Of the many footwork crews that have come and gone over its existence, none has quite taken off like DJ Rashad and DJ Spinn’s Teklife crew. In fact, Teklife has become synonymous with footwork, its imagery, its members, and its sound largely defining how people have viewed and listened to footwork over the past several years. This wasn’t just by chance either: Teklife was the only crew that consistently churned out new material, toured globally, and strove to push the footwork sound into areas that extended outside the typical signifiers of the Chicago underground.
Since DJ Rashad’s untimely passing earlier this year, things have been relatively quiet on the Teklife front, but the crew has just teamed up with Hyperdub to announce a new compilation called Next Life. The 20-track comp expectedly features footwork’s founders (Rasahd, Spinn, Traxman, RP Boo, Gantman) and second-wave producers (Taso, DJ Earl, and Sirr Tmo), but it also includes artists who Rashad and Spinn met on their tours, including US producers DJ Chap, Tripletrain, and Durban, and European artists DJ Paypal, Feloneezy, and Jackie Dagger. All profits from sales of this CD will go to DJ Rashad’s son, Chad.
To kick off the celebration, Hyperdub, Teklife, and friends are putting on a party in association with The Hydra on October 11, with sets by DJ Spinn, Kode9, DJ Taso, Ikonika, and more to be announced. Check details here.
Next Life is out November 11. Here’s the tracklisting:
01. DJ Spinn & Taso - Burn That Kush
02. DJ Earl & DJ Taye - Do This Again
03. DJ Taye x DJ Manny - The Matrixx
04. DJ Phil - Godz House
05. DJ Tre - DNB Spaceout
06. Traxman - Sit Ya Self Down
07. Sirr Tmo - Live in Chicago Subways
08. RP Boo - That’s It 4 Lil Ma
09. Gantman - Jungle Juke
10. DJ Manny - Harvey Rachet
11. Boylan - He Watchin Us
12. DJ Paypal - Fm Blast
13. DJ Earl & DJ Taye - Wurkinn Da Bass
14. Rashad x Spinn x Taso x Manny - OTS
15. Heavee - 8 Bit Shit
16. Tripletrain - Never Could Be
17. Durban - I’m So
18. Taso - Drop That Thang
19. DJ Chap - Glacier Bae
20. DJ Paypal x Feloneezy x Jackie Dagger - U should No
• Teklife: http://www.teklife57.com
• Hyperdub: http://www.hyperdub.net
