House of 909

Along with Basement Jaxx, House of 909 is one of the few British production teams able to rival their American counterparts in the creation of mainstream deep house. Anchored by the trio of Nigel Casey, Trevor Loveys and Affie Yussuf, the collective also includes the production talents of Jamie Cox and Martin Howes. Centered around Casey's House of 909 imprint, productions by Voices from Beyond, Future Soul Orchestra and Shakedown became proper club hits in Britain during the mid-'90s. The collective's beginnings also lie with Casey, a pioneering house DJ on Britain's South Coast during the late '80s and '90s. He originally formed 909 Perversions Records after meeting Affie Yussuf, who had recorded for Force Inc and founded his own Ferox label. After producers Trevor Loveys and Jamie Cox joined the fold, House of 909 Records was born. The label debuted in 1996 with EPs from Future Soul Orchestra and Voices from Beyond, deep tracks which looked back to classic American productions by Larry Heard and Deep Dish but with a distinctly British flair. The group then hit paydirt when Pagan Records licensed House of 909's Deep Distraction EP. The mix collection Soul Rebels followed in 1997, and the team came together for their first new album, The Children We Were, in 1998. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide