Footwork/Juke charts

Review: It's been a long time since Skrillex (Sonny Moore) pioneered his distinctive complextro sound, characterised by roaring vocal samples, bitcrushed melodies and novelty growls and wobbles. Surprisingly hailing from from an emo background, Moore has leveraged this sound to become an established force of nature, becoming the instigator of an entire tidal sea-change in electronic music. His latest bout of albums, though - one of which is Quest For Fire - hears him exercise his penchant for collaboration more than ever, indulging something of a DJ Khaled-esque streak, but for the EDM-pop crossover world. It's also much less fidgety, erring more on the melodic pop side. Referring to the film of the same name, in which figurative prehistoric cavemen embark on a quest for the discovery of fire, the album is equally a reflection of Skrillex's quest for musical exploration and innovation, as well as his passion for global culture and diversity. We admit: only Skrillex could bring together underground greats like Mr. Oizo, Sleepnet, Joker, Dylan Brady and Flowdan; fresh faces like Starrah, BEAM and Nai Barghouti; and pop-consciousness occupiers like Swae Lee, Aluna, Missy Elliott and Bibi Bourelly.

Review: If you love a good old game of musical guess who then get your ears around this, the second of three Diner's Club International records that dropped on our laps under a shroud of mystery. All we have been told about the project is that is a collective of artists from Joy Rd on the West Side of Detroit who are keeping the city's rich ghetto tech traditions alive. The tracks on this, Part 3, are all super short but super compelling - elements of juke, footwork and electro make up the bumping rhythms with smart r&b samples and diffuse synth soul all adding heartfelt charm to the irresistible dancefloor chaos.

Review: This debut release from footwork crew Teklife's label sees them pay tribute to DJ Rashad, the late, great innovator who passed away in the spring of 2014. Afterlife gathers together a collection of DJ Rashad tracks co-produced by Rashad's close friends and associates, including DJ Spinn, Traxman, DJ Manny and more. As the label themselves state, this 14 track album really conveys the wealth of musical influences and knowledge Rashad possessed with soul, hip-hop, house, techno and many more all brought together at 160 BPM. "Afterlife is our tribute to our friend and our inspiration. Rest In Peace DJ Rashad," Teklife write. Enough said. A must for all fans of Rashad.

Review: Jim Coles' decision back in 2010 to implement a swerve in his sonic trajectory away from his hip-hop past as 2tall in favour of a more all-encompassing approach that touches on various strands of bass culture as Om Unit has paid off and then some. Subsequent releases on Exit, Autonomic, Civil Music, Metalheadz and his own Cosmic Bridge imprint have all shown Om Unit eminently capable of tempo shifting productions that appeal to fans of Bass music, Drum & Bass and footwork alike. The latter has been explored further while the Dream Continuum collaboration with Machinedrum on Planet Mu and his Philip D. Kick alias where the link between Chicago's juke heritage and UK Jungle was explored. All this and more is included on Threads, a debut Om Unit LP for Civil Music that deftly collates various strands (or threads) of his production career over the past fifteen years for a cohesive 15 track set that veers through of hip hop, dubstep, jungle and even house.

Review: RP Boo is a footwork originator widely credited as being a pivotal and foundational figure. He started producing in 1995 inspired by the house sounds of Chicago and broke through in 1997 with 'Baby Come On' which is credited as being the first proper footwork tune. Legacy Vol.2 is a collection of cuts created between 2002 and 2007 that tell the story of Boo's musical evolution as well as that of footwork itself. There is everything from the darkness of 'Eraser' inspired by visiting club War Zone on the west side of Chicago to 2005's 'Pop Machine', which was made when Boo worked at Speedway Oil Change and made use of a temperamental soda/pop machine. This is vital music history, frankly.

Review: Scottish fusioneer Stillhead follows up last year's album doublet Out Of The Loop with this exceptional wide-armed spread of sounds that flexes from UKG (the beautifully restrained hip-wriggling intro 'Sick Fing') to uncompromising juke jams (the pounding, loopy 'Girl Problems') by way of deep slithering, hypnotic dub ('Social Distance'). All weaves together with large servings of bass and some rather nifty (not to mention cheeky) samplecraft. Stillhead? Still bumping...

