Neuport - Chorizo EP

Neuport is part of a group of producers out of Minneapolis who pursue a whack take on juke and hip-hop. In this scene it is mandatory to have some sort of wingding in your name and to reference juke and weed. You may say, "but Tobias, isn't that just some witchhau5 bullshit?" and i will respond with "no, have a listen."
'Diamond Messages vs. Naked Werewolf' is a washed out groove with smoove bass, juke-indebted beats, a haunting vocal sample, squealing synth glitches and reverb-soaked guitar washes. Thus the track swings and bounces into the wonderous, fantastic galaxy of, say, Bubble Club's 'the Goddess'. 'Grin' is a footwerk work out, which twists and merges into a chaotic climax of frantic beats and symphonic strings that would be as fit for da war zone as any Rashad or Earl track.

Gang Colours - Fancy Restaurant (Machinedrum Remix)

All you need to know is that it's a Machinedrum jam!

Time Wharp - BLK EP

Time Wharp recently released their outstanding BLK EP which u can dl for free over at the astro nautico bandcamp!



'yrLyf' is a chilled out ride thru the cosmos. Sparkling synths start the song, before a swooning, swirling vocal harmony emerges out of the ether. Based up kicks penetrate the mellow vibes, accompanied by relentlessly busy snares that elucidate James Blake's early beatmaking. The tune is finished off with warped sitar washes and a lengthy vocal loop. Lovely.

'Basic Step' takes on juke with warm synth washes and twinkling 8-bit melodies. The bangs are mellowed out into smoother notes rather than their usual abrasive throb. It is busier beatmaking then your usual footwork song, and shows just one of the approaches that producers are taking to the juke genre.

T

fireforeffect

fireforeffect comes straight out of Chi-town bringing a fresh approach to a number of established genres. 'Yr So Wet' is a classic ardkore throwback, including the yeah-woo sample, euphoric keyboard stabs and a variety of water samples.



'Step Into Liquid' is a chaotically eclectic take on his hometown's sound. Considering it features deftly arranged Erykah Badu samples over a mixture of juke and jungle rhythms and a buzzing synth breakdown coupled with David Attenbrother, it is almost irresistible.

T

Unicorn Kid - True Love Fantasy feat. Talk To Animals

Unicorn Kid explodes with a cheesey as fuck Night Slugs-y banger. A steel drum melody starts the song off coupled with a children's choir singing about ecstacy. The song doubles over and drops into helf-step trance territory, primed for fist-pumping and peaking around your room. It turns etheral before an air-horn sounds and a face-melting guitar solo flies over the top of the thumping hip-hop bass. Somehow trance has become trendy again and who can complain when a fun-loving approach is taken to a genre which is often repressed to the dark subconscious of electronic music. Free download as well!

T

LiL ♎ JaBBA - SWiSHeR.

Perhaps some of the best juke from outside Chicago, Lil Jabba's self-released EP (at a cheeky 8 bucks) is a benchmark in the expropriation of the footwork sound. It's worth pointing out that Lil Jabba is by no means the first person outside the original scene to play with the formula, Machinedrum with tracks like 'Seesea' adopts the micro-cuts and pitched sample-savvy vocal melodies of his predecessors, however, being white, he obviously dropped the ghetto-isms that foreground the hardcore Chicago sound. The Machinedrum approach is evident on SWiSHeR, as it certainly has a wider and fuller sound than the work of DJ Spinn or Rashad but Jabba never essentially strays far from the juke sound we know and love. The standout moment on the EP is undeniably 'MaVeN', whose indefatigably dense drumwork is masterfully offset by smooth pulsating synth sweeps. Other tacks like 'SKaLa' stutter along with a foreboding urgency, keeping it simple yet engaging through subtle atmospherics evoking the work of similarly minded Slava. Even with all its academic progressiveness SWiSheR still packs a fix of 'Teklife'-esque ghetto soul in the form of 'GET UP BITCH'. I feel like this may be a very reductionist way of looking at this budding genre, but I'm very happy that it is at a stage where, like every new genre before it, white guys are starting to rip it off, and doing a great job of it.

Oscar

Loxy & Resound - Innervision

A Track off the debut album from Londoner 'Loxy' and Finnish 'Resound'. Following a succession of equally appreciable releases on 'Exit Records','Burning Shadows' is a robust assemblage of dark rasta-tinged bass rollers straddling a boundary between drum 'n' bass and dubstep. On a whole the album gets tiresome and I really can't say it's anything new, however there are points, like 'Innervision' where the bass pressure, cosmic synth waves and insistent vocal loops converge to a danceable equilibrium.

