DJ Rashad - Double Cup

Label: Hyperdub

One might have assumed that with its breathless pace, demented vocal sampling and rough, DIY nature, the Chicago-born juke sound wouldn’t have the staying power of some of clubland’s more considered genres. Yet since its inception nearly twenty years ago the style has shown no signs of slowing down, and following its arrival on UK shores a few years ago juke has gone from strength to strength. Much of the genre’s appeal lies with the prolific nature of its key practitioners, many of whom ally themselves with Chi-town’s Teklife crew: an outfit who trade ideas and collaborations at breakneck speed, spitting out explosive tracks at a dazzling rate, many of them certified club-weapons.

Footwork’s success can in many ways be accounted for by this community spirit and creative fertility. Yet of all of Teklife’s members, it’s Rashad Harden who has proven most exciting sonically over the past few years. A US transplant now based in London, DJ Rashad’s two EPs for Hyperdub this year have shown a keen interest in genre cross-pollination, and it is this embracing of generic mutations which has placed his productions a cut above the rest, on the likes of jungle-indebted tear-stepper Let It Go or the menacingly abstract I Don’t Give A Fuck.

Album Clips

With Double Cup, DJ Rashad introduces a range of new sonic influences to his malleable footwork mould. Soul is still a major touchstone, from the dreamy bliss of opener Feelin to the breathily sensual Let U No (whose Floetry sample will be only too recognisable to fans of Eats Everything’s anthemic Entrance Song). Yet the softness of these tracks is new: Rashad eschews the jagged edges of footwork’s vocal cuts for a smoother ride, resulting in a more polished, accessible collection of tracks. Yet dancers need not fear: Rashad is still concerned with the ‘floor, and the astounding vocal and percussive acrobatics across the album make for a constantly-shifting tapestry of engaging, foot-spasming sound. The remarkable vocal manipulations in Rashad’s work are particularly striking, from the pitched-down trap references of Drank, Kush, Barz to the manic snips of First Choice-tribute Every Day Of My Life.

These funk-soaked moments are certainly beautifully constructed, but Rashad’s reliance on his Teklife team of collaborators at times feels as if he’s retreading old ground – some of the Spinn collaborations in particular sound like lost cuts from Rashad’s last LP, Teklife Volume 1 . These are still solid tracks, but for the sake of novelty the LP’s less predictable moments consistently prove its best. I Don’t Give A Fuck is as striking now as it was when first released over the summer, its ominous test-tone lead making for one of the album’s most blistering highlights. The only other solo offering from Rashad, Reggie, is another strong outing: a disorientating string sample searing a bed of jittery, ever-shifting percussion. Of all these exciting experimentations Addison Groove collaboration Acid Bit is the strangest cut of the lot, and whether the listener finds the fiery acid lines storming or tracky will depend on individual disposition. Later the LP’s closing collaboration with Earl also offers an interesting diversion, as a fantastically listless vocal sample is run through a blender over simmering chords, insistent synth stabs and frenzied breakbeats. Here it sounds as if Rashad’s thrown as much as he possibly could into a single track, and it’s a credit to his artistic ingenuity that it all works so well.

As with any hour-long collection of club-focused music, particularly one at such a hyperactive pace, Double Cup can be exhausting to listen to all at once. Yet as a survey of the current status of footwork – its soul-indebted past, its hip-hop-inflected present and its uncertain, hybrid future– it’s an invaluable, remarkably coherent statement.

8/10

DJ Rashad - I Don't Give A Fuck

Label: Hyperdub

I Don’t Give A Fuck isn’t just the name of DJ Rashad’s second EP for Hyperdub, it’s a mission statement. We all know what to expect from footwork by now: those frenetic vocal dissections and epileptic snare rolls make for a nauseous trip shot through with soul; the sound has resulted in some of the most forward-thinking dance music of the last few years. Yet after 40 seconds, the release’s title track lets loose a keening high-frequency synth pattern cast over nihilistic vocal snips – ‘I don’t give a fuck about you… I don’t give a fuck about myself’. Gone are the soft pads, the chopped diva vocals; the prevailing mood here is angst, a bleak paranoia closer to London’s distinctive sound than footwork has ever before ventured. Over the course of this EP, Rashad lets loose a series of brusque, masterful sketches that offer a dissection of juke past and future, making for another thrilling statement from the genre’s most electrifying producer.

Footwork landed in the UK a couple of years back thanks to Planet Mu’s Bangs & Works collection, and Hyperdub’s Kode9 quickly caught the bug – not only in his mixes and productions, but also in his choice of signings to the esteemed label. Chicago veteran DJ Rashad’s first Hyperdub offering, the Rollin’ EP, was some of the best juke to see release this side of the pond, showcasing an authentic cross-pollination of styles as footwork left Chi-town and started rubbing shoulders with the likes of jungle, dubstep and garage.

