Tony Humphries - Running Back Mastermix: Kiss FM Zanzibar Years Part Two (3LP) [Running Back]

Format: 3x12" in gatefold sleeve.
CAT: rbthkiss-lp2

To tell the story of the early days —or the roots— of house music without mentioning Tony Humphries as a club DJ, remixer, and radio host would be to leave it incomplete, adulterated, and, above all, quite boring.

Born in Brooklyn in 1957, Humphries' musical journey is inseparable from the history of New York dance music and the evolution of uptempo soul into house: from his days as a dancer at David Mancuso's legendary Loft parties, to becoming a mobile DJ and receiving the call from Shep Pettibone to be his right-hand man at the then-new Kiss FM radio station, followed by countless remix offers and a legendary residency at Club Zanzibar in Newark.

But beyond that, it was especially his work as a broadcaster for said station for much of the 1980s and until 1994 that gave him monumental influence. Week after week, he premiered new records, putting New Jersey artists like Adeva and Jomanda on the musical map, as well as countless emerging producers from the area, while also programming the hottest imports from Europe, tracks from Chicago, dance classics, and everything that came directly from New York's inexhaustible musical factory.

Reviewing his extensive and practically complete archive of radio shows from that era when he dominated the airwaves, we at Running Back Records have selected original recordings that symbolize his importance as a monumental figure in the industry and an ambassador for this musical style.

“But there is one thing I would like to point out: as a DJ, the music I play is not my music. I want to make it perfectly clear that it is music that has already been released, and it belongs to everyone. I claim no credit other than being the intermediary person who exposes this music.”

(Tony Humphries in: What Kind of House Party Is This?, Jonathan Fleming, 1996)