At the turn of 1990s two acid house fiends, Alistair Cook and Dave Beer, started a night in their home city of Leeds in the north of England. With its punk rock attitude, Back To Basics was an instant success. Tragically, Alistair was killed in a car crash in March 1993 but Dave decided to carry the club night forwards in his great pal’s memory.

It was the friendly, community feeling and hedonistic aesthetic that made Basics one of the success stories of the 1990s. Musically, they were on-point: they gave UK debuts to US DJs such as Doc Martin, Derrick Carter and Francois K, early opportunities to Daft Punk, Basement Jaxx and Groove Armada, and helped nurture resident DJs such as Ralph Lawson, Denny, Paul Woolford, Tristan Da Cunha, James Holroyd, Huggy and Burnski. At the centre of the dancefloor madness was Dave Beer — the life and soul of the party, always thinking of others before himself.

Hosting a long-running party is a talent in itself. What a lot of people haven’t realised is that Dave, latterly, has become a great DJ himself, a surrealist painter of some repute, and has dabbled in producing music himself over the years — without ever releasing anything into the outside world. Until now.

2025 will see Dave release his debut album, preceded by a number of top-notch singles. First up comes ‘For The Beloved’, which features some amazing soulful vocals from Chicago house music legend Robert Owens, recorded when he stayed over in Leeds. 

The new year will also see the release of a film and a book about Dave. With his new wife Aimee, who he married at Glastonbury Festival, and legacy assured, everything was looking rosy for Dave. Until he was diagnosed with cancer.

As the cancer was cut out during an operation in early November, Dave had to be taken to intensive care to have a blood transfusion, but he rallied — it’s not the first time he’s diced so closely with death — and recovered in time for Back To Basics’s 33rd birthday party in Leeds in mid-November. And now it’s time to refocus on his art, putting himself squarely in the limelight to receive the plaudits he so heartily deserves.

One of dance music’s true characters, and a fighter, this music by Dave Beer demands to be heard. Proper underground house music with an acid house attitude, Jack Said What is delighted to welcome another legend into the fold.

Jack Said What co-founder Irvine Welsh has known Dave since the 90s, while Steve Mac and Dave Beer have also had long associations with the Basics man. When he said he wanted to send his album over, it was received at JSW HQ with some trepidation — in case it wasn’t up to scratch — but the guys needn’t have worried. The album is called ‘What Goes Around’, and a nice circular element to the relationship came when Jack Said What and Back To Basics jointly hosted a takeover of the main dance tent at Mucky Weekender in September 2024. Marshall Jefferson headlined, while Dave, Ralph Lawson and the whole JSW crew on deck duties made it a night to remember.

And now comes the music. First single ‘For The Beloved’ has several iterations and, in a few weeks time, will come with a remix by none other than house music pioneer Todd Terry, one of many US house DJs to frequent Basics over the years and leave with a lifetime of memories. It’s a corking first package, a fine way to kick off a priority album campaign for 2025.

For The Beloved (Burnski Late Night Dub)

Dave Beer, Robert Owens & The Blessed - For The Beloved (Dave Beer Late Night Dub)

Vizual

Senso & Tate - Vizual

Free Download

Assimilate Your Vibe

FREE DOWNLOAD

Snoop Dogg - Go On (Samuel Maurice, Juulz Edit)

Adam Yusuf - Touching Down

Free download MP3: https://hypeddit.com/adamyusuf /touchingdown

Purchase on Bandcamp: https://adamyusuftrax.bandcamp.com/track/touching-down

Assimilate Your Vibe

Joey A

Recent comments

Chopper

Zach.cruzr

Kenney McQueen

Chopper

Related tracks