House Music with Heritage: Kupper & Summit 'Over Here'

Nov 4, 03:00 PM

Big Tune Alert! ‘Proper’ is the pseudonym for the collaborative efforts of two legendary house music players, Eric Kupper and Kenny Summit and ‘Over Here’ is their hot new release for the Classic Music Company. Out now on Traxsource, we have a feeling that it’s going to be huge.

‘Over Here’ is a supa-dope dance floor weapon that comes in two mixes, the driving, insistent heavy-hitter that is the Main Mix and, for the heads, the stripped down Deeper Mix. The nagging vocal sample and relentless groove recall the finer moments of Chicago house, showing that the influence on Eric of producing with the legendary Frankie Knuckles is still strong. As Eric says of his former production partner:

“I first began working with Frankie in 1989, when David Morales hired me (for the first time) to work on this record he was remixing for Ffrr. It was called “Tears”. Frankie’s original version was already finished, and David was doing his take on it, and employed me as a keyboardist. So many great memories working with Frankie during the next 25 years…too numerous to mention. We always had such fun working together. Frankie had this way of bringing great things out of his musical accomplices. We just clicked very deeply on a musical level; I understood his musical visions and was able to help him realize them. Our aesthetics matched up perfectly. As a brother, friend, mentor, and musical partner, I miss him dearly, on so many levels…perhaps what I miss most is his genuine warmth, keen advice, and his hugs, which were so heartfelt. His inspiration will always live deep within me.”

Eric Kupper – DJ, producer, musician, songwriter and arranger – is a man whose house music credentials are almost ridiculously solid. Since his early years with Def Mix Productions, quality releases in the 90s on the classic Tribal label, remixes for Alicia Keys, Whitney Houston, New Order and Depeche Mode, his productions with Frankie as Director’s Cut and not forgetting his own K-Scope project, Eric is a figure whose contribution to house music has been phenomenal.

DJ and producer Kenny Summit first caught the eye and ear of Knuckles and Kupper and they soon began to mentor him in the ways of house. Fast forward a few years and his substantial release schedule on labels like Defected, Soul Heaven, Moulton Music and his own Good For You Records have propelled him into becoming an established and respected artist in his own right, with a following to match.

Put these two together and you get a production dream team, and the resulting two tracks are unsurprisingly some of the most effective house music you’re likely to hear this year. ‘Over Here’ is a serious slice of deep action, with both mixes featuring pristine beats, moody keys and a hooky vocal sample targeted directly at the dance floor. It’s a part of house music heritage, drawing on the influence of Frankie Knuckles but superbly updating his ethos for 2015 in fine style. We like to think that Frankie would be proud.