SachO SachO SachO SachO SachO SachO Sa Sa Sa Sa SachO SachO SachO…
Sometimes a lack of context can be revealing. When I played DJ Nate tracks for an unsuspecting friend, his first reaction was to assume that this was the work of some avant-guard art-wank working out his issues with post-modernism through rap samples. I was in the process of telling him that this was actually the work of a 20-something kid from the west side of Chicago and that a community of teens actually dance to this stuff when I realized that in an alternate universe, he could be totally right. Incidentally my friend’s second reaction was to mumble “you could really fuck someone up with this stuff if they were on the wrong drugs.”
DJ Nate makes Footwork music, a variation on Juke, itself a form of Ghetto House, a raw hip-hop influenced form of House that’s been made by and for Chicago residents for years. I won’t profile the genre when others have already done it but what you need to know is that it’s fast (around 160BPM), made for local dance competitions and more often than not, weird as hell. It’s also the kind of thing that might have remained a local affair were it not for Planet Mu founder Mike Paradinas’ sudden interest in licensing the stuff after experiencing it via Youtube.
Shrewdly signing Nate along with fellow Chicago resident DJ Rashad, Planet Mu’s patronage suddenly made a style of music previously accessible only via myspace rips and local mixtapes into an international concern already influencing the post-Dubstep bass world. While there’s a longstanding tradition of British audiences adopting Afro-American dance music (Northern Soul, House, Techno) and then mutating it to their own needs (funk inspired post-punk, Rave, Garage) Chicago Footwork stands out by being stranger than any British variations on it so far. Ramadanman’s “Work Them” and Adison Groove’s Footcrab feature steady tempos and extended intros for mixing purposes.
Nate’s “See into My Eyes” seemingly shifts from slow to fast, features distorted bass ,and samples the singer from Evanescence of all people. DJ Rashad’s “It’s not Right” features a steadier tempo but obliterates a soul sample into a fragmented matrix that would have the most dedicated glitch producer scratching his head and figuring out what to do with this. The genre as we’ve been presented it so far is a sonic assault and I truly wonder how I’d survive several hours of this stuff blasted at high volume through overheated speakers.
Thankfully, it’s also a hell of a lot of fun, standing apart from the classier, artier and more sullen sounds coming out of LA and England. I’d be lying if I said that I knew where this stuff is supposed to lead to but for now, I’m pretty content to sit back, enjoy the ride and bounce manically to it like a Chihuahua on crystal.–Sach O
Download:
MP3: DJ Nate – “Find Your Dreams”
MP3: DJ Rashad – “Itz not Rite”
MP3: Mike Paradinas – Juke Mix
5 comments
curt says:
September 16, 2010 at 6:45 pm (UTC -7)
this is fresh. interesting it runs at 160 and made for dancing (guess im really white). reminiscent of bmore club a bit, yeah?
Sach says:
September 16, 2010 at 8:23 pm (UTC -7)
There’s definitely some similarities between them (both exist mainly as party music, both are almost completely centered around their cities of origin, both are created by and for working class black youth) but this stuff strikes me as weirder and less constrained to typical expectations surrounding “dance” music.
Admitedly, I’m as new to this stuff as anybody and my workload doesn’t really permit hours of youtube/myspace listening so I’m at Planet Mu’s mercy, but they’re doing a pretty good job at getting the material out there. I really recommend the Rashad EP they’re putting out as a starting point.
craig says:
September 20, 2010 at 5:56 pm (UTC -7)
saw this at a few of the battles i frequented when i used to live in chi town. i thought it was some kind of spastic house dancing. thanks for the educatin. paradinas has always been way out there..
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September 24, 2010 at 10:26 am (UTC -7)
[...] Passion of the Weiss » Blog Archive » Sach O: Planet Mu, DJ Nate & DJ Rashad bring Juke to the… passionweiss.com/2010/09/16/sach-o-planet-mu-dj-nate-dj-rashad-bring-juke-to-the-masses/ – view page – cached Sometimes a lack of context can be revealing. When I played DJ Nate tracks for an unsuspecting friend, his first reaction was to assume that this was the work of some avant-guard art-wank working out his issues with post-modernism through rap samples. I was in the process of telling him that this was actually the work of a 20-something kid from the west side of Chicago and that a community… Read moreSometimes a lack of context can be revealing. When I played DJ Nate tracks for an unsuspecting friend, his first reaction was to assume that this was the work of some avant-guard art-wank working out his issues with post-modernism through rap samples. I was in the process of telling him that this was actually the work of a 20-something kid from the west side of Chicago and that a community of teens actually dance to this stuff when I realized that in an alternate universe, he could be totally right. View page Tweets about this link [...]
Neema Nazem says:
September 28, 2010 at 8:59 pm (UTC -7)
Well man, thanks for showin love for the music man! But fyi, this music has been banging in Germany, Belgium, and France for a few years. It’s just exploded in the UK, but check where most dancemania records are being sold from, and you’ll see how long the loyal listeners go back.
But really man, hit me up if you got any questions about this music! I run ghettophiles, and also run the ghettotekz youtube page which features battles, so I’d love to help.
Peace!