#82 Top Releases in Bass / Club

Heavee is a Queer Chicagoan DJ & producer with a long history in footwork. His 2022 Audio Assault EP on Hyperdub showcased synth-driven, melodic footwork, but Unleash goes much further into audio worldbuilding, with a fresh, spongy and citrus-y sound palette and rich, bright chord sequences. Its minimal, airy, balancing light and dark, sometimes breezy and sometimes clinical. Heavee works simultaneously outside and inside the box, rebuilding footworks framework and vibe to his own unique specification. Rhythmically, its dance floor ready, using footworks 160 template as a springboard for building new drum sounds to express these rhythms, and draws from R&B, rap, jazz and grime, with a sprinkling of bitter-sweet vintage Detroit techno. Unleash takes footworks eats all approach to music and leads it in a fresh direction with a freedom of spirit. Its a strong addition to the footwork cannon and shows that experiments in dance music can be fun.

Heavee, BABii, DJ Paypal, DanTOG, Homesick, Takuya Nakamura