#44 Feat. Staff Picks in Bass / Club

Footwork and juke from Chicago, as well as artists from the UK who further developed this sound with jungle influences, were the main inspiration for the founding of Defrostatica in 2015. The DICAX Footwork Juke Pack is a compilation celebrating the labels 10th anniversary and showcasing the best tracks released in the genre to date. Artists from Spain, Germany, the USA, the UK, Austria and Russia were inspired by the sound of Chicago and contributed to it within their cultural and musical context. Discover 20 footwork and juke tracks as well as remixes by Sinistarr, Sun People, BSN Posse, Arcane & Jon1st, Jana Rush and others.

Kator, BSN Posse, Jon1st, Schmeichel, Shane Lizard, Sinistarr, Morgan Neiman, Dispondant, Samotek, Sun People, Arcane, Ginko, Maltin Worf, Alec, Homesick, Goodkat

#63 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

#96 Feat. New Releases in Overall

2023-12-29 Exit Records

Homesick, Taal Mala