The 2 Bears Share The Deepest Cuts in their Crate

This article was originally published on THUMP

We're big fans of The 2 Bears at THUMP. They played our pool party at this years Bugged Out! Weekender, which confirmed not only that they're great DJs, but also pretty hilarious too. With enough stories of wild nights and quality records to keep us entertained, we figured that the duo would be a worthy addition to Hidden Depths to date. To mark their 12 week residency at London's XOYO, The 2 Bears decided to pick some of the records that they can't wait to play there; a lovingly gathered selection of disco, techno, house and dub that speaks to their seemingly endless enthusiasm.

Matias Aguayo – 'Una Fiesta Differente' (Cómeme, 2013)

Matias Aguayo is wicked. He runs a label called Cómeme, and I really rate his productions. They're so interesting. This track sounds almost like a Timbaland production, but it's wicked and lively in the club. I'm really looking forward to seeing him DJ. He does really great sets where he sings and plays some percussion.

I:Cube - 'Makossa Suspens' (Pilooski Edit) (Versatile Records, 2014)

This is a new record on the Parisien label Versatile. Every track on the 12" is great, but it's the Pilooski edit that I've been playing a lot out. It's afro house-y but also quite tough. I love Pilooska. He's a brilliant DJ who's been at it for years, and is still making interesting music that sounds great in the club. There's a new scene of very good underground music that's coming out of Paris at the moment.

Sounds of Blackness – 'The Pressure' (Frankie Knuckles remix) (Perspective Records, 1991)

This is a classic, straight up gospel house track. It doesn't really get much better than that. It's got a big, soulful acapella thing at the beginning, and then turns into a thumping New York house mix with big lyrics about the pressure of life. it's perfect for a Saturday night in the disco. Frankie Knuckles is still very much a part of the scene in which he'd done so much to create.

Terrence Parker – 'Love's Got Me High' (Intangible Records & Soundworks, 1996)

This is another wicked US house record. I can't wait to see him DJ. I've never seen him play before, but earlier in the year we saw some footage from a show, and he's got such a lively DJing style. He played house records like you would hip-hop; quite chopped up, quite fast and very fun.

This track particularly is soulful and bumping, and sounds great in the club. He's another one whose records we always play one way or another, whether it's his remixes or the original versions. I just got an a cappella of it, so we might even use that. I heard the original version on a compilation from a French label called Tiger Sushi. It's proper house music. There's nothing too tricky about it, but it's super soulful and a great song to play out.

Pachanga Boys – 'Time' (Hippie Dance, 2012)

This is a record that loads of DJs have picked up on. There's just something about it, it's very playable and it's nice when you get a 10 - 12 minute club record that is interesting all the way through. There's a great dynamic to the track. It's really easy to mix with other things; you can play other tracks or a cappellas next to it and it always seems to work. I love the atmosphere it creates. If you've been banging it a bit to hard and need to calm things in the club down a bit, you can always draw for that one. The album that this is taken from is quite far out. It's almost trance-y, in the right sort of way. We've played it a lot over the last six months, and I think it's going to be a big one for us at XOYO.

Toddla T Sound – 'Acid' (Defected Records, 2014)

This is a wicked new acid track from Toddla. The video for it is amazing. It's proper. They've had a simple idea and executed it brilliantly. He and I have worked together for years. i signed his first album when I was an A&R years ago, we've remixed each other's work, and now we have the Girls record label together. I was pleasantly surprised when he played me this, but it's always great when an artist you like does something unexpected. There's a restless, genre-hopping thing going on with a lot of DJs right now. Nobody wants to stay in the same place for too long, but sometimes you can make a move and it doesn't necessarily come off, but I don't think that's the case here at all. The track is great. There are still those signature Toddla T elements on there, but it's in the acid sound.

The Asphodells – 'The Lonely City' (Ministry of Sound, 2012)

The Asphodells is a project that Andrew Weatherall did last year, and it's some great slow-mo disco business. This track is 105 or 110bpm, and it's one that you can play early in the night. It's got this spaced-out disco vibe to it, but then it's got this fucking massive bass line in it that really shakes the walls. It's unexpected, but totally brilliant.

Weatherall is such a hero of ours. He's a man of style and taste who's still relevant nearly 30 years after he first started DJing, which is no mean feat really. He kept moving and completely doing his own thing, which is always to be applauded and supported. He's a real London treasure.

Cousin Cockroach – 'This Ain't Tom n Jerry' (Bitasweet, 2002)

This is a record that's recently been reissued by Berceuse Heroique. It's a very simple track, but really, really brilliant. It's got that big heavy bass line, which just kind of nags and changes ever so slightly all the way through. There's not much to it, but it sounds amazing on a big sound system. It's by Dego from 4Hero; another brilliant London producer that's nailed the art of making a great club record. It was a big record at CO-OP; the big broken beat night at Plastic People, the cradle of the scene.

Knights of the Hunted – 'X The Beat' (Crooked House, 2012)