- Josh "Schatrax" Brent is an unsung master of house music. Recent months have seen a low-key reissue campaign of Brent's '90s run of white label 12-inches, re-emphasizing the Isle Of Wight native's handle on classic house modes. What makes Brent unique is that he's adept with a number of well-trodden styles: disco house cuts, early UK rave breakbeat bangers, dub techno. And the tracks hold up as classics all these years later. But why isn't Brent revered next to, say, DJ Duke or Rick Wade in the search for lesser-heard '90s house classics? There's not a single Schatrax interview online, he spread his productions across various aliases, and Revenge Of The Supa, the excellent three-track reissue from Northampton record store Vinyl Underground, wasn't even credited to him until now.
The heads behind the label's store say they found a white label of the '98 Supa 12-inch, Vol 1 Episode 19, in their basement and eventually traced the record back to Brent. The motivation behind the reissue is obvious: it's a virtuosic demonstration of how to wring the most out of a sample, in this case the intro vocals from D-Train's "Music." The charging A1 has James "D-Train" Williams singing, "What would you do without music / Where would you be without a song," echoing the sentiment from Marc Romboy and Blake Baxter's 2009 effort "Where Would You Be."
Brent also introduces a slinky bassline and subtle, jacking toms, using them as the backbone of his functional B-side. The B1, "Shady's Comeback," is a rude, raved-up take on the A-side's vocal house, similar in feel and intention to The African Dream's "All In The Same Family." Brent effortlessly switches lanes again for closing cut "In The Bedroom Department," grabbing a different bit of Williams' vocal and lacing us with a Strictly Rhythm-style heater. This EP is retitled Revenge Of The Supa, as if to say Brent is back to show the kids, many of whom are trying their hands at the same sound, who's boss.
TracklistA1 What Would You Do Without
B1 Shady's Comeback
B2 In The Bedroom Department