Back in July we were proud to release a very special track from two members of NYC house royalty, Louie Vega and The Martinez Brothers. Since then the record has gone from strength to strength, remaining on the BBC Radio 1 playlist for 6 weeks, soaring to the top of Beatport and Traxsource charts with its various remixes, and a copy of the original 12” now going for up to £230 on Discogs. It's truly the record that keeps on giving.

Here’s the story of this certified modern classic…

November 2019 
Released originally on The Martinez Brothers’ own imprint Cuttin Headz, ‘Let It Go’ was as slick, soulful and groove-filled as expected. The nonchalant yet hypnotic vocal of San Francisco-born singer-songwriter Marc E. Bassy delivered a catchy hook that underpinned the track, with a driving, addictive bassline and Latin-infused instrumental breaks that gave the record its undeniable dancefloor appeal. Teased during The Martinez Brothers’ Cercle live stream with two plays of the record, it quickly became sought after by selectors of the highest order, and made Pete Tong’s seminal series of Essential New Tunes on BBC Radio 1.

Demonstrating the versatility of the record, they also did an acoustic live version of the record featuring Steve and Chris on percussion...

January 2020 
It was no surprise that ‘Let It Go’ pricked the ears of the Defected A&R team as it started to tear across dancefloors around the globe. A&R Manager Adrienne Bookbinder recalls:

“It was one of those records that we always heard when we were out, and it just really connected with us. In January last year we realised this really has legs and could reach a wider audience, we feel there’s a lot of people out there that still need to hear it. We want to sign records that we absolutely love so we did the deal with The Martinez Brothers and Louie Vega’s teams to bring it over to Defected.”

The record was signed to Defected at the start of 2020, and straight away the wheels were in motion to take this underground anthem to the next level...

"This very special collaboration with my good friends the Martinez Brothers means a lot to me, and what a pleasure to work with the stellar vocals and lyrics of soul man Marc E. Bassy. This has all the perfect elements of a hot summer jam, and with the Defected Records family at the helm the world will now see how unique this project is and give it the light it deserves.” - Louie Vega

"This record represents something coming full circle for us...being able to work with some of our biggest influences in Louie and Defected, while bringing things to the future with our brother Marc. Thank you all for the love!" - The Martinez Brothers

June 2020 

After announcing the new signing, we invited The Martinez Brothers and Louie Vega to play for our Defected WWWorldwide stream, teasing the anticipated re-release of ‘Let It Go’ - check out their sets below:

July 2020 
The day came for ‘Let It Go’ to be released on Defected. Off to a flying start, the record was made Danny Howard's Friday Fire and MistaJam's Self Certified Selection on Dance Anthems the weekend it was re-released, a glimmer of promising things to come at Radio 1.

October 2020 
It was time for the first remix to be unveiled, coming from one of dance music’s most in-demand artists. Australia's Dom Dolla turned his hand to the Nuyorican house cut, bringing his signature club-ready sound to the original, it quickly soared to #1 on the Beatport House chart. 

"The Dom Dolla mix came about because the original is very soulful, and we wanted to get something more techy that would reach a different audience. Dom Dolla is an artist we’ve wanted to work with for a while, he doesn’t just remix anything, and that was actually his only remix of 2020. He absolutely loved the track and had a lot of respect for The Martinez Brothers and Louie Vega.” – Adrienne Bookbinder

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November 2020 
Stepping up next to remix ‘Let It Go’ was none other than Miss Honey Dijon, who brought her own NYC meets Berlin vibe to the track. 

 “Honey and Louie are homies and this is a really cool underground mix, it reached a lot of people and Louie always plays it in his sets, absolute banger." – Adrienne Bookbinder

December 2020 
After garnering consistent support on BBC Radio 1 'Let It Go' was added to the Radio 1 playlist - a huge achievement for a specialist dance record. 

Meanwhile, bona fide Brazilian superstar Vintage Culture had done his own remix of the track for his Defected live stream appearance. Producing the remix quickly after his Defected debut 'It Is What It Is' which was taking off, this remix was the natural next step in the story of 'Let It Go'. “It all just fell into place and made a lot of sense,” Adrienne recalls, and with Louie and The Martinez Brothers' blessing, Defected signed the new remix to kick off the 2021 release schedule.

Check it out 5 mins in to Vintage Culture's We Dance As One set below...

January 2021 
As 'Let It Go' continued to fly at Radio 1, the record was upgraded from the C-List to the B-List on their playlist at the start of the year, staying on the playlist for 6 weeks in total.

Now a year since Defected picked up 'Let It Go' the journey continues, as our Managing Director Wez puts it, "I won’t be completely satisfied until clubs are re-opened in Ibiza and 'Let It Go' is back in the Ibiza Shazam chart. If ever there was a record that deserved to be played LOUD across the island, it’s this one."

"'Let It Go' is classic Defected. Louie Vega is classic house. The Martinez Brothers are the future and Marc E Bassy brings the soul which we love to flow through our release." - Simon Dunmore

"Louie Vega, The Martinez Bros & Marc E. Bassy created a record that defines everything I love about house music, and the whole team at Defected stand so strongly behind it. For it to continue to grow, connect and be discovered by a wider audience than it first hit home with on the dancefloors is truly special. It’s the reason why we do what we do and is so well deserved for the artists." - Adrienne Bookbinder

Stream all versions of 'Let It Go' via Defected.com/music