The Very Best 'Work Them Records' Releases According to the Artists Who Made Them

Founded back in 2012, Spencer Parker's Work Them Records has already built up an arsenal of robust, muscular club workouts. They are the sort of label that surely and confidently fuel your nights out, providing a slew of singular rumbles and thuds week in week out. Charting releases from Parker himself, alongside the likes of Radio Slave, Physical Therapy and Dan Beaumont, the back catalogue reads like the setlist to the sweatiest night out you've had in years.

This August, Parker is throwing a second label showcase at Panorama bar. It already looks like the sort of night you remember for a very long time—the sort of night that hits such a high standard of party-power you get filled with that washy happy-sadness every time you think about it. In order to get the tension building, we dropped the big man an email and asked him to get in touch with some of his label's esteemed alumni to find out their favourite Work Them releases. Given the wealth of tunes out on the imprint, we thought this was a pretty surefire way to secure the perfect pre-drinks playlist—even if two people ended up picking the same tune.

Here's what they came up with and why…

Radio Slave - Repeat Myself (Rodhad Remix)

I had to choose this one. Not because it's my track but for the remix from Mike. It's a timeless slice of brooding techno and it's pretty impressive to create such a monster as my original track only had drums and my voice—it kind of takes me back to my own remixes, such as of Peace Division "Blacklight Sleaze".

s:vt – Basement Sweat

I found it really tricky to pick just one but I've been playing this consistently since it came out. It's subterranean-sounding, other-worldly and full of strange tension. Like the rest of the label's output it's the kind of record that is much better to hear in a very loud, dark room than to try and describe. I have no plans to stop playing this any time soon. Honourable mentions also for Radio Slave "Repeat Myself (Rødhåd remix)", Physical Therapy "Push Me", and Spencer's own deep banger "Faster Forward".

Radio Slave - Repeat Myself (Rodhad Remix)….again

What I like the most about Work Them Records is the diversity of the label, which releases heavy tracks in both house and techno. Spencer knows exactly what he is doing—he runs his label with a great passion, and always selects great productions.

That's why picking one and only one of them is a very difficult question. If I really had to choose, I would probably say Rodhad's remix of "Repeat Myself" by Radio Slave. I was loving it when the vinyl was released, and still do! I love its atmosphere and also the fact that it's both a "simple" and very complex track. The hardest one to do! It's a really powerful killer track!

Radio Slave - Werk

There are a lot of killer tracks on Work Them so this was a tough choice. The one I would call my favourite is "Werk" by Radio Slave. It's the label anthem! A simple and masterfully mixed theme for the club. The attitude is perfect and it's a great bridge track to move between genres. WERK!

s:vt - Subterranean Realm (Henning Baer Remix)

I know it's a bit cheeky to select one of my own tracks—but to be fair, Henning's remix doesn't resemble my original at all. The first version did. It was also a cool rework, but apparently he wasn't quite happy and went back into the studio to have another go. A couple of days later I got an email from Henning with his second version. He'd sent it to Spencer and me and Spencer's reply was a BIG picture of an atom bomb going off. "Well, Spence seems to like it," I thought while it downloaded. For some reason I didn't get to listen to the track right away, so I didn't recognise the track when Henning played it at Berghain a little later. Spencer was jumping up and down, grinning at me knowingly, while I was starting to get more and more worked up, too. It just sounded so heavy. And then it hit me: this is the remix! It was a special moment for me, and when I was back home later that night, I sat down and listened to it on headphones a couple of times, really happy and feeling honoured that Henning had transformed my track into such a beast. It's a lesson in minimalism, and one I tend to fail at too often in the studio. While I was sitting there listening closely I knew, this will definitely WORK THEM.

Find out more about the Work Them Panorama Bar showcase here.