DJ Earl - DJ Earl EP

At the ripe young age of 22 DJ Earl represents the new generation of Chicago dance music. Having been working the core of the juke sound since he was 16, its unsurprising that Earl's self-released EP posted yesterday is a body of work entirely from and for the ghetto. It is streamlined for optimum footwork-battle appeal using aural space and lack thereof to let every bang coldly ring out. 'Heart Attack' and 'Pressure' with its dadaist minimalism are exercises in MVP chemistry, boiling down what is unique about juke to its glacial essence. On the other ends of the spectrum 'Down Under' is a concentrated, dizzily heated fix of juke brutality and 'Use Ya Handz' provides a cameo for the ghetto-house strain of jukey party pleasers. The EP definitely demands a lot of dedication, and as I mentioned before, is truly designed for a hardcore Chicago fanbase, but 2 years on (approx) from juke's rise to prominence, Earl is really keeping the scene real while simultaneously refining the inventive drum-science that has made it so internationally in vogue.

B-Ju - Mia Got A New Haircut

Phat, smoking beats from Germany's B-Ju. The tune evokes Salva and other Frite Nite colleagues in several ways - stuttering beats, a slamming snare and arms-in-the-air, summery synths. Coming in at just the right season and filling the void left by a quiet 6 months from Salva.

Meech - I Want (Raziek Remix)

Frenchman Raziek serves up a dope remix of Meech's 'I Want'. Who isn't a sucker for a feel good, bouncing remix of some 90s RnB? In this case Ashanti is morphed into a late-nite roller complete with piano stabs and those ever-present 808s. It may be cliched but when well executed it is still hard to resist.

DJ Clap

DJ Clap is juke with even more ADHD and ecstasy. Sounding more like the Nate and Roc strain of Chicago producers, rather than that of Rashad and Spinn, it is twee, over-saturated and, perhaps for some, more ~listenable~.

'Smile' sends out thumping bangs, chopped samples and glistening synths at a furious pace, converging in certifiable banger territory and exploding before your eyes.

'Come on' is all systems overload. Notes are rapidfired into, at the songs' climax, a trance-inducin', face-slammin' wall of sound. The beauty is, though, that this is all underpinned by a highly melodic and catchy vocal line. This dude must have just taken way too many pills, but hey, I'm not complaining.

Ssaliva - RZA EP

RZA makes for fantastic headphone listening - it's hypnagogic, dark, and excellent. It is true that 'Black Soul' is black soul - not in a racial sense but rather in a sonic one. A mangled soul sample fades from left ear to right, from conscious to unconscious, and elucidates the minimal and repetitive palette of an Actress tune. 'Trimensional' delves into other territory, combining kosmische musik (particularly that of Michael Bundt, with its spacey arpeggiators) and the lo-fi textures and timbres of Hype Williams - everything is covered in a grey, blunted haze. The theme continues through to 'Hobo 4030', which takes on more of a hip-hop flavour with a set of relatively clean synths and bouncing beat, and 'RZA', a meandering piano and, yes, RZA indebted chimes. Great listening!

Bondax - You're So

When it comes to ripping off James Blake some do it better than others. Bondax deserve their spot as one of the better ones, alongside Disclosure and Ifan Daffyd. I won't even bother deconstructing this tune considering the fact that all of its elements will be totally familiar, but i will say that the drop transition is pulled off especially well - reminding me of tracks like 'Libra' and 'Give a Man a Rod'. I guess I'll just pretend that this is actually just a new Blake tune and that he hasn't released absolute rubbish since CMYK.

KP & Envi - Shorty Swing My Way (Citizen Remix)

London's Citizen puts his mark on this late 90s hip-hop classic. The tune rolls comfortably in a deep housey groove, working the vocal sample deftly. What is interesting is the peak-inducing, overwhelmingly swelling synths that saturate the song before it drops back into a 4/4 work out. Citizen takes a subversive approach to tension and release - alone it may leave you unsatisfied, however in a club the synth would surely work dancers into a craze.

