Back catalogue: Footwork/Juke

Review: Finnish underground icon Sasu Ripatti returns under his most frequently used pseudonym, Vladislav Delay, for another bout of Dancefloor Classics. The series has already established a loyal following, and the fourth episode is enough to explain why, even if you've not encountered any of the preceding instalments. Music for imagined dancefloors is how the official release information puts it, it quickly becomes clear just how vivid that imagination is. Throwing down a string of footwork inspired cuts, the four tracks here are frantically upbeat and packed with filthy, jacking potential. But they're also deep, at times ghostly - or at least a little eerie - and ground in a desire not just to make people move, but also push sounds forward into new territories. Never an easy line to tread, the overall results hit as hard as the beats themselves.

Review: Planet Mu has been one of the breeding grounds for juke and footwork even before many people over in Europe had cottoned on the hyper-rhythmic US style. They continue to put out the genre's fresh sounds, this time with Chicago man DJ Manny pushing the template into fresh new realms. He climbs high on the BPM counter here with his 160+ beats staying soulful, with plenty of hook melodies and well-treated and deployed vocal samples adding character to the physicality. Minimal techno, r&b, jungle and more are all referenced in this brilliantly driving album.

Review: By the time Double Cup landed in 2013, footwork had already well and truly infiltrated global dance music culture, with DJ Rashad held high as one of the true visionaries of the Chicago-born sound. Still, Double Cup seemed to break through and take the genre even further out, turning more people onto footwork's hugely innovative potential and fuelling its interpolation with other scenes in the UK and elsewhere. With Rashad's tragic passing in 2014, it also serves as a swan song of sorts, loaded with the weight of a genius gone before his time. If you don't already have this one etched in your memory banks, now is the time to play catch up.

Review: Johnstown, Pennsylvania isn't the first town on everyone's lips when it comes to deep dive electronics. But then, sadly, most people still don't seem to have encountered Nondi. Better known to some of those who have as Tatiana Triplin, the US producer and head of the 'net label HRR has developed a cult following for her experimental takes on some already quite leftfield electronic genres: breakcore and footwork, alongside Detroit-hued techno. What's remarkable about all this is the fact she confesses to only really having direct experiences of these genres online, as oppose to amid the sweat and frenzy of the situations they were first intended for. While this might lead some to assuming her work lacks authenticity, nothing could be further from the truth - it's all so authentic because the interpretations are entirely hers.

Review: Jim Coles' decision back in 2010 to implement a swerve in his sonic trajectory away from his hip-hop past as 2tall in favour of a more all-encompassing approach that touches on various strands of bass culture as Om Unit has paid off and then some. Subsequent releases on Exit, Autonomic, Civil Music, Metalheadz and his own Cosmic Bridge imprint have all shown Om Unit eminently capable of tempo shifting productions that appeal to fans of Bass music, Drum & Bass and footwork alike. The latter has been explored further while the Dream Continuum collaboration with Machinedrum on Planet Mu and his Philip D. Kick alias where the link between Chicago's juke heritage and UK Jungle was explored. All this and more is included on Threads, a debut Om Unit LP for Civil Music that deftly collates various strands (or threads) of his production career over the past fifteen years for a cohesive 15 track set that veers through of hip hop, dubstep, jungle and even house.

Review: London-based producer Otik releases his first album Cosmosis on Martyn's label 3024. The 11-track LP signifies the fourth album on the imprint across its ten-year tenure, showcasing a more introspective side to Otik's musical output. The album leans into delicate melodies, hazy atmospheres and lush analogue sounds, often evoking blissed-out feels and ripples of brilliant colour. Produced three years ago during lockdown, Cosmosis comes after a period of spiritual struggles, where Otik questioned his faith, religious beliefs, and the concepts of right and wrong. While the pandemic allowed ample time for reflection, Otik translated these thoughts into music from his Peckham-based studio, later finding a home on 3024's evolving discography. Keen to release a body of work that explores the journey of enlightenment and the struggles to get there, Otik drew inspiration from the luminary filmmaker Terrence Malick and how Malick portrayed ideas and philosophies in films like The Tree of Life and Voyage of Time. As a result, the record conveys a compelling narrative of rebirth, told through exquisite sound design and a push-pull pace that oscillates across the album.

Review: It's been a long time since Skrillex (Sonny Moore) pioneered his distinctive complextro sound, characterised by roaring vocal samples, bitcrushed melodies and novelty growls and wobbles. Surprisingly hailing from from an emo background, Moore has leveraged this sound to become an established force of nature, becoming the instigator of an entire tidal sea-change in electronic music. His latest bout of albums, though - one of which is Quest For Fire - hears him exercise his penchant for collaboration more than ever, indulging something of a DJ Khaled-esque streak, but for the EDM-pop crossover world. It's also much less fidgety, erring more on the melodic pop side. Referring to the film of the same name, in which figurative prehistoric cavemen embark on a quest for the discovery of fire, the album is equally a reflection of Skrillex's quest for musical exploration and innovation, as well as his passion for global culture and diversity. We admit: only Skrillex could bring together underground greats like Mr. Oizo, Sleepnet, Joker, Dylan Brady and Flowdan; fresh faces like Starrah, BEAM and Nai Barghouti; and pop-consciousness occupiers like Swae Lee, Aluna, Missy Elliott and Bibi Bourelly.

Review: Scottish fusioneer Stillhead follows up last year's album doublet Out Of The Loop with this exceptional wide-armed spread of sounds that flexes from UKG (the beautifully restrained hip-wriggling intro 'Sick Fing') to uncompromising juke jams (the pounding, loopy 'Girl Problems') by way of deep slithering, hypnotic dub ('Social Distance'). All weaves together with large servings of bass and some rather nifty (not to mention cheeky) samplecraft. Stillhead? Still bumping...

Review: Kiki Hitomi and Shigeru Ishihara first developed WaqWaq Kingdom as a psychedelic affair with percussionist Andrea Belfi, but with 2019 album Essaka Hoisa they ploughed on alone and created a distinctive, maximalist sound drawing on their respective strengths. Hitomi is a captivating story-teller who can tease a whole cast of characters from her vocal delivery, and Ishihara has a hyperactive approach to production which can render footwork, breakcore, hyper pop, traditional Japanese folk music, hip-hop and much more as bit parts in his vivid tapestries. Drawing on their heritage and making the most out-there modernist music intensely personal in the same beat, Essaka Hoisa sounds like nothing else you've ever heard, and should serve as a perfect primer for a new album from WaqWaq Kingdom in September 2023.