footwork

DJ Rashad: Double Cup
Similar Artists: Traxman, DJ Spinn, TEKLIFE crew
Genre: Footwork, House
Label: Hyperdub

No matter what your brain tells you, don’t stop listening…

I frequently give people this advice before they begin listening to DJ Rashad; specifically anything off of his extensively jarring 2012 LP, TEKLIFE VOL. 1: Welcome to the Chi. All it takes is a few seconds until you become hit with one of the steepest learning curves in modern dance music. Despite the fact that this music is first and foremost intended for the purpose of riotous dance battles, the sounds of DJ Rashad, to most listeners, will initially be more likely to cause a headache than a sweat. Take “Azz”, off of Just A Taste Vol. 1 for example, which along with many of his other tracks from that period, sees him working with muddy, one word vocal loops circling around battling snare drums, hi-hats and bass at 160bpm. He does this with zero attention towards accessibility, which makes for an awkward, often uncomfortable listen for the unaccustomed ear. Still, his music is attention grabbing beyond belief — even from a home listening, feet on the floor perspective — and I will often get a compulsive urge to listen to his music even when I can’t remember ever being head over heels for it. To put it simply, what works for DJ Rashad most certainly doesn’t work for others, and even when he’s at his best, he’s not for everybody.

From his hard hitting and authentic style that has (until now) remained innately within the realms of footwork, you would imagine DJ Rashad would care very little about appealing to a large scale audience. This is why his more culturally conscious minded transformation by way of London’s Hyperdub is all the more confounding. Out of all the records to come out this year, this is by far the one I am most torn about, as I am by turns thrilled and disappointed by the accessible, party oriented direction DJ Rashad is traveling in. Don’t get me wrong; there’s no real question whether Double Cup is a good record or not. It’s easily DJ Rashad’s most accomplished work to date — I’d even go as far as saying it’s the record he’s been working towards his whole career. It’s so good, though, that it’s perhaps too alluring and accessible to be part of this whole footwork thing.

There’s very little that remains rooted in the underground on Double Cup, and his retreat from the tiny sub-corner that was his stomping ground has caused his style to lose some of its most intriguing qualities. For instance, there’s none of that awful abrasiveness, little to any of his head scratching vocal hooks, and an under abundance of any off-putting repetition. Worst of all, it’s relatively easy to listen to in one complete sitting (*gasp*). Instead of giving us whiplash, on Double Cup, DJ Rashad has treated us to 13 perfectly evolving aural sensations that dexterously traverse a gallery of neatly contained structures and ideas. Forget about what’s wrong with it, there’s so much that isn’t wrong with this record that I would feel 100% content if I never had to listen to it again.

Ok, ok, I’m joking, a bit, but there is something with Double Cup that is preventing me from loving it. It’s funny that no one (to my knowledge) has made the comparison yet, but the feeling I get when listening to this album is strikingly similar to how I feel about Disclosure’s Settle. Both records take a left field style and extort it to its extremes of accessibility. While Rashad — being the founding member of the TEKLIFE crew — certainly isn’t making a mockery of his style, he’s instead going in the opposite direction, and approaching his sound with an unbridled seriousness that seems too over the top. There are other similarities between the two records as well, such as the overwhelming amount of guest spots (11 out of the 13 tracks) and through the roof production values. These 13 songs are all so wondrously executed in such a direct and precise manner, that they almost lack personality; or how I like to put it, humanity.

Of course, this is all relative to footwork’s past (not that I consider myself an expert on it), as newcomers will likely find solace in the brilliant use of ricocheting samples and glorified drum programming. In terms of the former DJ Rashad lovers though , Double Cup can be likened to the most popular kid at your high school. It’s the guy that has the coolest clothes, the girl with the prettiest makeup and the most expensive boob job, and the person everyone wants a piece of. From an outsiders perspective, it appears to be immaculate, but once you take a further look, you realize its a cold, lonely place.