Brief they may be, but each of Rashad’s new offerings leaves a strong impression in its churning wake. After the titular solo effort, a trio of the genre’s finest make for a series of breathless collaborations. First Rashad recruits regular partner DJ Spinn for the exquisitely programmed Brighter Dayz, where a deconstructed vocal is stripped and treated, woven with barbed precision across a field of warm pads and hollow drum rolls. Later Freshmoon helps Rashad spin out the most surprising of vocal samples in a tongue-in-cheek cross-section of jungle breaks and bright synthwork. While the track in question, Everybody, perhaps lacks the seriousness and power of its sibling tunes, the choice of vocal stands as a clear example of the restlessness and sonic adventurousness that makes each of Rashad's releases such a thrilling surprise.

The EP’s final cut, a collaboration with DJ Manny, is perhaps the straightest juke joint of the lot, yet loses nothing for its traditionalism. Here a Mary J Blige vocal is twisted seductively around a remarkably polished field of shifting synth notes, rattling snares and canned drum rolls. While some of Chicago’s juke practitioners have released in the UK before, particular on the Planet Mu imprint, few have taken to the UK’s sonic lineage as gracefully as DJ Rashad. As a result, with each consecutive release one sees a real ambition to expand and explore the genre’s potential in a new context. It appears that after fifteen years of practice, juke is finally ready to leave Chicago.

7/10

Romare – Love Songs (Part One)

Label: Black Acre

Romare’s debut EP Meditations On Afrocentrism, which topped our list of 2012’s best EPs, seemed like a feat too impressive to repeat. Drawing musical influence largely from footwork, blues and hip hop, the collection expertly fused the cerebral - indeed the downright academic - with eminently listenable grooves and mature production chops. The collage of styles and samples apparently took a year of research to make, and now almost exactly one year on the Londoner has come back with a second volume just as good if not better, with a great new collage on the cover and a new musical target in his sights.

Taste Of Honey (From The City)

If Meditations drew largely from African music styles and sounds, here Romare sets his sights on the African-American tradition, with samples ranging from Peggy Lee to Nina Simone to Jimi Hendrix. He kicks off proceedings with the propulsive Your Love (You Give Me Fever), where Lee’s familiar tones are re-purposed, chopped into a call-and-reply with herself over a field of juke beats and delicate synthwork which progresses from warm ambient hum to searing siren as the track wears on. The final two minutes offer an energetic payoff to the releases most danceable tune as the energy keeps mounting over hushed finger clicks and threatening bass sweeps til the close. While many of Romare’s tunes could be said to tell a story, particularly Meditations’ closer which showed a keen awareness of the problems that face a white producer sampling black music, second cut Jimi & Faye (Part One) uses vocal samples brilliantly to chart Hendrix’s ascent to success through the words of girlfriend Faye Pridgeon. Midway through, the bluesy lope gives way to emotive rising synthwork that twists and turns before the big cathartic moment – Faye intones ‘They had no idea he was going to do what he did’ and Hendrix’s squealing guitar emerges over a miasma of distorting synths.

For the B-side Romare leaves the footwork template to explore further, and his flirtation with house on Taste Of Honey (From The City) is a real winner. It’s more subtle than your average house banger but the beauty is in the details here; the ascending melody around the three-minute mark or the expert appropriation of samples interlaced with Romare’s own constantly-shifting production. Closer Hey Now (When I Give You All My Lovin’) is another treat, a bluesy soup of jazzy piano work, dusty drums and a showstopping trumpet that some may be able to attribute. It’s not often that one comes across a producer with such a fiercely distinctive voice, especially who can fuse myriad stylistic and intellectual influences into such an extraordinarily enjoyable package. Just like his debut, Romare’s latest is a wonderful achievement, an EP of four contained, detailed gems that will make your brain long for the books and your feet long for the ‘floor.

8/10

Various Artists – Future Foundations

Label: 2^nd Drop

Since its inception focusing on leftfield dubstep in 2007, 2^nd Drop has done a remarkable job of keeping up with the scene, seemingly always a step ahead. While their releases haven’t always garnered a huge amount of attention, it’s not for a lack of quality: over twenty releases they’ve tackled a broad array of styles along the bass spectrum with great releases from the likes of Ramadanman, Sully and Gerry Read, alongside key early releases from DjRum and South London Ordnance. For their first compilation, the London label sticks largely to 4/4 excursions, offering a varied and impressive selection of exclusive tunes from label alumni and newcomers alike.

Mancunian Alex Coulton kicks things off with his 2^nd Drop debut (following a nice slab of wax on Hypercolour) in the form of the percussive workout Grande Swing. Fans will recognise Coulton’s off-grid beat patterns and spare arrangement, here coming together in a tough house flex made of metallic clanks, scifi synthwork and a range of nuanced effects that keep things interesting. More club material is supplied by Pedestrian, whose uncharacteristically straight Sliding Down Rainbows is a menacing assault of shuttering beats and a nasty bass bounce, bristling with impressively coherent sonic details and a softened two-note synth loop that adds a key melodic element. Later penultimate inclusion Daphne marks South London Ordnance’s return to the label, with a tough techy exercise typically focused on the low-end.

