Lavan discusses deep house influences

Born in east London and raised in Essex, Lavan is the youngest in a family of British/Malaysian descent. Surrounded by music in the household, it’s perhaps not surprising he finds himself in a musical career. Exploring music production through cracked computer software Lavan eventually turned his attention to sampling, in particular sampling his father’s old funk/soul records discovered in the loft. Soon enough he broadened his source material through frequenting London’s various record shops, a habit which soon became a defining part of his musical identity. The conversion from Hip-Hop to House coincides with moving into a shared apartment in Hackney where his flatmate introduced him to underground 90s Deep House. This accidental encounter would eventually lead to his relocation to Berlin. Still residing there, Lavan’s unwavering passion sees him steadily cementing his place in underground music culture. Having released music on Wah Wah 45s & SlothBoogie, receiving support from DJs such as Dam Swindle & Louise Chen. Lavan continues carving out an identity as an artist on his own terms.

Here’s what DJ Mag said about him recently too 'He may have been born and raised in England, and he may currently call Berlin home, but there is something inherently NYC-esque about Lavan’s music. He’s got that classic New York sound down pat — the kind forged by labels like Strictly Rhythm, King Street, and Emotive, both subtly soulful and utterly groovy, it’s a sound that’s timeless' 

Following on from his new release ‘For The Love EP’ on his own Ascension on Wax imprint we sat down with the Berlin based Brit to discuss Deep House records that influenced his sound…

The Deep - Love Your Brother

Definitely one of my most treasured records that I have played a million times and will play another million more times. It strikes the balance of emotive yet club friendly. This along with other DJ Deep productions have undoubtedly impacted my beat making approach over the years. The vocals bring the soul element, the keys are undeniably jazz influenced then the swung drums & bassline give it that house backbone. I remember making a friend laugh when I explained I love deeper house tracks coz they make you move but also make you think about shit. Stimulating the body and the mind. This track does exactly that for me.

‍Cloud 9 - Do You Want Me Baby

A stone cold classic from Victor Simonelli. This track is a masterclass in simple but effective. From the moment those intro chords come you’re already locked in then all the other elements gradually build up and break back down again yet it’s a fun ride all the way. Victor Simonelli also has these unmistakable house basslines that can just loop forever in an eternal groove. Funny because my sound has also been described as very NY-esque which makes complete sense given this example of NY Deep House at its finest which has certainly influenced my style. Can’t imagine hearing this back in 1992 when it was first released.‍

Inner Sense - 4 Aaron & Terry

After my initiation into proper house music from my flatmate turned AoW label partner Max, I discovered Jeremy Underground/My Love Is Underground. Jeremy Underground played this track which was released on Kool Vibe but produced by MLIU mainstay, Inner Sense. Couldn’t get enough of this track and the uplifting feeling it gave me every time I heard it. Garagey swing on the drums, soulful chords, strings, anthemic little vocal chops, keys solo then the way the beat changes up in the middle is bad boy! This marked a shift from me being a hip-hop beatmaker making house to me trying to understand making house music like the original house producers made it.

‍Point G - Chicken Coma

This record caught me slipping. I was in the right place at the right time. That place was Kristina Records in their original Dalston location where the person working there happened to put this record on whilst I was browsing. At the time I was mainly into deep/soulful chord driven house music. This is a minimal groove centered around drums, bass and little quirky effects that morph into this loose, swung, gritty groove. It had me wondering wow, what even is this? I asked the person at the store what it was and bought that copy on the spot. Simple but effective, the dream combination. It still serves as inspiration for my drum programming experiments today.

Needs - Walkin Thru Circles (Thump Mix)

Back in 2016/2017 Lobster Theremin had a physical record store located at the bottom of the building I lived in so I spent a lot of time there digging through records. I came across this Needs record during a digging session and it really stood out compared to anything I had heard there up to that point. Needs eventually became a huge influence on my musical direction as I feel they really nailed this balance of organic instrumentation, synthesizers and classic house type grooves. Their sound is deep, informed by jazz, soul, disco and I thought it sounded innovative when hearing it then. Later I learnt the record I purchased was a repress of the original which was released back in 2001! 

‍Buy/listen to ‘For The Love EP’ here