SSU RECORDINGS
Fueled by a spark ignited from a studio session in the late 90s between Fade, Bananaman & Simon Apex, the fuse was lit on what would become one of the most famous recordings studios in USA Hardcore history!
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The original SSU studio was pulled together by Simon Apex & Brice Ion in the late 90s with duct tape and Heineken in the basement of the Subsonic Underground Record Store on 10th and J Street in Downtown Sacramento.
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The studio and label expanded over time and experienced two major moves and rebuilds as it grew. Probably the most memorable of all studio spaces was the 2nd location at 1026 J Street that had the half pipe skate ramp in the back room! It was here that the USA Hardcore scene saw its prime with all kinds of super stars like Force & Styles, Hixxy, Fade, Scott Brown, Kaos, Kev Energy, Sharkey, Dair, Storm, Robbie Long & Devastate regularly passing through to hang out and kick back with the occasional visitor coerced into a tickle of the ivories! The 1026 space was unfortunately short lived due the development of the Sheraton Grand hotel and an ominous building fire, obviously caused by the heat coming from the back room studio!
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Pieced together like most studios of the era with nothing more than a handful of simple gear including an Akai S2000, Roland MC505 Grove Box and a Behringer 24 channel Eurodesk. The only thing missing was someone who had the experience to twiddle the knobs and pus the buttons! A few months after the studio was built DNA in the midst of a move to California joined the label as head engineer and SSU Recordings the very first USA based UK Hardcore label was born! It was in this tiny basement that belters like Superman, Roll Da Bass and Reaching The Edge were produced and mastered!
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The label and studio saw its final location land at 1006 J Street on the corner of the infamous Ceaser Chavez Park and once again in the basement of the record store. Here the studio went through a ground up rebuild with a custom built room including the addition of a vocal booth, expanded studio toys and a lounge that if it could talk oh boy could it tell some stories ! It was here where the last of the classic SSU and Mashed Up releases were produced including the monster Drowning Remix by Simon Apex & Lostboy that was slated for release on Moonshine Records right before the bottom fell out, the entire industry went tits up and everyone inevitably went their separate ways.
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Over the years SSU Recordings went on to domestically press over 30 tracks on vinyl with many enjoying licensing across the globe from industry heavy weights such as Hardcore Heaven, Ministry of Sound, Bonkers, Warner, Sony, Future Rave Anthems, Dance Speed, Hec-Tech, Decadance, Resist, Slammin' Vinyl, React and Thin N Crispy which certainly slapped the rough and ready SSU stamp on the industry for years to come.
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Fast forward 20 years to a global pandemic and Simon & Brice reconnect with the passion and idea to reassemble a dream team of Hardcore Avengers to once again smash the pants off the underground sound! So here they are, here it is, buckle up and get ready to enjoy the brand spanking new sound of SSU Recordings because if the habit of history repeating itself has any merit then this is going to be a crew of Avengers you are going to want to keep your ears on!
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