Strictly Rhythm

The New York house label where a raw dub and a vocal anthem shared the same catalogue.

What you're really asking

You're asking about one label as a sound: Strictly Rhythm, the New York house institution founded in 1989. Its records run from stripped, dub-heavy DJ tools to full vocal anthems, often from the same producers.

The label is the thread, with the city's best house names passing through it.

Where it sits

Strictly Rhythm started in New York in 1989 and quickly became the East Coast's defining house label. Roger Sanchez, Armand Van Helden, Masters At Work, Erick Morillo and Mood II Swing all built their names on it.

Its catalogue holds the raw Wild Pitch and dub sides alongside the vocal anthems that crossed into clubs worldwide, a range that few single labels managed at once.

The scene

Who: Armand Van Helden, Masters At Work, Little Louie Vega, Kenny Dope, Roger Sanchez, Erick Morillo and the vocalists who sang for them. Label: Strictly Rhythm.

What: New York house across its full width, from stripped dub pressure to uplifting vocal house. How a record gets in: it is part of the label's story and the producers around it, not any New York house record of the era.