Peter Slaghuis

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Peter Slaghuis (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈpeːtər ˈslɑx.ɦœːs]; 21 August 1961 – 5 September 1991)[1] was a Dutch DJ, record producer and remixer, whose work was mostly released under the name Hithouse (a literal translation of his last name — slag, a hit, a beat; and huis, house).

Early years

Slaghuis was born in

cassette recorder. This led to Slaghuis' love for music, while Dana was not interested.[2]

Career

Remixer

After graduating from school, Slaghuis began working as a DJ in a local club in The Hague in his teens in 1979. One day, he heard an illegal bootleg American megamix, which inspired him to try and copy the style. He was already mixing in the club while at home he was experimenting with the cassette recorder's pause button's editing technique. Using this he created his first remix, a 3/4-hour long remix of "Dancing Queen" by ABBA. He saved some money and bought two completely different fixed speed decks and a receiver. By wiring them up, he was able to hear one deck from the left and one from the right. Slaghuis' next purchases included a mixing console, two varispeed decks and a Pioneer reel-to-reel, which had "horrible sound quality".[3]

Slaghuis made a name for himself as a remixer in the 1980s, producing popular remixes of various

Euro disco/Italo disco projects Laserdance ("Megamix Vol. 1") in 1988 and Sisley Ferré (with vocals by Jody Pijper) in 1987-1990. With his fame, Slaghuis managed to get a place as a DJ at the BlueTiek-in in Rotterdam in 1985. He bought his own Akai S900 sampler, being one of the first people to have one.[3][4]

His big break as a remixer came in 1986 with the Vocal/Long "Dutch Mix" of "

UK Singles Chart on 24 December 1988.[3][4][5]

VideoKids

In 1984, Slaghuis was asked to join the Euro disco project VideoKids, which released songs such as "Woodpeckers from Space", which became a number 1 hit in Spain and Norway, and "Do the Rap". He was featured in the videos for both songs alongside Bianca Bonelli and Tico Tac, the group's cartoon mascot. They released two albums, The Invasion of the Spacepeckers in 1984 and On Satellite in 1985. The songs were written and produced by Catapult musicians Aart Mol, Cees Bergman (who provided the vocals that Slaghuis lip-synced to), Elmer Veerhoff, Erwin van Prehn and Geertjan Hessing (under the aliases "Adams & Fleisner" and "Tony Acardi"), and recorded at Cat Music.[7][8][9] Slaghuis had previously done remixes for Cat Music's other projects, such as the "Special European Edit" of "After The Rainbow" by Joanne Daniëls (along with Emile Noorhoek) and "Steppin' Out" by Digital Emotion.[10][11] VideoKids was in fact a side step in his career, but one that provided him with a lot of experience in the entertainment industry.[4] A cover version of "Woodpeckers from Space" was made by the South African group Café Society in 1985.[12]

Hip hop

In 1987, Slaghuis met then-unknown rapper Extince, who told him that he had rapped a single called "Rap Around The Clock" the previous year. To Slaghuis, it was a terrible track, but he thought that he could do something with the rapper's voice. Going under the pseudonym "Mr. Donald", he produced the beat behind Extince's hip hop single "The Milkshake Rap". The single's sound was heavily influenced by Mantronix and used McDonald's' advertising music. This, however, led to legal trouble with the fast food chain, who did not appreciate their music being used without permission. The single had to be withdrawn from the market and was replaced by a "clean" version named "The Milkshake Rapremix".[3][13] Slaghuis produced a few more singles for Extince, "The Girlie Girlie Prince" and "Black Betty", although they were not very successful. In 1989, he produced "I Can Handle It" by Mister Mixi & Skinny Scotty. The rappers had success abroad and they also released the album Tea House, on which Slaghuis produced eight songs. In 1990, he produced the single "Somebody In The House Say Yeah!" with DJ Paul Elstak by rap crew The Timedrillers. He also produced the single "Unarmed and Dangerous" by M.C. Hughie Babe.

