- Warm lo-fi house on a popular YouTube channel's first official release.
- YouTube channels begin by uploading future viral hits, then working with key artists and labels to host premieres. Sometimes they eventually release their own records. Following the success of taste-making channels like Majestic Casual, which racked up millions of followers, narrowly escaped a copyright shutdown and then became a full-fledged label with a worldwide event series and a Beats1 show, there's France's Houseum.
Where Majestic Casual thrived in approachable quasi-tropical house, Houseum is all about lo-fi. Following two years of uploads and a view count north of 39 million, as well as the occasional club night at spots like Paris's Djoon, Houseum celebrates hitting 100,000 YouTube subscribers with their first vinyl release, presenting four artists rooted in the channel's warm lo-fi sound.
The record begins with the jumpy "Oh" from Bellaire, who wraps a bassline around airy synths and a chopped-up hip-hop vocal. Next up is Subjoi, an Australian artist with an infectious style, who goes bassier with "Show Yourself." The B-side includes England's Gavinco, who provides a jazzy house jam in "Silverm," and Canada's Jesse Bru, who ends things with the dreamy and melancholic "Setup." Like most of the records that have lit up comment sections on Houseum over the years, their debut release leans on infectious grooves and fun samples. The story of how they got to releasing this record is equally heartwarming.
TracklistA1 Bellaire - Oh
A2 Subjoi - Show Yourself
B1 Gavinco - Silver
B2 Jesse Bru - Setup