Tony Poland and James Manning touched down in Krakow to witness some of the surprises at this year’s edition of Unsound festival.
The UK label will issue Fingers, Bank Pads & Shoe Prints by the Footwork originator in June.
The label have dipped into the unreleased archives of Kavain Space for an upcoming record due in April.
Scott Wilson outlines some of the many highlights of last week’s Unsound festival in Krakow.
In a recent interview with FACT, RP Boo – otherwise known as Kavain Space – explained how the purchase of a Roland R-70 drum machine provided the pivotal moment in his production career. A model used by many of the Dance Mania artists, Space’s particular unit was the store’s one remaining display model, and as such came with a unique set of sounds programmed into it over the factory default settings through years of showroom demonstrations.
Planet Mu have announced details of footwork originator RP Boo’s debut album.
Of all the producers Honest Jon’s have enlisted to provide reworks of artists from their Shangaan Electro compilation, Rashad & Spinn and RP Boo must surely make the most sense; if there’s any form of Western dance music that even comes close to the frenetic pace of South Africa’s Shangaan scene, then it’s Chicago juke and footwork. The parallels between Shangaan and juke are obvious: aside from the 160bpm plus speed, both have the need to make people dance furiously at their core. Shangaan artist Nozinja, quoted in the press release for the original Shangaan Electro compilation says: “Shangaan dancers, they dance, they can go on for almost an hour with that speed, without getting tired. When you see them dance you feel like they have got no bones”. This description could easily apply to the best footwork dancers, whose legs often seem made entirely of jelly.