Track Listing:
1.) Feelin (feat. Spinn and Taso)*
2.) Show you how (feat. Spinn)
3.) Pass that shit (feat. Spinn and Taso)
4.) She a Go (feat. Spinn and Taso)*
5.) Only One (feat. Spinn and Taso)
6.) Everyday of my Life (feat. DJ Phil)
7.) I Don’t Give A Fuck*
8.) Double Cup (Feat. Spinn)
9.) Drank, Kush, Bars (feat. Spinn)*
10.) Reggie*
11.) Acid Bit (feat. Addison Groove)
12.) Leavin (feat. Manny)
13.) Let U No (feat. Spinn)*
14.) I’m Too Hi (feat. Earl)

Album Highlight – *

Machinedrum: Vapor City

Similar Artists: Traxman, Prefuse 73, TNGHT, Sepalcure

Genre: Bass, Jungle, Footwork, Juke

Label: Ninja Tune

It’s hard for me to believe this is nearly my 70th review this year, and it is only now that I am reviewing a footwork album. If you’ve been living in a hole, the mostly Chicagoan based genre has been populating dance music for the last few years, and its presence has been particularly inescapable in IDM circles. This year alone has seen standout releases from Traxman, RP Boo, and DJ Rashad; all of which hold a distinguishable arc within the genre. One of the leading producers however (despite being based out of everywhere but Chicago) is Machinedrum, who broke out into the scene with 2011’s Room(s). At that point, Machinedrum (AKA Travis Stewart) had already been working as a largely unrecognized electronic producer for nearly a decade, but this release saw him raising his bpms while simultaneously harnessing the ghostly, emotive vocal samples of Burial; in doing so, he brought himself into the spotlight as well as bringing footwork into a more mainstream appreciated corner.

After a few EPs and collaborations (Sepalcure, most notably) , Travis Stewart is back with a true sequel to his breakthrough. This new album continues his fascination with jungle, juke, idm, bass and footwork. Titled Vapor City, it’s a concept album where each track is intended to represent a different section of a sprawling urban landscape. For the most part, this design decision works — even if it does feel a tad bit tacked on. Tracks like “Gunshotta” and “Overcome” feel like they are meant to resemble a tough as nails lower class district, while “Infinite Us” and “Baby It’s You” are more highbrow and upper class oriented. Still, the album as a whole is the complete opposite of grimy, and overall, Room(s) was leagues more representative of urban sprawl than this.

I can forgive the misleading presentation though, because these 11 tracks are among the most gorgeous and stylish the producer has to his name. While the highlight of Room(s) was the rapid fire vocal hooks, here they come off as second to the gushing tranquility of the keyboards and atmosphere. This is a good thing, because I for one feel these types of vocal samples have become so overused to the point that they are in danger of losing all their emotive qualities. Vapor City feels like a more reserved and mature take on jungle than we are used to, and despite the often triple digit bpms, the experience becomes somewhat relaxing after the first initial listens. Take the circling piano chords that lead “Infinite Us” for example; they’re more reminiscent of classic house, or something Terre Thaemlitz would release under his DJ Sprinkles alias, rather than anything boundary pushing. Similarly — even if it may only be an interlude — “Vizion” is 2 and a half minutes of glossy ambient bliss. Some may see this as Machinedrum spreading his concepts too thinly across his relatively lengthy tracks, but others will see it as a refinement of his natural skills.

That’s not to say there isn’t a lot happening in this music — it just isn’t always happening right in front of us. This is the sound of Machinedrum at his most soft and subtle. Halfway through “You Still Lie” we are gifted with a cascading choir of angelic synthesizers, and the penultimate “Baby it’s You” even sees him venturing back to his folktronica roots to blissful effect. The shifting glitch-hop of “SeeSea” is another tastefully composed highlight. In fact, even in the cases where the vocal hook sounds eerily similar, every track here has its own identity, creating a rather varied 45 minutes.

It’s far from perfect though — sure Vapor City is undeniably gorgeous, but it never impacts the listener on an truly emotional level. The reason for this is because everything is so fashionably produced and inoffensive that there are little to no risks at stake. Instead, this is an album that proves to be appealing in a much more simple and direct way than what many fans may have hoped for. However, if you’re just in the mood for an entrancing dance album to brighten up the environment, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it.

Track Listing:

1.) Gunshotta*

2.) Infinite Us*

3.) Don’t 1 2 Lose U

4.) Center Your Love

5.) Vizion

6.) Rise N Fall*

7.) SeeSea

8.) U Still Lie

9.) Eyesdontlie*

10.) Baby It’s You*

11.) Overcome

Album Highlight – *

Album Review: DJ Rashad – Double Cup

Album Review: Machinedrum – Vapor City

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