DJ Avery - 7655139

Part of the ever growing 'Teklife' army (the main Chicago Juke-makers Rashad, Earl, et al) Dj Avery shows off his salubrious bangs on an LP for 'Tribe National'. The production is clean and intimate, structurally bound by Stevie Wonder jazz chords and with a robust and meditative sound. The real innovation however, is the jungle-era synth-string pads that hit halfway through bathing the entire track in light.

Guess what came out today!

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=DA4DGJCK

LDFD - Byzantine Chillun

When I used LDFD earlier this week as an example of typical feel-good house (which he was) I evidently didn't know he had moved on to this shit, fuck. I honestly don't know how to describe this, but, I have only ever heard a handful of tracks this munted. At a stretch it sounds like a midpoint between (obscure Floridian producer) Sea Things: 'Gem Wave' and Actress's bizarro Twitter release 'My Weeds Strong Blud'. 'Byzantine Chillun' is a 9 minute trip of decompressing 90s computer sounds and malfunctioning drum machines peppered liberally with the retro dial-up tones and obsolete Windows startup fanfares. This shock reformation of LDFD's sound gives me high hopes for the 20 year old producer.

808s!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Giraffage, Graintable, Garde & Eames

Of late, it has been impossible to escape the wrath of the 808. Whether you're listening to anything from juke (in all its many recent forms), to beats, to bass, or to house the machine stands foreground.

Girrafage's 'With You' exemplifies the versatille use of the mighty 808. 'With You' features de riguer rolling snares and rim hits, sparkling pads, queasy chords, all spiced with a hip-hop flavour.

On a similar level comes 'April O'Neil' from Portland beatmaker Graintable. While also exemplifying stuttering drum programming, the tune is far more indebted to hip-hop (as shown in the half-step breakdown), and features chopped soul 'ooh's that perfectly evoke nostalgia.
Both mandatory listening for a blissed out summer's day in the park.

Canadian producers Prison Garde and Eames, who have each been rocking their respective 808s in their own right, have combined and, as of last week, released a free LP through 'FACT Magazine'. 'The Bricks LP' could suffice as a book of swatches for 808 club music from deep house, to tech house, to dubstep and a few shades in between.

Wheez-ie - Woo Hah! Remix

Wheez-ie's back catalogue is already riddled with an ADD level of warp speed cuts and edits focused into a high-energy ecstasy jams but the new hyperactive remix of Busta Rhymes's 'Woo Hah' steps up the insanity a few notches again. Perhaps Wheez-Ie's jukiest work to date, the malevolent syncopated piano stabs draw out the enormous bangs that hit later on. Chi-town footworkers like Dj Roc come to mind when the dark brass hits eventually come thundering in. What can I say, its a welcome and familiar juke prototype with a not so familiar kitschy execution, but regardless, a great listen.

Trim - On The Road (Harmonimix)

A new Jamesy song I actually like! wow lol

OL - Cirx

Russian juke? yep, it exists. Perhaps the best example to date of this unlikely crossover is brought to you by OL and comes with a boring as hell video. It was pretty much inevitable that the Russian beatmakers (DZA, Pixelord, Moa Pillar etc.) would eventually appropriate juke sounds as the entire scene seems locked in a frustrating bid to out-avant-garde each other by employing as many influences as they can grab their hands on. In my opinion this approach deprives the music of a level of taste that comes from careful selection and refinement, nonetheless, Juke would be the obvious choice for a 'new sound' in that it hasn't really been around for long enough to be ripped-off yet. I digress, the tune itself is an intriguing groove comprised of dismantled juke breaks and pitch shifted divas anchored by a down-tempo kick loop. The etherial synth arpeggios are what ultimately prevent the track from retaining the ghetto goodness of OLs Chicago equivalents but it does add a welcome whimsical tone.

Download Here

Kidnap Kid - Lazarus Taxon

Lazarus Taxon (forthcoming Black Butter Records) by Kidnap kid
Nice smooth housey bump n grind tweaked with that post-dub vibe. Pitched diva vocals, warm synth chords, catchy treble melodies, it's all there friends! Highly agreeable headphone listening if you're bored of all your early Blake/Mount Kimbie/Disclosure (etc) tunes!!

