA Mr Rick Wade.

Dave Chappelle and Charlie Murphy’s infamous Rick James skits had recently blown up, and on a Friday after work, when I knew a new Rick Wade release had landed at VU, I would bound up the stairs, throw open the doors to the shop and declare, ‘I’m Rick Wade, b***h! Enjoy yourselves!’.

To this day, the mention of Rick Wade’s name in the shop still raises smiles, and when the needle drops on his wax….well…..it’s game time.

Each time, we’d look at each other and say, ‘do I need another Rick Wade record in my collection?’.

Needle drop, then drums, that bass, those riffs and chords, and then of course, the bump.

‘Yes, I need another Rick Wade record in my collection!’

Since those days, he’s remained one of my absolute favourite producers, and with 25+ slabs of his wax on my shelves, one of my most collected artists.

Yet, that is only the tip of the iceberg of his output which now amounts to well over a hundred listings on Discogs.

20 years digging and 30 years on, fresh Rick Wade still hitting the shelves.

Its 20 years since I started shopping at VU, 30 years since Rick dropped his classic Late Night Bassix EP to christen his own legendary Harmonie Park label and now Rick's reissued the sought after ‘Hustler’s Lullaby’ EP on Yore, and the the killer new Detroit Noir EP on Rawax. So we are very happy to rack them up at VU.…as always, when Rick drops something, ‘it’s a celebration b***hes, enjoy yourselves!’. 

Rick’s sound is unique, whether dropping sample laden disco bombs, or the deepest rolling basslines, he always keeps a deep house groove that is distinctly his, and distinctly Detroit in vibe and spirit.

Despite having a dedicated following and being considered one of the best to ever do it, his profile is just not as big as some of his peers, but it should be. 

In tribute to the music Rick has created and shared, I’ve recorded a mix of some of my favourites from that golden era in the shop, with every record having been purchased at VU between 2004 – 2014.

Sadly, I’m yet to hear Rick DJ live, he is top of my list. Maybe we’ll even ask him if he’d play at one of our events in the future. 

Pick up your copy of Rick's latest releases here.

Check out the mix on VU Soundcloud / Mixcloud:

All available tracks from the mix are on a playlist over at our Spotify.

 

If you still want more Rick, which no dout you will, as you can clearly never have enough, then read further at RA with a mix by the man himself from earlier in 2024. Check it here:

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Mix tracklist (all Rick Wade unless specified):

Cruising Altitude (Harmonie Park)

Hustler’s Groove 

Duke of Cologne (Yore)

Whistle Bump Track (Harmonie Park)

Moodymanc - Father - Rick Wade Daddy’s Disco Mix (Landed)

Deepenstein (Harmonie Park)

Vintage (Harmonie Park)

Andy Vaz feat. Eva Soul - Feeling - Rick Wade Mix (Harmonie Park)

Interstate ‘94 (Altered Moods)

Melancholy (Harmonie Park)

The 7th Connection (Harmonie Park)

Harsh Thoughts (Harmonie Park)

Cooler Heads (ArtfulDivision)

First Darkness (Laid)

Rome Ext (Harmonie Park)

Nothing to Fear (Harmonie Park)

Angry Pimp (Funky Chocolate / Harmonie Park)

 

D’Arcy selects Essential Rick Wade (AKA the impossible task)

Harmonie Park Revisited (Rush Hour)

Grimm World of Tones EP (Harmonie Park)

Vinyl Refresher (Harmonie Park)

First Darkness (Laid)

Hustler’s Lullaby (Unknown Season / repress on Yore 2024)