Review: Kiki Hitomi and Shigeru Ishihara first developed WaqWaq Kingdom as a psychedelic affair with percussionist Andrea Belfi, but with 2019 album Essaka Hoisa they ploughed on alone and created a distinctive, maximalist sound drawing on their respective strengths. Hitomi is a captivating story-teller who can tease a whole cast of characters from her vocal delivery, and Ishihara has a hyperactive approach to production which can render footwork, breakcore, hyper pop, traditional Japanese folk music, hip-hop and much more as bit parts in his vivid tapestries. Drawing on their heritage and making the most out-there modernist music intensely personal in the same beat, Essaka Hoisa sounds like nothing else you've ever heard, and should serve as a perfect primer for a new album from WaqWaq Kingdom in September 2023.

Review: Johnstown, Pennsylvania isn't the first town on everyone's lips when it comes to deep dive electronics. But then, sadly, most people still don't seem to have encountered Nondi. Better known to some of those who have as Tatiana Triplin, the US producer and head of the 'net label HRR has developed a cult following for her experimental takes on some already quite leftfield electronic genres: breakcore and footwork, alongside Detroit-hued techno. What's remarkable about all this is the fact she confesses to only really having direct experiences of these genres online, as oppose to amid the sweat and frenzy of the situations they were first intended for. While this might lead some to assuming her work lacks authenticity, nothing could be further from the truth - it's all so authentic because the interpretations are entirely hers.

Review: Is there a more vital label in all of underground electronic music than FXHE? It never ceases to amaze us how Omar S manages to put out so much music of such high quality, mostly of his own making, but also from plenty of satellite producers he lures under his wing. This time we're treated to a rare full-length from someone other than the boss as the Motor City's Hi Tech duo step up with a raw ghettotech workout. These are sleazy tracks with raw production, bumping basslines, high-speed rhythms and plenty of rapped vocals packed with juke and footwork attitude.

Review: Inimitable footwork titan Jlin returns for yet another challenging take on footwork and juke, Perspective. A pivotal follow-up to her 2017 album Black Origami, it comes as a comparatively terse mini-album, and consists of electronic versions of her compositions for the percussion ensemble Third Coast Percussion. Something about Perspective seems to appreciate footwork's rhythms as rhythmic "impossible shapes", owing to the genre's loose and sometimes off-kilter triplets. On the likes of 'Fourth Perspective' and 'Disonance', she seems to equate juke with minimalism, introducing Reichean additions and subtractions, not to mention a glassy, surreal timbre overall.

Review: Planet Mu has been one of the breeding grounds for juke and footwork even before many people over in Europe had cottoned on the hyper-rhythmic US style. They continue to put out the genre's fresh sounds, this time with Chicago man DJ Manny pushing the template into fresh new realms. He climbs high on the BPM counter here with his 160+ beats staying soulful, with plenty of hook melodies and well-treated and deployed vocal samples adding character to the physicality. Minimal techno, r&b, jungle and more are all referenced in this brilliantly driving album.

Review: By the time Double Cup landed in 2013, footwork had already well and truly infiltrated global dance music culture, with DJ Rashad held high as one of the true visionaries of the Chicago-born sound. Still, Double Cup seemed to break through and take the genre even further out, turning more people onto footwork's hugely innovative potential and fuelling its interpolation with other scenes in the UK and elsewhere. With Rashad's tragic passing in 2014, it also serves as a swan song of sorts, loaded with the weight of a genius gone before his time. If you don't already have this one etched in your memory banks, now is the time to play catch up.

Review: Darryl Bunch Jnr has been operating in the Chicago footwork scene as Heavee for some time now, most notably collaborating with the legendary DJ Rashad as well as luminaries like Zora Jones and Sinjin Hawke. Following up on the promise of his Audio Assault EP for Hyperdub a couple of years ago, Bunch Jnr comes good with an album that broadens his palette without losing focus on the rhythmically intriguing, uptempo framework of footwork. Skittering beats and staggered vocal samples abound, but there's also some soulful synth work and artful sound design which nudge this work into its own sphere, upholding footwork's instinct for innovation and deepening the Heavee creative stamp in the process.

Review: Introducing Diner's Club International, a new and anonymous collective, we have been told on the low down, that is here to keep clubs bumping. They hail from Joy Rd on the East of the city of Detroit and are here to keep the ghetto tech scene going strong with a vast array of breathless new rhythms across three different records. Their MO is to get in and out quickly with each track - short, snappy sketches packed with attitude, cut-up vocals and spongy drum and bass patterns. As physical as all these cuts are, they also have a real human heart thanks to the warming pads and well-deployed r&b stabs. These are red hot so do not sleep.