- House music was born out of amateurishness. Ample documentation exists that shows that the early results were more often than not basic, when a handful of enthusiastic Chicago clubbers started toying with drum machines in the '80s. Needless to say, these early blunders paved the way for more sophisticated works. But somewhat ironically, the pioneering underachievers have come to play a genre-defining role. The lack of means resulted in a minimalist aesthetic; because of this, Chicago house will eternally be associated with words like "raw," "rough" and "muscular." In case you didn't notice: that's why he goes by the name of Jack.
Far from a dilettante's work, Bernard Badie's return to Berlin's Mojuba imprint is Chicago out-and-out: It contains a re-edit of the out-of-print Alleviated track "Move to the Beat" from 2000 as well as a fresh production, "Underlay." When the label re-issued Badie's classic EP, Time Reveals, last year, it was welcomed by a storm of appreciation and charted by the likes of Marcel Dettmann and Loco Dice. Continuing its historical mission, Mojuba released two Prescription classics by Chez Damier earlier this summer on the new sublabel G.O.D. (Good Old Dance).
"Move to the beat. Feel the rhythm of the beat. The beat. The beat. The beat," repeats a commanding male voice over a warbled squelch of a groove. And that's it: as simple and effective as that. Not for nothing, this track has the parenthetical: "Club Use Only." Less convincing is the B-side "Underlay," a more nervous, instrumental update of Badie's Jack template: Somewhere around the middle, a chirpy acid line and dubbed out keys emerge: gladly, they add some breadth. But thanks to the standout A-side, this EP is well worth the money. Here's looking forward to the next Chicago treasure Mojuba is bound to unearth.
Tracklist A Move To The Beat (Club Use Only)
B Underlay