Nothing new to see here, then! How DO you make some quick money if you’re Juan “Originator” Atkins? Er, by re-pressing some old stuff you put out in 1993…

Every now and then, a question arises in the heads of the legacy DJs from dance music’s early days – how on earth can I make a bit of money, and quickly? Going out and doing some shows is one possibility – although this involves doing actual work such as travelling, playing their sets, and doing nauseatingly sympathetic media interviews.

Alternatively, there’s an easier method – repress some of your old music. And Atkins certainly has a fair amount of that – in a surprisingly shrewd business move, he owns the master recording rights on a large chunk of his records. So what has he chosen to have pressed onto vinyl all over again – and why now?

Well, Atkins has opted to repress “Classics”, an EP originally released in 1993 on his own Metroplex label under alias Model 500. Reviews on Discogs of the original EP are a little mixed, with one pointing out that “Interference and Future aren’t present – these could have been placed instead of the rather atrocious, unmemorable and repetitive-as-heck ‘Electric Entourage’ with it’s ‘chika-chik-ah!’ sample overused.”

The repress is retailing at various prices between £30 and £40, depending on your retailer of choice – making for a considerably cheaper option than some of the original copies on sale at the Discogs marketplace. And now let’s address the more interesting question – why is this happening now?

Well, several regular Detroit sources have confirmed to Ears To The House that Atkins originally did this deal with the Brussels-based Elypsia Music Group in 2020 for around $125,000. The company has held off repressing the EP until more recently due to the pandemic – but they’re now finally due to be released this coming Friday.

Incidentally, it’s rumoured that Derrick May once claimed that the owner of Elypsia Music Group is linked to the Belgian royal family. So far, we’ve been unable to find evidence to verify the accuracy of this statement…

Ears To The House Team

The team account for Ears To The House.

Learn More →
WP Twitter Auto Publish Powered By : XYZScripts.com