House pioneer

As a DJ at the BlueTiek-in, Slaghuis was one of the first to market the genre of house music in the Netherlands. The first house music that was played was the Chicago house sound, but it did not go down well with the people at the club, who did not understand that kind of music. Because of this, it was played at the end of the night so that everyone would leave early, so that when the club was empty, the crew could go home on time as well. People later began to appreciate the sound, and the club was packed until closing time. There he met DJ Paul Elstak, who worked with him and became his student as a younger DJ.[4] In December 1986, Slaghuis produced and released his first house track for the Disco Mix Club, "Samplification". In 1988, he composed, arranged and produced the single "House Control", going under the pseudonym "El Farid" and working with Eric van Vliet. With the arrival of house music in Europe, he took up the pseudonym "Hithouse" (a literal translation of his last name) and began using his sampling techniques in this field. He produced and released a remix of "The Second Time Around" by Shalamar and a new version of "Samplification" named "Samplification (Part 2)" under the pseudonym "Wise Guys", both of which sold in their millions. At this point he decided that it was time to move into an apartment of his own, to house his rapidly-building studio.[3]

In November 1988, Slaghuis scored a hit with his best known work, "Jack to the Sound of the Underground", which used a lot of samples for which he had to pay royalties over, such as "

Bronx.[3] The synthesizer that Slaghuis plays in the video was a Casio SK-1. In 1989, "Jack to the Sound of the Underground" would later be used as the theme song for the radio and television versions of the BBC comedy show The Mary Whitehouse Experience, thus remaining in public consciousness in the United Kingdom.[17] Slaghuis released "Move Your Feet to the Rhythm of the Beat", which was very successful as well in April that year. The song shared the same musical formula as its predecessor: catchy Hi-NRG loops mixed with a collection of samples, though it lacked the catchy hook lines present in the first release, such as the Kelly Charles sample. Because of this, it could only reach No. 69 on the UK Singles Chart on 19 August 1989. He also released the album Hithouse, which contained every style of music including acid, Latin, Hi-NRG, house and hip hop. One of the tracks, called "Everybody (Got To Get Some)", was a Todd Terry-type acid track, with vocals by Crystal P.[3] Using the money that he earned from both singles, Slaghuis bought a farmhouse in Appeltern, which also housed his new studio.[4]

In November 1989, Slaghuis was looking for a singer for his new single, and an advertisement was printed. Rob Koning, who was very busy breaking through as a singer, read the advertisement in the newspaper, and responded with a cassette recording and photograph. He received a call almost immediately from Slaghuis, who wanted to meet him first. They agreed to meet on a Saturday, and Koning went by train to

CD The Early Demo Recordings.[18][19][20]

In 1990, Slaghuis founded his own label, Hithouse Records. As the manager of Hithouse Records, he discovered young talented producers such as Ferry Corsten, Paul Elstak, Michel de Hey and Speedy J, who released some of their first records on the label. He also worked with some of them under the name "Problem House", released the singles "A Bright Day" (featuring Dave D.M.D.) and "I've Been Waiting for Your Love" (made with Réjane Magloire from Indeep), and was part of electronic dance music group Holy Noise, consisting of Elidio Gomes, Elstak, Richard van Naamen and Rob Fabrie, with vocals by MC Alee. In 1991, they released the album Organoised Crime and the single "James Brown Is Still Alive!!" (in response to "James Brown Is Dead" by L.A. Style), which reached the top 10 in the Dutch Top 40. Slaghuis also worked on an album called "Acute Sense Of Hearing".[4][5]

Death

On 5 September 1991, Slaghuis died in a head-on car accident involving an oncoming truck on the A2 motorway, while he was driving home from a DJ gig in Amsterdam. He was only 30.[21] A funeral service was held for him by his closest family members and friends shortly afterwards, and his ashes were spread around a local river.[22] Paul Elstak continued the Holy Noise project after Slaghuis' death. He and the other members went back into his studio to finish and release some tracks, such as "Get Down Everybody" and "James Brown Is Still Alive!!". Holy Noise was temporarily continued by Rotterdam Records, and later by ARS Productions to fulfill the obligations entered into.[4]

In an episode of Het Zesde Zintuig in 2007, Helen Slaghuis believed that it is possible that her son pressed the accelerator all the way because someone had drugged him. However, no evidence of this has been found.[23]

Legacy

Slaghuis left a significant legacy to the world of electronic dance music and sampling. His work as a mixer, producer and DJ continues to be an inspiration to many DJs in the Netherlands and around the world. The Kelly Charles sample used in "Jack to the Sound of the Underground" resurfaced in 1994, as the vocal sample in the Prodigy's major international hit, "No Good (Start the Dance)".[3] In 1999, D.O.D.S. and Klubbheads did remixes of "Jack to the Sound of the Underground", released by Mo'Bizz Recordings.[24]

