About West End Records

WEST END RECORDS: LABEL PROFILE

West End Records was co-founded by Mel Cheren in 1976 and our label quickly became one of the defining sounds of New York City in the heyday of Disco. It was a sound closely associated with the Paradise Garage, one of the most influential clubs of the Seventies and Eighties. That sound has reached and continues to reach dance floors across the country and around the world. We are proud that West End – along with Prelude, SalSoul and Casablanca - is considered to be one of the most significant labels in Dance Music history. During the Disco era, many labels and artists scrambled to put out records that would ride the wave of Disco’s popularity, but we didn’t build our reputation by jumping on many different bandwagons. Together with passionate professionals like Michael Brody and Larry Levan at the Paradise Garage, we were able to create our own unique and lasting bandwagon, with West End releasing hits like Taana Gardner’s “Heartbeat,” Karen Young’s “Hot Shot,” Barbara Mason’s “Another Man,” Loose Joints’ “Is It All Over My Face?” and The New York Citi Peech Boys’ “Don’t Make Me Wait.” We feel that West End’s music has always come from the heart and been about creating a connection…a feeling of family on the dance floor. Our music is still evoking that feeling in clubs the world over.

Our West End Records catalogue contains some of the most sampled songs in music history. Samples of West End titles appear in productions of such million selling artists as Jennifer Lopez, Notorious B.I.G, Ja Rule, Ini Kamoze, DMX and many others. Within the film industry, West End’s music can be found on the soundtracks of such films as PRÊT-Á-PORTER aka READY TO WEAR (Miramax, 1994,) LOVING JEZEBEL (Shooting Gallery, 1999,) HONEY (Universal Pictures, 2003) and THE COOKOUT (Lions Gate Films, 2004) to name only a few. We have also been featured on such television programs as “Showtime at the Apollo,” “Queer Eye for the Straight Girl” and “The Ellen Degeneres Show.” Even with all of our ongoing success in the music, film and television industries, what holds the most meaning for us is that the music of West End Records is still remembered and cherished by dancers and music lovers everywhere.

In 2002, world class DJ, producer and musician, Kevin Hedge (half of the popular soulful music production team known as BLAZE) became Mel Cheren’s partner in West End, as well as the President of West End Records. For several years, Kevin ran the legendary Shelter parties that, in many ways, carried on the Paradise Garage legacy. It just feels right that Kevin and Mel should carry the West End torch on into the future, preserving our classics and giving them new life, as well as making sure that West End continues to be on the cutting-edge of Dance Music culture, with such extraordinary artists as Meli’sa Morgan, Arnold Jarvis, DJ Spinna, Mr. A.L.I., Stephanie Cooke, Johnick (Johnny D. and Nicky P.) and, of course, Blaze.

We believe that some of the hottest, most soulful Dance Music of today can be found in our West End catalogue, from the UK’s Fanatix (Aaron Ross and Neil Pierce) to NY’s own Danny Krivit. We are committed to remaining at the forefront of timeless, danceable music. In 2004, West End launched its first ever “West End International Music Search,” in which we offered new, unknown producers to take a chance on their unsigned material and allow the public to cast their vote for their favorite song via our website. The winner won a free trip to the Winter Music Conference in Miami, as well as an exclusive record deal, courtesy of the Godfather of Disco, Mel Cheren. Now in its third year running, the West End International Music Search continues to provide opportunities to burgeoning talent from London to New York, from Chicago to South Africa and beyond!

We are also working to bring music to music lovers in the most convenient ways. We want to empower you with choices on how you would like to purchase your music. As a company, we are proud to be among the first in the Independent Dance Market to offer music through Digital Downloads ranging from $0.99 to $1.49. We will continue to add more of West End’s new releases, special “download only” titles, and, of course, the Classics. For the first time ever, West End will also offer ringtones for purchase. From “Heartbeat” to “Another Man,” you can now enjoy some of West End’s timeless music right from your mobile phone! As always, we will continue to offer vinyl and full length CD’s, as well as vintage West End and Paradise Garage merchandise for purchase. It is our hope that our fully operational Lifestyle Shop will become for fans of Garage music the premiere one-stop-shop for incredible music and apparel.

In October of 2005, with the approach of our 30th anniversary in the music business, West End launched a brand new mix CD series that re-connects Hip-Hop music with break-beat Disco classics entitled “West End Mixtape Sessions,” mixed by the legendary DJ Marley Marl. One of Hip-Hop's first and finest super producers, Marley Marl was an early innovator in the art of sampling, developing new techniques that resulted in some of the sharpest beats and hooks in Rap's Golden Age. Next up in this amazing new series is an exclusive mix by another Hip-Hop pioneer, DJ Red Alert!

Dance Music has always stood for freedom of expression and unity amongst races, cultures and lifestyles. From our very beginning, West End Records has followed that principal and carries on that tradition to this day. We remain committed to those timeless values as we create new music and promote new talent. Throughout all of the evolving changes in Dance Music, there is a reason people still respond to music in the style of the Paradise Garage and West End Records. It touches them deep inside and releases positive energy from them and out into the world. This is life. This is music. This is freedom. This is West End. Timeless...Music for the future!