Paranoid London

Enigmatic U.K. dance music duo Paranoid London deliver a retro throwback sound of raw, gritty, sleazy acid house that sounds like it came straight out of the late '80s. With minimal production, no digital releases, and no publicity, their refreshing "the music is everything" approach was taken to heart by clubbers. Paranoid London first appeared in 2007 with the 12" single "One Last Riot"; released on their own eponymous label, it swiftly sold out. Over the course of the next few years, the duo continued to release sold-out singles, remaining shrouded in a cloak of anonymity due to their resolutely anti-publicity stance, refusing to give interviews. The brainchild of Quinn Whalley (formerly of Different Gear) and Gerardo Delgado, the project had an aesthetic unique to the time, with an extremely raw, sparsely produced, hardware-based sound that took listeners right back to the early days of Chicago house. For old-school house heads and younger listeners alike, their music was a breath of fresh air, and what really sealed the deal was the presence of Paris Brightledge and K-Alexi, storied vocalists from the original Chicago scene. Alongside them was the group's de facto frontman Mutado Pintado (né Craig Louis Higgins, Jr., who also performed in Warmduscher), whose deadpan vocals added a sleazy, faintly sinister quality. In 2014 the duo's sold-out singles were collected along with new material on their eponymous debut album; a year later, they consented to a digital release. Their sophomore effort, 2019's PL, featured guest vocals from the likes of queer scene icon Josh Caffe and a Certain Ratio's Simon Topping. ~ John D. Buchanan