In February 2001, after contacting Slaghuis' parents and his sister Dana, Jerry Beke, who is a fan of the producer's work, came into possession of his sample library and recording equipment, which is still used today by other Dutch DJs and producers.[25][5] In 2012, he, Koen Groeneveld and Addy van der Zwan did a remix pack of "Jack to the Sound of the Underground" as a tribute to Slaghuis, released on Spinnin' Records. For his remix, Groeneveld gave it a techy touch while Van der Zwan and Beke stayed true to the housey origin of the track. Beke also wrote a chapter in the book Rotterdam In The House about the importance of Slaghuis, stating, "Peter took samples from the most obscure old records, sometimes real rubbish records. But he then took some samples, mixed them together and turned them into hits. His records largely consisted of samples, which he cleverly mixed together into one track. Peter was a sound artist. In the 1980s you had Ben Liebrand and Peter Slaghuis, who were the two master mixers, the absolute best. With Liebrand, a mix always had to sound very smooth and neat. With Peter you sometimes heard some noise or a piece of an old record at the end of a mix. Peter was looser and rawer in his sound, less polished. That appealed to a lot of people."[5][26]

On 5 September 2016, Michael Halve of Fantasy Radio made a music video for Disco Breaks 10 to honour Slaghuis.[27] Three years later on 27 February 2019, XXL Radio Rotterdam produced a music video for Slaghuis' 1987 Yearmix for Soulshow.[28] On 23 March 2020, Radio Stad Den Haag ran a Special Tribute Show on air to recognize the producer’s genius.[29]

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 1-904994-10-5
    .
  2. ^ "Kinder-Jaren". peterslaghuis.com. Archived from the original on 20 May 2007. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "World's-Best Producer and DMC Interview (MixMag Jan. 1989): The Peter Slaghuis Story!". peterslaghuis.com. Archived from the original on 20 May 2007. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "DJ en producer Peter Slaghuis". DIG IT UP. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Rotterdam in the House" (PDF) (in Dutch). 2015. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  6. ^ "'How Two "Jazz Hippies" (and a Dutch DJ) Made Portland's Biggest Song Ever'". Nu Shooz Music. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  7. ^ "Сеанс массового диско-разоблачения" (in Russian). Звуки.Ру. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  8. ^ ""VideoKids" and the Aliens". Facebook. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  9. ^ "The VideoKids and their Space Woodpecker". Facebook. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  10. ^ "Joanne Daniëls – After The Rainbow (1984, Vinyl)". Discogs. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  11. ^ "Digital Emotion – Outside In The Dark (1985, Vinyl)". Discogs. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  12. ^ "Café Society – Woodpeckers From Space (1985, Vinyl)". Discogs. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  13. ^ "Zien: Piepjonge Extince bij Paul de Leeuw toen hiphop nog gloednieuw was". JFK. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  14. ^ "Ben Liebrand "In The Mix"". Ben Liebrand. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  15. ISBN 0-646-11917-6
    .
  16. ^ "Hithouse - Jack to the Sound of the Underground Director's Cut 1987". YouTube. Retrieved 8 October 2023. This video was directed by Creators International. The name of the woman in the video is Marianne. She is from The Hague in Holland. I was the art director.
  17. ISBN 9780463270998
    . Retrieved 8 October 2023. "Jack to the Sound of the Underground" would live long in public consciousness after being appropriated as the theme song for comedy quartet The Mary Whitehouse Experience, initially for their Friday night Radio One shows but remaining their signature tune when the shows transitioned to television in the early 1990s.
  18. ^ "Hithouse Interview door Rob Koning". bjremix.nl. Archived from the original on 18 February 2001. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  19. ^ "TAKE ON ME - 'PETER HITHOUSE' SLAGHUIS". Rob Koning. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  20. ^ "THE EARLY DEMO RECORDINGS". Rob Koning. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  21. ^ "In-Memoriam". peterslaghuis.com. Archived from the original on 24 September 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  22. ^ "Dagboek Dana: Mijn Geweldige Broer". peterslaghuis.com. Archived from the original on 23 September 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  23. ^ "Het Zesde Zintuig". Stichting Skepsis. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  24. ^ "D.O.N.S. – Jack To The Sound Of The Underground (1999, Vinyl)". Discogs. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  25. ^ "Hithouse News!!". bjremix.nl. Archived from the original on 13 February 2002. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  26. ^ "Het verhaal van de legendarische BlueTiek-in DJ Peter Slaghuis..." De Havenloods. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  27. ^ "Homage to Peter Slaghuis". Fantasy Radio. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  28. ^ "Peter Hithouse Slaghuis BVD Year Mix 1987 - XXL Radio Rotterdam". YouTube. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  29. ^ "Peter Slaghuis". Radio Stad Den Haag. Retrieved 8 October 2023.

External links

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