Interview: Journey Through GUERILLA RECORDS with Lisa Loud

When you think of the name Lisa Loud, you think of her Loud Noise collaboration with fellow ’90s DJ partner Nancy Noise, you think of Ibiza and the Summer of Love, and her countless gigs all over the UK during the rave days. It’s a pure pleasure to go through this chart piece with the queen of the party scene.

Here, we ask Lisa Loud to talk us through one of her all-time favorite labels – GUERILLA RECORDS – the British label founded in 1990 by Dick O’Dell and John Gosling with William Orbit. It specialized in progressive house, which at the time they called ‘dub house,’ featuring artists like Leftfield, Spooky, Bass-O-Matic, Billie Ray Martin, and Felix Da Housecat. Billie Ray was a key part in the development of the progressive house scene at that time. The label wound up in 1995.

Lisa Loud about Guerilla Records and Campo Sancho

“When I started my business Loud and Clear in 1991, we fast became the home to represent the finest independent labels in UK, One such label, Guerilla Records, was the home of the brand-new Progressive house sound. Founded by William Orbit who collected a fiercely talented group of producers and gave them a home to release their electronic groundbreaking sounds.

A fresh outlook on electronic music was born. Synthesizers and keyboards were to dominate the productions and awaken the dance floors of the UK. Headed up by Dick O’Dell, whom I shared an office with, a dream team formed and witnessed an explosion of diversity from the US sound of Chicago that we were all playing from the 80’s.

Although Guerrilla did release some tracks from the Chicago greats, one of their earliest releases was no 1 on my list!“

Roy Davis Jr – Mind Power

Pure Warehouse sweat box vibes. This 12” also featured a remix from DJ Pierre, we were to release tracks from Pierre and Felix Da Housecat. Credit to Roy for igniting the relationship with this fantastic release. Relentless in your face Pure House music!

Supereal – Body Medusa Leftfield remix

Phenomenal remix from Leftfield on this very early release. Not forgotten by the Leftfield duo was one of the most sort after white labels, DJs all over the country were searching for Leftfield productions. Guerrilla were extremely fortunate to have Neil and Paul agree to remix this track, little did we know it was to change the dance floors of London. A perfect pairing. HUGE!

D.O.P – Groovy beat

Messrs. Hurry and Swain formed the dynamic duo DOP.

Quirky and hooky, D.O.P managed to capture a crowds’ attention not only from their definitive productions, and squelchy Moog sounds, they always managed to add the right number of unforgettable vocals. You would often see punters dancing after being kicked out of a venue, chanting “Rockin to the rhythm of a groove beat”. The magic of the 90’s 🙂

Spooky- Gargantuan LP

Amazing body of work from Spooky. Revisiting this album has been pure joy. Wow we were listening to the future. The entire body of work sounds as good today as it did 30 years ago. Fave tracks are Don’t Panic, Little Bullet and Schmoo.

10th Chapter – Prologue

I was invited to mix this track. In its original form, I was in love with percussion and the energy. Must pull this one back out actually. Lovely to hear it after all this time. Paul Van Dyk and Carl Cox also mixed this for a later remix package. Rockin’ dance floor stuff!

React 2 Rhythm – Intoxication Leftfield Remix

Phenomenal rework of this track set dance floors alight nation-wide. The rocking signature left field beats and the unmistakable Piano breakdown was the perfect formula for the acid house generation. Amazing mix of great tracks.

Supereal – Blue beyond belief

Mid-tempo goodness from these guys. A break from the big room bangers that guerrilla so well delivered. Atmospheric and Acid.

Billie Ray Martin & Spooky – Persuasion

Sensational Vocals from BRM. Gorgeous, Haunting, and so Atmospheric. Stunning record. Spooky did an amazing job on this track. Whilst this may not have been a peak time stomper it became one of the Big Balearic fave of the early 90’s … LOVE

BASS-O-MATIC – Fascinating Rhythm

My first journey into A&R and production. Fascinating rhythm was promoted through Guerilla but released on Virgin records to achieve its full commercial potential.

William Orbit – Water From A Vine leaf

Head honcho William Orbit’s single featuring Beth Orton is a fine example of the alternative chill out we all grew to love.

Haunting, trippy psychedelic.

Thank you and conclusion.

Thank you, Lisa Loud, for taking us on this nostalgic journey through the revolutionary sounds of GUERILLA RECORDS. Your insights and stories have truly brought these classic tracks to life. To our amazing audience, don’t miss the chance to experience Lisa Loud live at Campo Sancho Festival. Join us for an unforgettable celebration of music, dance, and togetherness in the heart of the Hertfordshire countryside. See you on the dance floor!

Tagged as: Guerilla Records, Lisa Loud.

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Kono Vidovic

DJ | MUSIC CURATOR & SELECTOR | PODCAST MAKER | BLOGGER Professional online interpreneur. Coffee practitioner. Electronic music culture maven. Total music guru. Infuriatingly humble problem solver. Food & sports fanatic.

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