Todd Terje - It's the Arps EP

Norwegian producer Todd Terje has been a very naughty boy. His new EP, released on Smalltown Supersound, showcases a penchant for bouncy, funky, good-time disco. The EP was apparently created on the Arp 2600 synthesiser, which evokes the disco vibes of Giorgio Moroder, as much in sound as in arrangement. 'Inspector Norse' builds around a bumping bass line, reaching peaks that remind me of Ben Butler and Mousepad's 'Electric Bamber-boo', if not as intensely insane. 'Swing Star (Part 1)' reveals krauty tropes, with a motorik beat and intertwining kosmische synths. An EP brimming with fun and booty-shaking.

Coni - Crush

Slow muthafukin roller from Parisian Coni on hot French label ClekClekBoom. Breezy vocals perfectly compliment wheezy, swirling synths, while Coni works the fluttering 808 hi-hat and syncopated snares like a master. I don't think the bass breakdown works particularly well... Credit where credit's due, though, and we must respect Coni for branching out into the unknown where other producers would happily sit upon the laurels of fine house construction.

XI - Immunity / Squeeze

Fresh tunes from Canadian producer XI on the Orca imprint (which also features Hyetal and XXXY). Immunity surges on a dark garage tip, with a brooding bassline and space age synth washes, all underpinned by wonky drum programming. Squeeze follows with chopped n screwed vocals, ethereal building melodies and industrial stabs. If you like your garage and you lark it deep, this is the one for you.

Shigeto - Huron River Drive

This jazzy little chiller is the second track to surface from Shigeto's forthcoming 'Lineage EP' due January 31 on 'Ghostly International'. While the label's website asserts some bullshit about how the Ep is deeply connected to Shigeto's Japanese roots, which I don't buy, it is none the less soulful and blissed out and beautifully offset by some Floating Points style synth flourishes.

See also: Shigeto - Lineage

Machinedrum - DDD

Expected January 17, the tirelessly prolific Travis Stewart aka 'Machinedrum' is readying a new 5 track EP on 'Lucky Me'. After his killer debut LP 'Room(s)' earlier last year, and his masterfully crafted full-length under the 'Sepaclure' moniker and not to mention a wealth of mind-blowing remixes and Soundcloud tracks Travis is not letting his musical guard down one bit. The EP sampler (which I highly recommend listening to), released a month ago proves 'SXLND' to be yet another showcase of Machinedrum's dancefloor refinery and meticulous tweakery. 'DDD', at 6 minutes, is a dancefloor journey through Travis's patented classic house stabs and vocals reconstituted in a smooth texturally dense context. I expect the EP to be on point as ever and serve to cement Travis Stewart's rep as a master of his craft.

Objekt - Cactus/Porcupine 12" Sampler

LISTEN HERE



The 3rd 12" from Objekt the trending Berlin producer (expected February 6 on 'Hessle Audio') demonstrates as usual his prowess for crafting sound. 'Porcupine' with its sticky dubstep beats and sonic wobble teamed with the etherial amorphous synth stabs of 'Cactus' indicates a 12" that combines the best qualities of both his previous releases. The dark bass of 'Objekt #1' fusing with the cerebral heaviness of 'Objekt #2' to make two tracks that seem to fit in perfectly with Hessle's sleek, urban club sound.

Disclosure - Tenderly/Flow 12" Preview

The sampler for a new 12" by teenage bothers 'Disclosure' (upcoming on Make Mine) shows the duo's taste in ecstatic house bangers plateauing slightly since their eargasmic 'Carnival' free EP last year. That said there is really nothing disagreeable about either song, both exemplifying Disclosure's trademark uninhibited house chords and cheesy vocal samples however there is also nothing much to differentiate them from the legions of other like-minded producers: Damu, Salva, Sepalcure, LDFD, et al. I don't mean to undermine the genre in any way but when using such a omnipresent template one has to bring something extra to not blend into the feel-good, housey milieu, but basically if you are a fan of Disclosure you will love this.

Vessel - Scarletta

The latest signee to Triangle Records, Brooklyns premier ~dark~ electronic imprint, has come out with a track to exhibit his tense Actress/Andy Stott-esque brand of industrial ambience. Hypnotising you with its pulsating stutter the track is a sweet temporal jam and a promising sampler of Vessel's future career on his newfound label.

Memotone - Free Ep

Memotone, aka William Yates the unsigned freelance UK beatmaker just dropped a four track EP through Boiler Room which you can download here. The EP has some dark and dank downbeat techno grooves to get off on and not to mention a loose tripped out restyling of Aaliyah's 2001 classic 'Try Again'. For a Free EP its definitely worth an clicking the dl link without hestitation.