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Those who have followed the history of Raptor House talk about new beginnings, about erasing history to tell a new one, and begin to see from a new perspective what was happening in the matinees of Caracas at the beginning of this century. Raptor House was DJ Babatr's way of actively impacting a dancefloor that had called to him early on. It was his way of processing the techno that was coming from Europe (Da Hool, Technotronic…) and Detroit (Underground Resistance, DJ Rolando), the hard house of Chicago (Underground Construction, DJ Trajic) and making his own, through a sampling that soon became very personal, the energetic and hyper-compressed synthesizers that were electrifying dancefloors.

No matter how much has been said and written trying to tilt the balance towards one side or the other of history, the Raptor House has waited for more than two decades - with patience but without being tamed - for the moment to tell its story and its importance in Latin American electronic music.

With the reissue of two foundational tracks of the Raptor House and a heterogeneous series of approaches and revisits by different producers, Terminal highlights the validity of the genre and seeks to contribute to putting into perspective two themes that hold a special place in DJ Babatr's production.

Loaded with memories that recall the appearance of Raptor House in Caracas' minitecas, "Las Lomas" and "Fuma con los panas" are two tracks that stand out in DJ Babatr's production, which now totals around 700 tracks.

"Las Lomas," from 2002, takes us back to Babatr's beginnings as a producer. And if while listening, we feel transported to the era of massive raves that took over the streets at the turn of the millennium, it's no coincidence: DJ Babatr set out to create a track that had the same power as "Derbus" by Derb, which he could mix with it during one of his sets. By dedicating it to the Caracas neighborhood where it first played, he almost instantly turned it into a mythical track of the Caracas minitecas.

In "Fuma con los panas," we hear a producer openly having fun with voices and synthesizers. This reminds us that from his earliest days as a producer, Baba thought about the effect each track would have on the dancefloor and bodies. His goal was for the crowd to turn into movements what he was creating.

Without intending to, DJ Babatr began building a sound that would give identity to Venezuelan electronic music, whose relevance today is evident in the 19 remixes by several of the Latin American and Worldwide producers with the broadest future vision.

With this remix collection, Terminal starts an alliance with DJ Babatr to re-read his contributions to the dancefloor and Latin American electronic music.

Jesús Pacheco (@peach_melba)

Dj Baba , Dj Babatr
Dj Baba The Raptor

Dj and Producer
Raptor house founder

Electronic music lover.

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