The Coastal Commission / Jesse Outlaw - Bring Down The Walls [Pacific Coast House]

Format: 12" 180 gram colored vinyl in a printed label sleeve.
CAT: PCH004R

Coastal Commission — “Bring Down the Walls”

“Bring Down the Walls” was a nod to Raze’s Break for Love, Robert Owens’ Bring Down the Walls, and Richie Hawtin’s use of the Roland TR-606 throughout Sheet One.

We gave the track a psychedelic Californian spin with conga-laden percussion, a shadowy synth, low-end pulsating 303 patterns, and Benjamin Zephaniah’s patois call to “Move the Body Rhythmwize!”.

Early PCH releases began to circulate globally with significant international recognition and support from DJs worldwide, including London, Paris, and New York City. However, the local scene here in Los Angeles—which preached “love, inclusivity, and unity”—was far from representing that.

At the time, Los Angeles was an extremely tribal scene, divided into three factions. If you weren't affiliated with one of them (i.e., if you were independent), you were pretty much excluded from getting gigs or having DJs from those groups play your music.

The local response from some DJs was that what Nate and I were doing wasn’t “house” but “techno,” which to me was absurd. “Bring Down the Walls” was a mantra to “move the body” and, in doing so, “break down the walls” of separation, not only in Los Angeles but in society in general.

Fortunately, we had the support of figures like Terry Francis, Eddie Richards, DJ Deep, and King Britt.

After years of original copies fetching over $100 on Discogs, new remastered versions by Martin Iveson of Atjazz will finally hit turntables this spring.

Jesse Outlaw — “Let It Go”

I met Jesse at Beatnonstop Records alongside Miguel Placencia in the late nineties. Miguel (RIP) was a constant figure in the underground scene and always very supportive of my projects. He had found success with a major release on Yellow Orange and was working with Jesse under the name When Worlds Collide.

I signed the tracks “Brighter Days” and “Set You Free” and released them on my label Seductive. They told me they were producing those tracks using a program called Music 2000 on a Sony PlayStation, and I thought, “What could be more underground than that?”

Later, Jesse shared some of his solo work with me. The track “Let It Go” had never been mastered and only existed on dubplate, in addition to appearing on my first PCH mix, “Pacific Coast House Sounds.”

Now the track has been mastered by Martin Iveson and is finally available in all its glory.

The dreamy voice repeating “You need to let it go” floats over percussive Latin rhythms and an energetic church organ, making it the perfect complement to the flip side of “Bring Down the Walls.”

Together, they are two authentic West Coast anthems, finally available remastered on PCH and pressed on orange vinyl.