Idjut Boys & Laj Slateo

The Idjut Boys and Laj (one of Ray Mang man Raj Gupta’s lesser-known aliases) were once regular studio partners, laying down a series of now legendary dubbed-out disco and deep house releases on the former’s U-Star label during the mid-to-late-90s. Now one of the trio’s lesser-known gems is returning to record stores for the first time since 2002, courtesy of Claremont 56. “Slateo” first appeared on the 2002 Session Recordings label compilation Solidsession Vol. 2, the CD version of which was mixed by the Idjuts and also contained a fine cut from Akwaaba, a band whose members included future Claremont 56 founder Paul “Mudd” Murphy.
Built around undulating bongo beats, fireside-warm dub bass, outer-space chords, delay-laden guitar flourishes and spacey jazz-funk synth solos by regular collaborator Pete Z, “Slateo” sits somewhere between warm-up gold, late night bliss and early morning release. In true Idjuts and Laj fashion, it boasts epic amounts of reverb and dub delay, as well as the kind of enveloping production that’s always been a hallmark of their collaborative work.
16 years after the track first slipped out, it’s appearing on a single-sided 12” single, pressed to gorgeous green and white vinyl. With only 350 copies available worldwide, pre-orders are recommended.