Think house, think Strictly Rhythm.

House labels come and go, yet while Strictly Rhythm isn't the be-all and end-all of house music imprints it's fair to say that no other single label has had such an influence on the development of house music as Strictly. We're talking about the stable that launched the careers of, among others, Erick Morillo, Roger Sanchez, Armand Van Helden, Kenny Dope, Josh Wink...damn it, pretty much most of the names we today consider to be at the top of the house music tree. So we can only count our lucky stars that Strictly didn't turn out to be a taxi company.

The New York-based label Strictly Rhythm was set up in 1989 by genial dance music mogul Mark Finkelstein and A&R expert Gladys Pizarro. Strictly Rhythm has since blazed a trail to become one of the most influential labels of all time. In its heyday, releases from George Morel, DJ Pierre, Todd Terry, or Masters At Work wowed dancefloors across the world. The label subsequently expanded into Europe, moving into the commercial sector with a diverse roster including Reel 2 Real, Josh Wink, and the young Armand Van Helden. Strictly has continued to tread the line between commercially and critically acclaimed house music with releases like Ultra Naté's "Free."

Strictly Rhythm Folded in October 2002 after entering into a venture with Warner Music Group nine months earlier, but after four years of legal wrangling, Mark Finkelstein was able to get control of the label, its trademark, and all recordings and publishing rights. In 2006, the label was ready to relaunch worldwide with the assistance of the US arm of the British label Defected; digital downloads for sale soon followed. First Releases were remixes of "Higher State of Consciousness" by Josh Wink and a new single by Todd Terry, and its Web site was reactivated.