00-va-next_life-(hdbcd029)-cd-2014-jazzman.nfo
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artist.....: VA
album......: Next Life
year.......: 2014
label......: Hyperdub
HDBCD029
source.....: CDDA
moodswing..: Electronic
releasesize: 126.77 MB
tracks.....: 20
length.....: 74:46
encoder....: VBR LAME 3.98.4 -v0
quality....: avg. 237kbps
scenealized: 05.01.2015
Next Life has a lot packed into its 20
tracks: it's a tribute to DJ Rashad, a
charity benefit for his son and an
all-star showcase of the growing
Teklife roster. As a wide survey of
footwork, it's most easily compared to
Planet Mu's foundational Bangs & Works
compilations, even though it lands on
Hyperdub. Those two scene-spanning
discs, from 2010 and 2011, showed the
world footwork in its relative infancy.
Next Life outlines the genre in its
cosmopolitan, world-conquering
adulthood. Overflowing with new talent
and continuously gobbling up any
influence it can find, footwork is no
longer a strictly regional
phenomenonwhich is in part due to
Rashad Harden's prolific work as the
genre's de facto ambassador.
When we first encountered footwork, it
was defined by rudimentary production
values, a speed demon rush and trippy,
free-floating basslines. As it's
mutated and intertwined with jungle,
drum & bass, trap and grime, it's grown
into more of a feeling than a genre
proper. Next Life stretches footwork
past its breaking point several times
over. Sirr Tmo's noir-ish "Live In
Chicago Subways" barely even sounds
like footwork, taking the genre's
obsession with weed to its most
paranoid, claustrophobic conclusions.
Earl and Taye slip jungle breaks into
"Do This Again" with the kind of
precision usually reserved for
surgical-grade drum & bass, while Tre's
"DNB Spaceout" reinforces its
foundation with fidgety, Fracture-style
drum layering.
Production values mark the biggest
difference between Teklife then and
now. Many of these tracks have velvety
tones and lustrous textures. Even
Traxman, famous for his crude cut-ups,
seems inspired by the lusher side of
Chicago house on "Sit Ya Self Down."
The core Teklife members, meanwhile,
continue to grow more soulful and
funky. Rashad makes his only appearance
on the four-way collaboration "OTS," a
powerful tune that embodies footwork's
sea change.
But the core crew's turn towards
polished sounds is only one part of the
footwork story. There are plenty of
no-nonsense, straight-for-the-jugular
presents the genre at its most
elemental, RP Boo's "That's It 4 Lil
Ma" is typically brash and Boylan's "He
Watchin Us" feels almost like a legacy
track, repeating the word "ghettotech"
as if to remind us of footwork's roots.
All of this makes for a pretty jumbled
listen, especially when you throw in
nearly-unrecognizable twists from the
likes of Durban and Heavee. There was a
moment when Teklife was associated with
just a few core artists and one
identifiable style, but over time the
stable has ballooned into something
porous and open-ended, much in the same
way the footwork scene has looked
beyond Chicago towards the rest of the
world. The sound is a fitting and
powerful legacy for one of dance
music's brightest minds to leave behind
in his wake.
psst, more info at hyperdub.net
01 Dj Spinn x Taso - Burn That Kush 03:38
02 Dj Earl x Dj Taye - Do This Again 04:07
03 Dj Taye x Dj Manny - The Matrixx 03:13
04 Dj Phil - Godz House 04:01
05 Dj Tre - Dnb Spaceout 03:15
06 Traxman - Sit Ya Self Down 03:59
07 Sirr Tmo - Live In Chicago Subway 04:49
08 Rp Boo - That's It 4 Lil Ma 03:13
09 Gant - Man-Jungle Juke 03:42
10 Dj Manny - Harvey Ratchet 03:18
11 Boylan - He Watching Us 04:38
12 Dj Paypal - Fm Blast 03:18
13 Dj Earl x Dj Taye - Wurkinn Da Bass 02:49
14 Dj Rashad - OTS 04:26
15 Heavee - 8 Bit Shit 04:38
16 Tripletrain - Never Could Be Pt.2 03:21
17 Durban - I'm So 03:13
18 Taso - Drop That Thang 02:52
19 Dj Chap - Glacier Bae 04:28
20 Dj Paypal x Feloneezy x Jackie Dagger - U Should No 03:48
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