John Creamer and Stephane K. are about to make a serious dent in house music. They're about to help define a new style. Now is their time. Nevermind their history, their back catalog, their dedication to the cause of all that is New York House. Right now, John and Stephane can happily claim to have produced or remixed at least two (and probably more) of the biggest house tracks of 2001, and they're in the process of launching a new imprint dedicated to that sound, Pipeline, under the Satellite Records umbrella.

The tracks causing all the ruckus for now a remix of Kosheen's 'Hide U,' for Moksha Records and their brilliantly twisted vocal remix of Satoshi Tomiie's 'Love In Traffic.' It's the kind of vaguely menacing, narcotic, booming, dark tribal house that irradiates those by the bassbins in the big rooms of Digweed, Tenaglia, Danny Howells, Deep Dish and co. There is also the massive "Rapture" by Iio, which had a lot of UK A&R men in a fluster and was eventually signed to the Ministry Of Sound. Both have since gone on to be massive global hits, with both records entering the UK Top 10.

The history? There's lots of it: from Stephane's days playing bass in hardcore bands to John's trombone efforts on a ska record at age 16; from John's first ever house production, (a birthday gift for a friend) to Stephane's critically acclaimed house tracks with DJ Katsu (under the name Madam); from Stephane's tracks (as Bipath) with Satoshi Tomiie to John's long years as record store kid and later, A&R man with Eightball Records and his work at Satellite.

It was John's work with Eightball that led him to Stephane in the first place - familiar with his work with DJ Katsu, John hired them to remix an Eightball project. Soon after, John was remixing a record of his own and requested Stephane's help. It was a partnership that worked instantly, with the duo sharing similar qualities and a love for house music that belongs on the darker side of town.

Dark and weird works to describe the sound that's getting them rave reviews, too. Already a favorite of Danny Tenaglia, the duo came to the attention of DJ's like John Digweed with their remix of Trancesetter's Roaches, a track already given the rework treatment by several other high-profile acts. Digweed then requested to hear their stuff, and eventually chose their remix of 'Love In Traffic' for his Global Underground Los Angeles CD. As it turns out, 'Love In Traffic' has been regarded as the highlight of an impressive set. Deep Dish are fans, too - on their website recently, Sharam commented that John and Stephane are 'the most underrated/talented remixers/producers out there.'

In whatever the duo choose to remix, it's the vocals that tend to be the deciding factor. 'Love In Traffic' features an unsettlingly affected ('Unique and ...strange,' according to Stephane), but complete vocal from ex-Sneaker Pimp Kelli Ali over spare percussion, a throbbing kick drum and a few head-twisting effects. "I just love the vocal stuff," John says. "Good, big-room vocal tracks are hard to come by right now, so that's kind of what we wanna gear things towards," he explains.

There's no doubt where Stephane and John stake as their musical roots. The mission statement for Pipeline mentions 'New York' and 'Tribal House' at least three times. Stephane cites DJ Pierre's classic 'Atom Bomb' as his all-time favorite record. If there's any irony at all, it's that with all of this classic house to draw upon, Stephane and John's sound clearly falls into the category of Right Now. "Everything's just kind of morphed into one these days," says John. "All the trance guys are playing the deeper tech stuff and tribal stuff, all the borders just kind of collapsed this year. It's good timing for us."

Developing this sound is what their label, Pipeline is going to be about. With at least four of their own releases slated to appear, not to mention whomever else they choose to support, Pipeline will not only add a strong third arm to Satellite's label stable (the others being the house imprint Central Park and the trancier Pitch Black), but it's going to push John and Stephane's vision of house a little closer to the front of things.

Not that it needs much pushing. Music this good makes a big enough impact on its own. John and Stephane are currently working on original material and finishing a remix for Sinead O'Connor.

submitted by AliaK