Footwork / Juke Recommendations Best Of 2014

Review: Last seen on Exit back in 2012 with the excellent Get Busy drop, Charlie 'Fracture' Fieber returns to the label and shows off his Loving Touch on an EP that really ups the production ante. Centre stage here is undoubtedly the title track which looks to two eras of Chicago for inspiration, skilfully borrowing (officially no less) from Ralph Rosario's Chicago House classic "You Used To Hold Me", and rebooting it to a 160bpm footwork flex which retains some UK bassweight and elements of Fracture's own D&B roots. From here Fracture drops a carnival classic in the making in the shape of Machinedrum favourite "Werk It", collaborates with Sam Binga on the 808 club burner "Grippin' Grain" (apparently conceived during a wicked hangover) and ends on a decidedly rude note with the junglist breaks n bass line business of "Overload".

Review: The London-based Modern Ruin Records label arrives with a mission statement to showcase some of the most talented and innovative artists making moves on the juke and footwork scenes around the world, and the label's first EP gets things off to an incredibly strong start. Pawn kicks off with "Do U", a dancefloor destroyer melding footwork textures with punishing D&B-influenced rhythms and bass, while The Renegades' "The Warmup" offers a jazzier number which places deft amen breaks throughout. On the flip, Sideswipe's "Be With U" offers a gospel-influenced, funky take on footwork with its vintage sample, but it's Vorres' "One Of These Old Days" that takes the crown, with delicate 808 rhythms fluttering across more soulful vocals. Essential stuff from a label to watch.

Review: Following the sad news of Rashad's passing, this latest single from the ever-productive Addison Groove takes on a more poignant nature as the late footwork legend guests on the second track. That the track is called "U Been Gone" only adds to the emotional weight of it, not to mention the wistful keys and yearning vocal lick. Elsewhere Addison Groove is on typically fiery form, from the rave baiting whiplash of "Push It" to the weighty bassbin busting badness of "Dat Ass". The samples are beyond cheeky in their recognisability, and it matters not a jot when the music kicks as hard as this.

Review: In a final move within the sprawling vision of his Vapor City project, Travis Stewart offers up another albums worth of material that ties in to the online community he sought to create with the release of the initial album. It's everything you would hope for from additional Machinedrum material, melding soft and gentle melodic elements with razor sharp drum programming, bubbling footwork percussive tones, and enough playful ideas to keep things warm and inviting. There are some ruder moments, as in the bass rubbing throwdown "B Patient", but then there are some outright folky inflections such as the plucked guitar on "More Than Friends". Always surprising and never repeating himself, Machinedrum nails it once again.

Review: Alix Perez on Exit? That's enough to make most D&B aficionados froth at the mouth. Throw in collabs with the equally hot Stray and two of footwork's most demonstrative players and you've got a release so cool it comes with its own beard. "U" is a rifle-like jitter-jam of cuts and chops, all massages together to juke glue. "Sludge", meanwhile, lives up to its name in every way. A funky post-dubstep downbeat strutter, it wonks as hard as it works. The truly unique "Make It Worth", meanwhile, is an eerie stepper that morphs from subtle to stately drama with a Detroit style heaviness and a grime vocal loop. Finally we hit "Gully Halves" which, as the title suggests, is a waspy paranoid bassline on a dark stroppy halfstep. Four incredible future jams from the Shogun superstar... This is next level business.

Review: Continuing the geographical theme of his Vapor City LP, Machinedrum is back on Ninja Tune with more of his dreamy hybrids that sit at the nexus of juke, electro and jungle, expanding on the groundwork of the album with the choppy funk of "Back Seat Ho". Rustie is in a fearsome mood as he reworks the original into a drum-heavy stomper, before "On My Mind" staggers out with its wild-eyed arpeggios and slow-rushing snares. "Neujack" has a futuristic juke lilt to it, precision-engineered for maximum nag. Do seek out the digi only remix of "Back Seat Ho" from Pinch and Adrian Sherwood too!

Review: Before Hyperdub get round to showcasing the more song-based side to their ever -growing discography with the upcoming Hyperdub 10.2 compilation, the label ushers in a second edition of the vinyl only Decadubs series that also forms part of their multi faceted anniversary celebration campaign. Extending the format to two platters, Decadubs 2 is largely a footwork affair with a good chunk of the exclusive material that featured on the double CD Hyperdub 10.1 compilation featured. A track from the sadly departed DJ Rashad commences proceedings (his "Acid Life" collaboration with Gant-Man") and the frenetic pace doesn't let up from there, with DJ Spinn's "All My Teklife" and DJ Earl's "I'm Gonna Get You" stand out contributions. The D Side switches up focus from footwork to showcase the hyperactive synth heavy stylings of Japanese producer Quarta 330, Champion's superb editing skills and Ikonika's peerless bassweight stylings.

Review: DJ Deeon's visceral productions and stripped back approach date back to Dancemania's mid '90s output and have helped set the very foundations for the footwork movement that continues to soundtrack the best parties today. Often x-rated and always physical, his analogue magic still sounds as dark and direct as it did 20 years ago. This Freakmode EP sees Chiwax pick through Deeon's 94-96 archives, and highlights include the switchy/facsimile-seducing title track, the outrageously sleazy sentiments of "Yo Mouf" and the tight kick drum dynamics of "Hoodrat". Never subtle, always solid, Deeon we salute you.

