In Join The Future: Bleep Techno and the Birth of British Bass Music, I dedicated a chapter to the ‘Transatlantic techno conversation’ between the UK and USA. In it, I focused largely on three things: rare examples of Detroit techno records showcasing a bleep & bass influence, the early output of John Acquaviva and Richie Hawtin’s Plus8 label just over the river in Windsor, Ontario, and New York’s emerging techno community – the one behind the city’s first techno record store, Groove, and the now infamous Storm Rave parties.

I also mentioned in passing the influence exerted by early UK bleep records – especially those released by Warp Records – on house DJs and producers in New York City. I highlighted a handful of producers and records, noting that the emergence of bleep (and LFO’s ‘LFO’ in particular) inspired Francois Kevorkian to return to the studio and take up DJing again. A few years back, Francois laid down a fantastic bleep mix online – you can check that out here.

The other producer I mentioned was Roger Sanchez. I was first alerted to his debut single as Egotrip, 1990’s ‘Dreamworld’ on Outer Limits, by JD Twitch during one of our many conversations about bleep & bass a decade ago. In fact, it was Twitch who first suggested I dig into the (admittedly brief) NYC bleep movement. ‘Dreamworld’ is undoubtedly a ‘deep bleep’ classic, with Sanchez effortlessly joining the dots between deep house and the more cultured end of the bleep spectrum.

In the book, I mentioned a few other examples of the DJ/producer’s obvious bleep influences – specifically ‘Thoughts of Tomorrow’ as DV8 on the ‘Freedom’ 12”, a 1990 production that’s as “pure” a recreation of Yorkshire bleep & bass as you’ll find. Another DV8 track, ‘The Future’ – released on 1991’s ‘Egotrip EP’ – also explores ‘deep bleep’ territory, wrapping melodic motifs, synth solos and chords inspired by the Nu Groove end of the deep house spectrum (think Bobby Konders and the Burrell brothers) with percussion and bass that doffs a cap to what was happening, musically at least, in post-industrial cities within the North of England.

You’ll find some other subtle (and not-so subtle) references in other Egotrip remixes of his own productions of the period, for example 1991’s ‘Lose Control’ as Rhythm Factor (the two ultra-deep versions of ‘Phase 1’ on the other side also include a few nods to the sonics of Rob Gordon and others).

While writing the book, I did make efforts to try and contact Sanchez through his management agency or DJ agency – I can’t remember which now – but received no reply. It’s frustrating, because I’d genuinely love to talk to him about this formative phase of his career and the direct influence those early bleep & bass records had on him. Of course, the inspiration provided was relatively short-lived, and when he did become an international house hero a few years later, his sound had shifted and moved further away from both bleep and purist deep house.

There is another, rather more significant, bleep-related cut in his catalogue, though. Arguably his first “big” underground hit – and one that still receives plenty of play today – was ‘Luv Dancin’ as Underground Solution.

What I didn’t mention, but should have done, is his far more famous and commercially successful Strictly Rhythm 12” as Underground Solution. It is best remembered for ‘Luv Dancin’, a genuine international dancefloor hit when it was reissued in 1991 with a swathe of new mixes – most notably an extended version feat a soulful and sensuous lead vocal by Jasmine. Even that, though, showcases Sanchez’s bleep influence, with a reverb-laden lead line – featured on the original 1990 version, and one of its’ most distinctive features – that could have been included on a Forgemasters or Sweet Exorcist record.

The inspiration Sanchez gained from the earliest bleep & bass releases is naturally far more evident on the original 1990 Strictly Rhthm 12”. This boasted two versions of the title track on the A-side – the expansive ‘Indeep Mix’, which combines samples from, and nods to, various familiar NYC disco jams (most famously Loose Joints’ ‘Is It All Over My Face?’), and an even deeper Egotrip mix. The latter makes the bleep melody much more of a central feature, though it’s still a (very good) deep house record.

Turn to the flip, though, and you’ll find two far more expressively bleep-influenced concoctions. ‘Deep In My Mind’ cannily combines drifting, melancholic bleep melodies with similarly bittersweet chords, twinkling vibraphone style solos and a pleasingly deep bassline. Even the percussion fills sound like nods to some of Rob Gordon’s remixes of the period.

The real killer, though, is ‘Afterthought’. Beginning with a ghostly bleep melody, it sounds like Sanchez trying to accurately recreate the sound of Yorkshire – albeit with Latin percussion samples and drum programming that’s more in tune with New York dancefloors than those across the Atlantic. The most significant feature is a deep, dubby, sub-heavy bassline of the sort perfected by DJ Martin, Rob Gordon, LFO and DJ Parrot/Richard H Kirk. The bassline partially tracks the melody of the bleeps – a production trick introduced by Unique 3 on ‘The Theme’ and one that marked out many of the earliest UK bleep & bass records.

Throw in some spacey chords and a decidedly minimalistic construction, and you have a track that is as authentic as any that came out of Yorkshire in the period. It’s not an anomaly in his catalogue, or the earlier Strictly Rhythm catalogue for that matter – Chapter 1’s ‘Unleash The Groove’ from 1990, a DJ Moneypenny/Damon Wild/Blue Jean co-production, boasted a ‘Love in Sheffield’ mix that was an even more expressive tribute to the “sound of Yorkshire” – but it is a surprisingly overlooked track.

That Chapter 1, an outfit whose members were part of NYC’s UK rave-inspired techno first wave, made a record in tribute is no surprise. It’s also no surprise that other notable members of that first wave – Frankie Bones, Joey Beltram and Adam X specifically – were hugely inspired by bleep & bass. That Francois Kevorkian was inspired by bleep is also no surprise – he has always been hugely influenced by dub music and soundsystem culture. That Roger Sanchez broke through with records that fused bleep with deep house… well, it’s still surprising and rarely commented on. Then again, that’s the power of musical and cultural movements – track their progress, and you’ll be surprised what you uncover.