Jerome Derradji, the mastermind behind the Chicago-based label Still Music, is an old soul. Although his label is fairly young (only established in 2004), it is well-known for championing vintage sounds. In 2005, Still Music released In the Dark (The Soul of Detroit), a seminal Detroit house compilation which was eventually reissued this year along with an accompanying 30-minute documentary. Now, Derradji’s completed a similarly massive undertaking: digging deep into the crates to discover the origins of house music. The result is Jerome Derradji Presents: 122 BPM – The Birth of House Music, an immense three-CD set of rare and unreleased tracks from the catalogs of Mitchbal and Chicago Connection Records, two of the earliest house labels. One of the featured tracks from the compilation, which will be released next week, is Risque Rhythm Team’s “More Than Just a Dance (Backyard Mix),” released in 1988 via Chicago Connection. On it, the boundaries between disco, new wave, and early house are blurred as a pulsing drum beat and a fat bassline lock together to form an infectiously groovy and classic dance tune.

More Than Just A Dance (Backyard Mix)