Staff
Reviews 40 Soundoffs 68 News Articles 11 Band Edits + Tags 13 Album Edits 102
Album Ratings 2093 Objectivity 84%
Last Active 09-07-22 7:15 am Joined 05-07-11
Review Comments 3,942
| 10 Essentials: Footwork
potentially installment one of a series packaging little-explored genres into neat digestible recommendation lists; ideally the succinctness of the items will impel, rather than alienate, people who are interested but have no idea where to start. a word on footwork: a lot different definitions are thrown around, but I tend to describe it as dance music made exclusively for your feet, which means a lot of post-minimalist stuttering, ghettotech influences and cluttered beats. If that sounds like your jam, may i tempt you with... | 1 | | DJ Rashad Just A Taste
i mean of course, the opus of the genre, but i wouldn't describe it as easy; it starts with the brilliant, shimmering Ghost, but it's the least accessible track on the album. so minimal you wonder at times if Rashad had let giant opuses rot and recorded the result. footwork at it's most distilled and, imo, best. | 2 | | DJ Paypal Buy Now
this, conversely, is footwork at it's most exuberant and maximal, with the kind of beats that will imbue even the steadiest of dancers with two left feet; half the fun is tripping over. footwork bangers. | 3 | | Jlin Black Origami
released this year, this baby is the definition of a grower not a shower; the production, the beats, the interposed vocal loops and samples (including one from the conet island project i'm pretty sure) are all pretty dense on the first listen. further listens reveal that this is no mere scatter of detritus but a carefully curated and polished album whose nuance is extant but belied. don't let it fool you; keep your wits about you with this one and you'll get sucked in. | 4 | | DJ Clent Last Bus to Lake Park
pretty much; picture boarding that midnight bus to an unaffluent, vaguely senditious suburb, looking out at the industrial wasteland accrued at each stop, and you have this album. evocative, exhausting and yet seriously danceable, and a reminder that context matters (a mournful album in the sheets, a dance-floor rattler in the streets) | 5 | | Traxman Far East
A split with the chronically under-rated Paisley Parks (his album released this year, Coffin, is sublime), Traxman is one of the venerable names of footwork, but to my way of thinking he produces his best work when bouncing off others (i.e. his best track on his most popular work, Vol II, is a collaboration with DJ Fred). On this EP, the two producers bring out the very best in each other in a cohesive statement that forces both to bring it all to the table. Extraordinary. | 7 | | Machinedrum Room(s)
i don't actually like this one hugely, but i'd be remiss not to mention it, as plenty of others have found satisfaction with it's more future garagey take on footwork and use of crystalline empty space. | 8 | | RP Boo Legacy
likewise with this; i find this boring, actually, but for many this is the holy grail of the genre. very ghettotechy, so if that isn't your thing feel free to skip this one. | 10 | | Cakedog Champions
my favourite Cakedog release, which is saying a lot -- his sprawling back-catalogue is chock full of goodies -- but MAN if you ain't juking to this i don't want to know about it. put the pedal 2 da metal babey, and don't make me pop | |
Winesburgohio
11.20.17 | goddamn it
6 was D/P/I's Jeanette, of which I believe I said "D/P/I has an attention defecit when it comes to sticking to genres but his most earnest foray into footwork is a triumph. incorporates chopped 'n' screwed subtlely and cleverly, without losing propulsion"
9 was the excellent "The Neurobiology of Moral Decision Making" by Gábor Lázár & Mark Fell, which i believe i praised for being austere and clinical and still lively. i further recommended it to fans of Autechre and Burial.
thanks. | Chortles
11.20.17 | yesss, thank u for this. Rashad and dpi are wonderful but I need mORE | Relinquished
11.20.17 | DJ ORANGE JULIUS
JANA RUSH
| Papa Universe
11.20.17 | make this a series and make me a happy boi. Though i only heard jlin from here and wasn't exactly a fan... | AsleepInTheBack
11.20.17 | make this a series and make me a happy boi [2] | verdant
11.20.17 | i'm hanging on for the next installment and i haven't even started reading this one | granitenotebook
11.20.17 | great list for an underappreciated genre | Havey
11.20.17 | redbull us on maori music next | ShitsofRain
11.20.17 | "essentials" lmfao sry
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f06H1ezvjEg | ShitsofRain
11.20.17 | so much bullshit | hal1ax
11.20.17 | my feet are averse to work
they're quite indolent | Winesburgohio
11.21.17 | one thing this ain't in is the head, trying to bang to this would lead to neurological deficits | Lord(e)Po)))ts
11.21.17 | thanks for making electronic lists my dude | Winesburgohio
11.21.17 | fella footwork isn't really talked about and as stated this is obviously gonna focus on the classics, people can explore from here but i'm not out to compete for 0bscur31ty points | Winesburgohio
11.21.17 | intelli-gent is my nickname *dons hat and sprawling Dracula cloak* | Winesburgohio
11.21.17 | i'm not sure i entirely understanding your meaning!! nothing here could be called ambient techno except *maybe* D/P/I, and all of these albums distinguish themselves from Juke by being more... uhh... feet-y. you're right in that perhaps i should have mentioned that it did begin as a kind of dance alongside the music tho ( :
also Jlin is a massive grower fwiw, would strongly recommend giving it second / third / fourth shots like ur in a club in ibiza. shots. like alcohol. thanks folks. subscribe to my patreon. | Orb
11.21.17 | Yeeeee footwork is dope dope dope! List needs some Doctor Jeep but damn well done on this | TheManMachine
11.22.17 | DJJJJJJJ TIIIIGGGGAAA | WeepingBanana
11.25.17 | Recently forayed into this stuff. I really like a lot of this shit but mostly it just makes me wanna see it in a live setting | WeepingBanana
11.25.17 | RP Boo - Dude Off 59th Street rly lit me up | WeepingBanana
11.25.17 | Those mu record comps are also tight as hell | ShitsofRain
11.25.17 | now we're talking | oltnabrick
07.16.19 | new cakedog goes | ShitsofRain
07.16.19 | so does dj manny's |
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