Three generations of dance music DJs, producers & fans have been enlightened and inspired by the funky, souled’up testament of Victor Simonelli. A new collection focuses attention on his deeply influential early ’90s house tracks.

It’s happened a million times, it’s happened every day for more than 30 years and it’s probably also happened to you.

The new releases you hear seem a bit dull so you dig in dance music’s closets and attics for some undiscovered material.

You find a hot track. It’s by a name you think you’ve heard before but you can’t place it. But this is so good that you wonder what else they’ve done.

Only after studying the sticker do you learn that you’ve been had: it’s another spellbinding house track from Victor Simonelli, a man of a million aliases and behind the masks one of the most influential but unsung house music producers who ever did it.

It happened to me with a track called “Do You Feel Me,” originally released in 1993 under the (pre-google and un-googleable) name “NY’s Finest.” As I found out, it was Simonelli, master of that sweaty garage sound that never fails to connect with a dancefloor. It would be endlessly copied and remixed over and over again in the coming years, like producers and labels tried to siphon some of that Simonelli magic out of the bottle, just missed it and then tried again.

That track and many others appear on Victor Simonelli: The Early Years, a two volume set on vinyl presented by archivist website-turned-label Behind The Groove. Here you can find a solid collection of Simonelli’s early 1990s material released under a dizzying array of pseudonyms, from Instant Exposure to Inner Faith to International Connection, Groove Committee and Cloud 9.

“I have honestly always been more of a behind-the-scenes guy,” Simonelli tells 5 Mag. “I have never really been interested in having the spotlight on me. It’s all about the music and pseudonyms which for me really contribute to excitement for the music and tune being made. If you would like to call it branding, I can see that.”

Simonelli traces his use of aliases back to “the first 12″ single I ever touched” — “Dance And Shake Your Tambourine” by the Universal Robot Band.

“It was around 1975,” Simonelli remembers. “It really stood out to me, because there was only one song on an entire side of a record, and also it had no artwork… just a plain label with simple text and credits. When reading the credits I found that it was a Patrick Adams / Greg Carmichael production pseudonym. In finding this record, I not only discovered for myself what a 12″ single was, but also what releasing a tune under a pseudonym was.”

When he started producing, it was a “natural process” for Simonelli to come up with his own aliases for his tracks. “I still do,” he says. “Making and releasing tunes in this way helps me focus on the style and theme of a tune in the works. From a consumer point of view (as I am one also) I think it keeps it interesting. As a DJ I always find it interesting discovering who is behind the track.”

 
Previous Coverage:
Scott Diaz (and 130 others) remix Arthur Baker & Victor Simonelli classic “Why Can’t We See” (2021)
Victor Simonelli: A 5 Mag Mix vol 15 (2015)
Victor Simonelli On His New Track with Byron Stingily: “Having You” (2015)
In the Studio with Victor Simonelli (2013)
Victor Simonelli: The 5 Magazine Interview (2012)
 

It’s wrong to say that Simonelli’s records are enjoying a renaissance — at basically any point in the last twenty years, you can find new Simonelli tracks available (he’s never stopped creating) and, increasingly, re-issues and remixes on labels ranging from Italian vinyl outfit Groovin to Toolroom. None of these editions have collected all of these disparate tracks from the early ’90s together in one place, though. The compilation stems from a conversation with Alex Rose of Behind The Groove, who got in touch to interview Simonelli for his website a few years ago.

“I could really feel how passionate he was about the music,” Simonelli says. Rose suggested a compilation with some of his seminal tracks, starting with a vinyl release (digital will come later). The two volume Victor Simonelli: The Early Years gathers together some of the best and most influential from Victor’s early days, including “Dirty Games,” “I Can’t Help Myself,” “Don’t You Feel It,” “Feels So Right” and “Do You Feel Me.”

Almost no alias used on a track on the comp is used twice, and only one was released under Victor’s full name. Does he still come across people who don’t know he’s the artist behind “NY’s Finest” or “Sound Of One”? Yes — “and as new generations come, even more so,” he says. “Just like I was, there are always young people coming up, and always discovering” Simonelli’s presence behind the mask for the first time.

It frequently happens that some of those young fans become students. Simonelli himself was once a student himself as an intern at Shakedown Sound, owned by Arthur Baker. “I really understand and know what it is to want to be in the studio in the mix, producing, creating… but not understanding exactly how to do it. While interning I was able to watch others create in the studio and learn how it was done. Especially watching and hearing Arthur Baker. What a learning process it was — not only from a creative point of view, but how new people were given a chance. Learning in that environment as time went forward, it’s just been a natural process for me to assist and help others in getting started.”

The High Life: This was originally published in 5 Mag Issue #205 featuring Orlando Voorn, Mira Ló, Victor Simonelli, Carly Wilford, Maxime Dangles, Turbojazz and more. Help keep our vibe alive and our shine bright by becoming a member for $2/month and get every issue in your inbox right away!

One of the first that comes to mind who credited Simonelli for their start was the late Angel Moraes. When going through his discography after Moraes’ death in 2021, I was struck at early tracks like “Release Yourself” that showed the strong influence of Simonelli. Moraes — “a dear friend and so talented” — met Simonelli at a mutual friend’s birthday party when he dropped Simonelli’s “I Want You To Know” from behind the decks. They got to talking, and Simonelli invited him to a session at Fibre Studio in Brooklyn. It was Moraes’ first time in a studio when Simonelli invited him behind the mixing board.

“It was the B Side tune on the Sound Of One EP,” Simonelli says. “Angel added some parts to it and did a great mix, especially for his first time in the studio. I invited him back to other sessions, such as mixing a track on the A Church, A DJ and A Sampler EP and ‘I Can Hardly Wait.'”

“Brian Tappert and Marc Pomeroy, who eventually started Soulfuric and are now the owners of Traxsource, Roy A Grant (The Jazz in Jazz N Groove), John Julius Knight, Gary ‘Federal Hill’ Tutalo, and many others were amongst those I have assisted in getting started over the years. They each have stories of their own and I was happy to meet and assist all of them and glad to still do the same now.”

More recently Simonelli’s worked with Odyssey Inc who have remixed several back catalog tracks, and he’s collaborated with up and coming talents Groove Technicians, Joey Slvr, The Deepness, Stardate and Raf n Soul. “And after growing up in the studio and at events, my oldest son, Immanuele Simonelli, is now active with his own productions/releases and label, Good Groove, and is playing gigs around the world.

“It really is just a natural organic process of sharing and loving music together.”

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