VARIOUS — Slap Wax 1

Various Artists – Slap Wax 1 is a four-track 12-inch vinyl release that brought together RAWAX and Dutch house label SlapFunk for a focused meeting point between raw house, deep house, Chicago house and the stripped-back club sound associated with the Dutch underground. Released in 2018 as catalogue number RWXSFK01, the EP features Samuel Deep, William Caycedo, Locklead and Julian Alexander, with one original production from each artist. The record was conceived as a collaboration between RAWAX and SlapFunk, connecting the Frankfurt-based vinyl institution with one of the Netherlands’ most influential labels for raw house music. Contemporary retailers classify the release across House, Deep House, Chicago House, Acid House and Tech House. The collaboration makes sense from the outset. RAWAX has built its catalogue around underground electronic music and a strong commitment to physical releases, while SlapFunk emerged from the Dutch underground with a clear focus on raw, groove-driven house music. Resident Advisor describes SlapFunk as a Dutch label focused on Raw House Music, and the label itself continues to identify Amsterdam as an important part of its current activity. Slap Wax 1 captures this connection at an early stage, bringing four producers from the SlapFunk orbit onto a RAWAX 12-inch. The A-side opens with Samuel Deep’s “Ghetto DS”, a 6:20 production that immediately establishes the record’s club-focused character. The track is listed at 126 BPM and has also been categorized as Techno by Traxsource, while the original vinyl release is more broadly positioned within House, Deep House and Chicago House territory. That overlap is significant: “Ghetto DS” sits in the space where house music can retain the physical drive and repetitive discipline of techno without abandoning the swing and groove that define the SlapFunk aesthetic. Samuel Deep has long been closely connected with the SlapFunk sound, and the label itself has described him as a key figure in shaping its musical identity. His later appearances across SlapFunk releases and events reinforce the importance of that relationship. On Slap Wax 1, “Ghetto DS” therefore functions as more than simply the first track on the record: it establishes a direct connection between the compilation and the musical language that would become increasingly associated with SlapFunk. A2 is William Caycedo’s “Sswitch”, running for 6:19. Caycedo’s contribution continues the record’s emphasis on stripped-back house but gives the A-side another individual voice. The track sits naturally within the compilation because it shares the same broad commitment to rhythm and club functionality while avoiding the impression that all four productions were made from the same template. The combination of Samuel Deep and William Caycedo makes the first side a concise introduction to the range of producers working around the SlapFunk network at the time. “Sswitch” is also important in the wider SlapFunk context. William Caycedo had already appeared on the label before Slap Wax 1, and Resident Advisor lists his “Beats 4 Daze” among SlapFunk’s earlier releases. His inclusion here therefore represents an established connection rather than an isolated guest appearance. The result is a natural fit between Caycedo’s production and the label’s raw-house-oriented catalogue. The B-side begins with Locklead’s “C.O.P.”, the longest track on the original EP at approximately 6:33. Locklead would become one of the recurring names associated with the wider SlapFunk scene, and his presence on RWXSFK01 reinforces the connection between RAWAX and the Dutch underground. The track is consistently categorized as House, while the release as a whole is also associated with Deep House, Chicago House and Tech House. “C.O.P.” provides the B-side with a strong continuation of the record’s groove-based approach. Its extended running time makes it particularly suitable for DJ mixing, giving the selector more space to work with than a conventional short-form club track. Within the context of Slap Wax 1, the track helps maintain the continuity between the two sides while allowing Locklead’s individual production identity to become part of the broader RAWAX/SlapFunk dialogue. Closing the record is Julian Alexander’s “2SI Universe”, a 4:59 production and the shortest of the four tracks. Alexander was already an established part of the SlapFunk family, with Resident Advisor listing his releases on the label and specifically documenting his collaboration with Samuel Deep on the 2015 Get Slapped EP. His presence on Slap Wax 1 therefore completes a selection built around producers who were closely connected to the Dutch label rather than a random compilation of unrelated artists. The four tracks form a coherent snapshot of the raw-house movement that surrounded SlapFunk during the late 2010s. Rather than relying on a single dominant interpretation of house music, Slap Wax 1 moves between deep house, Chicago house, acid house, tech house and the more stripped-back forms of underground club music that were becoming increasingly prominent in European vinyl culture. The common element is not a specific production formula but a shared emphasis on groove, repetition and DJ functionality. The physical format is central to the release. Slap Wax 1 was issued as a 12-inch vinyl and was explicitly promoted as vinyl-only by Clone. DBH Music lists the record as a 12-inch House release, while its catalogue information identifies RWXSFK01 and credits LHAudio for mastering and cutting. The release was distributed worldwide through DBH Music, placing the record within the established European specialist-vinyl distribution network rather than treating it as a small digital-only collaboration. There is also a useful historical connection between this release and the later development of SlapFunk. The label has continued to build a catalogue around raw house music while expanding its community of artists, events and related imprints. Current SlapFunk material still identifies the label’s musical philosophy through underground house releases and its long-running network of producers and DJs. Slap Wax 1 therefore documents an earlier stage of a label identity that has remained remarkably consistent: music made primarily for the dancefloor, released through physical formats and connected to a strong DJ culture. For DJs, Slap Wax 1 is a practical four-track record that can sit naturally in house, deep house, Chicago house, acid house and tech-house sets. “Ghetto DS” provides the opening statement at 126 BPM, “Sswitch” continues the A-side with William Caycedo’s contribution, “C.O.P.” gives the B-side its longest and most mix-friendly track, and “2SI Universe” closes the record with a shorter final cut. The relatively compact running times and consistent house orientation make the record easy to integrate into a broader vinyl set. For collectors, RWXSFK01 has significance beyond the individual tracks. It represents the first Slap Wax collaboration between RAWAX and SlapFunk, bringing together two labels with strong reputations for underground house and vinyl culture. It also documents a particularly important group of SlapFunk-associated producers: Samuel Deep, William Caycedo, Locklead and Julian Alexander. The combination makes Slap Wax 1 an informative snapshot of the Dutch raw-house movement and its connections with the wider European vinyl scene. Various Artists – Slap Wax 1 remains a concise and focused example of underground house music from 2018. With Samuel Deep’s “Ghetto DS”, William Caycedo’s “Sswitch”, Locklead’s “C.O.P.” and Julian Alexander’s “2SI Universe”, the record connects four producers through a common commitment to groove-led club music while retaining enough variation to make each track individually useful. Released by RAWAX in collaboration with SlapFunk as RWXSFK01 and issued as a vinyl-only 12-inch, it stands as a strong document of the meeting point between Frankfurt’s RAWAX tradition and the raw-house movement emerging from the Netherlands.