Review: London ghetto/gutter funk crew We Buy Gold come correct with this anonymous - not to mention limited - three track 12". The end result is a body-shoving blend of jungle spirit, snub-nosed juke attitude and raw bass funk. "Bass 2 Dark" takes elements of the L Double jungle classic and gives them a contemporary footwork twist. "Heathens" is much more of a booty-bass cheek-slapper with high-end riff infection and sneaky breakbeat snare rolls. "Madman" is the darkest of the set; steppy-yet-rolling, slow-yet-fast, classic-yet-future... It pretty sums up everything that's great about jungle, juke and techno in one nasty composition. You'd be a madman to miss out.

Review: Croydon crusader Deft continues to flourish in the future beat hinterland with two more startlingly crisp and distinctive jams. "Emeralds" sparkles with diamond-like distinction as deep-seeded harmonies provide the ideal bedrock for a breath-taking arpeggio. "A Little Kiss" shows Deft's darker side as the lolloping beats slur across the rich bass amidst an array of unpredictable FX and processes. Elsewhere we pop and pump to the timeless house groove of "Octavia" and unleash our inner junglist to the footwork fused "Perky". The grass is always greener? Not on Deft's lush lawn it's not.

Review: Brighton-based DJ and producer Ital Tek seems to divide his productions evenly between Planet Mu and Civil Music these days. After first appearing on the latter label with the suitably complex rhythmics of Hyper Real in early 2013, Alan Myson returns with a second forward thinking offering for Civil in the shape of Mega City Industry. As the title suggests, the four tracks here seem to be a continuation of last year's mini LP Control for Planet Mu in both Utopian theme and sound. Expect an intricate cross pollination of footwork and the hardcore tropes of '90s jungle, something that is displayed with dizzying results on "Shinra".

Review: Studio Barnhus continue to surprise, with the first release of 2014 a label debut that shines the light on Stockholm's nascent footwork scene. Described as "the man behind the single best demo email Studio Barnhus ever received," Henry Rodrick's label debut consists of six-tracks that offer a neat document of the work the producer is doing as part of the Svensk Bas collective along with fellow Barnhus graduate Baba Stiltz and Marcus 'Basutbudet' Price. All the material here has been severely roadtested by Barnhus founders Boman, Kovacs and Nordkvist over the past twelve months and tracks such as "Rain & Tears" come filled with the self-effacing touches one comes to expect from a Studio Barnhus release. It's quite exciting to hear how a style of music that's been gestating in Chicago for several decades has been interpreted by a crew from the Gullmarsplan district of Stockholm.

Review: This sly white label offering from The Duke Of Juke takes on the juke genre with the tongue-in-cheek humour intact, but also injects some patience and measured production into the mix across four club ready cuts. "Feel My MF Bass" is actually quite a sweet natured track with its dreamy synth line, offsetting the razor sharp drum arrangement to great effect. "Shngn (remix)" presumably uses the African Shangaan Electro sound as its jump off point, and so it's no surprise that a percussion-focused workout ensues, but there's no prizes for spotting the inspired and somewhat nonsensical sample source for the lead hook on "Junkin' Bird". "As U Hear It" has its fair share of old skool rave sensibilities in amongst its bubbling beat, mostly manifested in a maddening rush of a lead synth line.

Review: Stepping up with his second album for 50 Weapons, Addison Groove is once again mining the rhythmic excitement of juke and footwork and working it into his blue-hued melodic headspace. Standout vocal cut '"Just You" is a prime example of the upbeat flavour across the album, while "11th" matches the plush harmonies with moodier switch-ups, and "The Spirit Level" drops the tempo into a house bump that lends itself to the illustrious synth sweeps. Typically though the beats are in that twitchy middle ground between dubstep and footwork, leaving plenty of space for razor-sharp constructions and dazzling edits as best demonstrated on the dynamic acid roll of "Space Apples". Chaos abounds on the B Side where Developer's frantic side is shown via "Promiscuous" whilst the tightly wound "Pulstar" is quite hypnotic.

Review: DJ Clent might not be a name outsiders associate with footwork as much as Rashad, Spinn or Traxman but he's nonetheless got a history to rival that of footwork originator RP Boo, first releasing juke on Dance Mania Records in the late '90s and a host of other labels throughout the last decade. Having contributed to both volumes of Planet Mu's Bangs & Works compilation, and been the subject of an archival release from Blank Mind, Clent now makes his debut proper on Mike Paradinas' label. Entitled, appropriately, Hyper Feet, the five track EP blends MPC sample workouts with frenetic 303 production - the title track is supposedly a footwork homage to Mike Dunn's acid house classic "Magic Feet".

Review: After his first album marked a decisive step forward for footwork as a music form, Traxman is back with a second volume that builds on those successes with even more exotic sound sources that reach far beyond the ghetto house roots of footwork and juke. Opener "Time Slip" is a fine case in point with its complex spread of jazz samples that take on a truly sci-fi level of exploration in the hyper tempos of their host track. The lineage of black music weighs in heavy on Da Mind Of Traxman 2 as every track lives and breathes its roots and influences, sometimes brazenly, but always imaginatively, as has always been the case with footwork. For a deeper exploration of where the Chicago-birthed sound can head in the future, look no further.

Review: Finnish electronic nut Sasu Ripatti aka Vladislav Delay comes through with his latest dosage of sculptural neo-funk on his own Ripatti imprint! This latest clusterbomb takes a veritable juke approach to the equation and it would be unfair to say that this wasn't his craziest thing yet. But "54" and "46" do a lot more than just imitate the Chicago style, but instead, the tracks contain remnants of many other genres and styles typically associated with Ripatti - a little bit of techno here and possibly some improvisational, jazz-influenced sketches over there!