Low-key house cuts with the requisite RnB vocal snips are provided by Youandewan and Last Magpie, a pair of producers who have both honed their atmospheric cuts down to a tee in the last few years. Youandewan’s Faith comes out as the more impressive number, breathing life into a familiar sample. Here he follows up a tasteful EP on Hypercolour with a spacious 9-minute odyssey of misty synthwork, rattling percussive accents and mood to spare. Last Magpie takes a similar approach on the downbeat Without You, all rattling 2step, ghosted vocals and dubbed-out synth stabs, but without Youandewan’s effortless knack for atmosphere, his contribution ends up lacking a real sense of progression.

The three remaining tracks are the odd ones out, the tunes that sidestepped expectations somewhat. LV enlist the honeyed reggae vocal chops of Dan Bowskill for a sensuous burner on Livin Up, where syrupy horns and soft vocal harmonies make for a surprising oasis amidst the compilation’s harder dance material. The closer is left to Manni Dee & Deft, who throw a curveball with the frantic workout of This One, The Art of the Possible. Despite the vocal sample’s discussion of garage and hardcore, this one is all about footwork, an impressively structured and distinctively British take on the genre.

While many of these are great offerings, 2^nd Drop regular DjRum effortlessly steals the show with his phenomenal Blue On Blue (Voodoo). A stunning collage of pitch-perfect vocal and musical samples are twinned with growling bassweight and off-kilter rhythms, all patched together into a lush symphonic piece which descends in its finale quarter into a beautiful collision of dubbed-out vocals and operatic harmonies. Given time, Blue On Blue takes the proud place of a highlight among highlights. Overall there’s not much material here to challenge what we know as the 2^nd Drop sound, Future Foundations is more a feat of consolidation, drawing together the label’s different styles and returning to some its past contributors. As such, it stands as a consistent and enjoyable dissection of one of London’s definite labels that clearly still has so much left to give.

7.5/10

DJ Rashad – Rollin EP

Label: Hyperdub

Footwork has come a long way in the last five years. Since its inception as a high-energy style in Chicago which spawned a brilliant dance, the sound took only a few years to sweep the underground by storm. The genre was first brought into the UK limelight with the help of dedicated support from the label Planet Mu, whose Bangs & Works compilation introduced the scene in 2010 to the founding voices of DJ Spinn, RP Boo, DJ Diamond, and a certain key player known as DJ Rashad.

While Planet Mu went on to explore the boundaries of the footwork sound, pushing the new guard of Young Smoke, Traxman and Crissy Murderbot, it also introduced new qualities to the sound, notably the neon juke dystopias conjured by the likes of Ital Tek and Kuedo. Meanwhile Rashad continued on his way, honing and ceaselessly innovating his sound, and last year released one of the genre’s defining titles in the form of Teklife Vol 1: Welcome To The Chi. For his debut release on Kode9’s seminal Hyperdub imprint, Rashad contines to push the sound, here moulding his tunes with a polish and a melancholy edge that fit snugly into the Hyperdub canon. In the process, he has conjured one of the most original, exciting footwork releases of the past year.

Let It Go

All of the genre’s key features are here; the tunes slip past at an uneasy 160bpm, accompanied by cut-n-change vocal samples, nauseous melodic accents cut short and that frantic percussive bed that shifts like quicksand. Opener Rollin is a strong introduction to Rashad’s sound for the uninitiated, stuttered cymbal hiss pans across the speakers before settling into a busy, intoxicating blend of mournful pitched-up vocal snips, frenzied kicks and raw snares. If the title track acts as an introduction, second cut Let It Go is where Rashad really flexes his muscles, producing an EP highlight that startlingly portrays the genre’s untapped emotive potential. This track defines Footwork x Hyperdub; here rich strings tremble under heart-melting diva cries set on a lush backdrop of detailed percussive textures totally unlike the cheap, over-compressed sounds heard at the time of the genre’s birth.

The B-side offers a pair of collaborations with two more of juke’s top dogs, the most impressive being the aggressive rush of DJ Manny collab Drums Please. Here an unstoppable breakbeat onslaught introduces a squealing boogie synthline that gradually softens as the track wears on, offering instant-classic vibes with its spare arrangement and whirring synth loops. DJ Spinn’s contribution on Broken Hearted may follow a more generic template but retains that high-quality sheen, where Spinn’s trademark soulful vocals echo plaintively over exacting snare rolls and sine synth accompaniments. The timing for this release is perfect, as label-head Kode9 has his own footwork-inspired track out soon the future seems bright for juke in the UK, and Rashad performs his role as prophet to a tee, proudly exalting everything unique and impressive about the genre while showing more clearly than ever that there’s so much space left for it to grow.

8.5/10

Read this review in context at Inverted Audio