At a time in London’s underground club scene when small independent parties were cropping up left right and centre, with eager DJs and promoters keen to emulate a sound for the sake of putting their own name on a flyer or for those, ‘I’m running a night’ bragger’s rights, FUSE went deeper and stuck with a sound that was their own.
In November of 2008 Enzo Siragusa threw the first FUSE party, as an early morning after party, which has since has grown to be one of London’s underground clubbing institutions. With their deep, dubby, stripped back house and tech flavours soundtracking hundreds of hazy late nights and early mornings at Brick Lane’s 93ft East, it was only a matter of time before the crew ventured to the motherland: Ibiza.
With FUSE London Records now celebrating its 5th year as fully fledged imprint, the guys will also be throwing down at London’s Studio 338 with a line-up including Alex Arnout, Alexkid and Ben Rau alongside residents Enzo Siragusa, Seb Zito, Rich NxT, Rossko. Now the label A&R, Seb Zito steps into the mix exclusively for i-D to showcase the breadth of sounds throughout the labels 5 years..
“This mix is a true reflection of our sound dating back to early 93ft East to present. A mixture of old classics like As We Are to more club heavy house like Burnaby Street. I’ve also thrown in a few Infuse tracks from our friends like OdD & Pat Ondeback along with some upcoming releases on Fuse London.
My job as A&R is pretty natural to me, to find new artists and music is part and parcel of being a DJ. I select music based on the dance floor, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it has to be a banger. Being a resident DJ I play all types of sets so I understand what makes people move at different moments and moods, so I use this for the EP selections especially for the Infuse label.”
What are the top three tracks getting heavy rotation in your sets?
Honestly it’s my own music or music from the guys that gets the dancefloor going. Raas Riddim which will come out on Vatos Locos this year. F&Z 3.2 which is a tasty 2 step dub from myself & Fars on our f&z label. Lastly Unknown from Enzo & Archie, rolling percussive banger.
What’s the most hedonistic party you’ve ever been to?
It’s got to be We Love at Space in Ibiza, when the terrace was an actual terrace. For a young ting 18-year-old Londoner it was a real eye opener, all walks of life coming together for the love of music. Raving outside was very new to me back then, I was too young for the rave culture in the early 90s where promoters would set up in a field off the M25. Everything was restricted to nightclubs so walking into a packed Space terrace with the sun beaming was just simply unreal.
What’s the most phenomenal clubbing venue in the world and why?
There’s almost too many to mention. The first two to pop to mind are DC 10 & 93ft East. DC was like a tropical jungle packed to the rafters with weird and wonderful people. That was our muse for 93 and I think we achieved that and then some. It was our home, and we created something very special in that place.
If you could go back to back with any DJ, at any venue, who would it be and why?
DJ EZ at DC10. Why EZ? Technically he’s the best and he knows how to get a rave hyped. We’d get bare sit downs on that terrace…. Lol
What would your dream rider consist of?
I don’t care much about riders. Fully functional decks and I’m happy as Larry…. Oh and a bottle of tequila.
What’s your favourite party anthem of all time?
I wouldn’t class it a typical party anthem but when Roy Davis Jr. Gabriel comes on it just takes over my body.
What producer are you predicting big things from this year?
Two young French dudes under the artist name Zendid. They’re so talented and feature on our Infuse label. Also Samuel Bellis who’s part of our crew, musically it’s deeper for the dance floor, but excellent music.
Where do you go when the record ends and the lights come on?
Flight to the next gig or to an afters.
What track would you end the night on when everyone’s still awake and its time to go to sleep?
Aztec Soul & Guided Methods, Rugburns.
What’s your party trick?
Sorry don’t have one.
Finish the sentence, the music sounds better with…
LOVE.
For tickets and more information on the five years of FUSE party head here.