Mix tapes are part of the essential fabric of house music. Back in the days when the internet was still a half-baked idea known only to IT boffins and vinyl was the only way you could buy the latest tunes (always providing they were actually released and your local record store could get a copy) mix tapes were highly prized currency. Most were bedroom-mixed by aspiring DJs of course, but the most sought after tapes were live mixes by top DJs, often surreptitiously recorded straight off the mixing desk; early house music sets by the likes of Ron Hardy and Frankie Knuckles are still highly prized today. Ever the innovator, Strictly Rhythm figured that if people were hungry for dull, hissy, third generation bootleg cassette mixes, they might like a properly recorded version of the same thing. The Strictly Rhythm Mix was born and launched in 1993 with two of the biggest house DJs of the day, Tony Humphries and Louie Vega, mixing straight from the vinyl without access to any of the software trickery that makes todays studio DJ mix such a breeze. Now, as part of our 20th Anniversary celebrations weve unearthed all the original mix sessions and for the first time in years are making these rare releases available once again, releases that include mixes by the likes of Armand Van Helden and Lil Louis as well as Messrs Humphries and Vega. THE LOST TAPES: LITTLE LOUIE VEGA AT THE UNDERGROUND NETWORK Sometime back in the mid 90s, from Wednesday night to Thursday morning a few yards of nondescript frontage on 21st Street in New Yorks Chelsea district became house music central. The Sound Factory Bar on Underground Network nights was everything that its big brother, the Sound Factory (where Junior Vasquez held court) wasnt. The crowd was made up of hipsters, hardcore dancers and industry liggers rather than bridge and tunnel Saturday night party people and Louie Vegas slinky selection of soulful, disco and Latin sounds at a tangent to the increasingly tougher style pursued by Vasquez. This second Louie Vega Strictly Rhythm mix came in 1994, a year of heady heights both for Vegas defining residency and for Strictly classics. Choosing from an embarrassment of riches, the Bronx pocket rocket blends River Oceans Love & Happiness, Hardrives Deep Inside, Barbara Tuckers Beautiful People, The Believers Who Dares To Believe In Me and The Boss Congo with lesser known nuggets like Loop 7s The Theme and Curious by Sun, Sun, Sun.