Opinions and bootyholes....

Recently we stumbled upon a music producer's opinion of the state of Footwork music.  He said that it all sounded the same even to the point of the use of the same patterns and samples.  In short he was stating that there was no variety in the way tracks are being made.  I understand where he was coming from because the Juke and Footwork tracks coming out of Chicago do sound stale and repetitive as of late.  However, we are noticing new types of tracks coming out of other cities and even other countries.  These new tracks are challenging convention and even splicing styles together.  Our favorite being the Juke tracks that use Jungle based patterns and basslines.  We taken to calling them "Jungle Juke" for lack of a better phrase.  You can find examples of it here.  While you are at it join the Soundcloud group here.

New Juke mix....

As we navigate the interwebs we stumble upon mixes here and there.  Here is one for you from DJ KNC.

New stuff....juke juke juke...

As we continue to grow you may have noticed a few new things like our Facebook tab and our Soundcloud tab.  You can also follow us on Twitter @planetjuke and let's juke the planet.  Check out the Soundcloud page as some new music has been posted and make sure you join the group.  We will try to let you know when free and new music shows up but check often so you will have the latest Juke at your fingertips.

More Ambient Juke

There seems to be a burgeoning movement with Juke towards an ambient sound.  New producers and remixers along with legends like Corky Traxman Strong are making Ambient Juke.  We don't know it that is what was intended but that is what it's turning out to be.  Although the sound makes it more radio friendly (especially for streaming radio services)  it is still something that you have to get used to.  Time will tell how the Footworkers will view this new, softer style of Juke.  Here is a sample of it from producer Hesk remixing a DJ Rashad track.  http://soundcloud.com/stevenheskhill/dj-rashad-ride-this-dick-hesk 

Jukaton

So while out visiting stores What did I run into but a type of Juke that combines Juke and Reggaeton and it's called Jukaton.  Take a listen for yourself and judge on your own.  This is just a sample mix I found and does not reflect all Jukaton has to offer.  http://soundcloud.com/p-william/b-more-kuduro-jukaton-mix-2012

Dance Mania

The history of Juke would have to trace it's roots to the Ghetto House movement of Chicago and Ghetto House would arguably start with Dance Mania Records.  Now if you spoke to some of the founding fathers of Ghetto you would get several different answers to what was the first Ghetto House track and what label it was on but you cannot deny that the bulk of Ghetto House was put out on Dance Mania.  For an extensive discography check out this list at www.discogs.com.

Mix of the Day

We found this one on Mixcloud.   We have to say that we were impressed.   Enjoy!  http://www.mixcloud.com/machinedrum/footwerk-classixxx-da-ravenge/

Classic Juke Songs: How would you rate them?

What would be your Top Ten Juke songs of all time?  How about your Top Ten Ghetto tracks?

It is the opinion of this blog that one of the best ever examples of Juke would be the classic track "Bounce" by DJ Clent.  With so many people claiming to be The King of this and that it is hard to find true talent in this genre.  We tried to find a clean recording of the track but this homemade video was the best we could find for now.  We will be posting a Top Ten Juke tracks of all time soon and we would like your help with that list.  Please submit your nominations to PlanetJuke (at) gmail.com.  Results will be posted soon.

Juke on vinyl

Recently we received word that the label Ghettophiles was ending production.  Now for those of you that are new to the business there was a time when Ghetto House and Juke was actually on wax.  In its heyday Ghetto had a home on labels like Dance Mania Records, Freakmode Records and Universal Funk to name a few which led to other labels outside of US distribution.  Now you may say "in the modern world of digital sales it doesn't matter that the label is gone."  Well what the wax labels gave us was a filter.  They filtered what was released and by whom.  Nowadays it's just everything under the sun being put out by everyone you can think of.  The good stuff gets lost with the garbage.  It's kind of like how every swinging dick has a mixtape with all his shit on it.  The good and the bad with no filter.  That is what the labels did for us.  The filtered who and what came out.  So Rest in Peace to the label Ghettophiles.  That is one more stone on the tomb.

Juke Pioneer DJ Clent

If you have been in the Juke industry you should have heard of DJ Clent by now but if you haven't check out this video as he talks about how he got his start.

Juke in Japan prolog

Juke compilation   new from Japan.

Is this new or what?

Ambient Juke?  Yeah, I know but Juke has to go in some new directions in order to stay relevant.  You be the judge.    

Oh, really?

Recently an independent blog made a list of the top 25 albums (so far) of 2012.  Now I certainly understand how differences in music tastes and styles can lead to a list where your favorite artist or band can be excluded.  Personal tastes will make everyone come up with their own top 25.  With that in mind we will conduct our own top 25 Juke tracks of all time.  More to come...

Juke? What is Juke?

Over the course of this blog we will examine the form of music known as Juke.  Where does it come from?  Where is it going?  Who listens to Juke?

You older folks in the audience will say that the term "juke" is as old as your grandparents parents.  You will say "didn't they use that term in "The Color Purple?"  Well, sure they did.  The term is as from the early 1920's and has been used periodically throughout the musical history of North America.  Jukejoint.  Jukebox. Juking.  There is nothing new under the sun.

Typically, Juke is around 150 to 160 BPMs (Beats Per Minute) and most times it is used as the catalyst for what is known in Chicago as "footworkers" due to its staccato beat.   Footworking is a form of battle dancing that developed in urban areas.  At one point Footwork was a component of the battledancing that started in Chicago during the 90s.  There were other components such as "animating" and "popping" plus other creatively named aspects.  Eventually the footwork aspect became dominant.

We will examine the culture, music and cities that encompass Juke.