The three years since the release of Planet Mu's influential Bangs & Works Vol.1 compliation have seen a notable increase in the cross-pollination of ideas between Chicago juke and the UK's underground music circuit. On the one hand, numerous UK DJs operating on the fringes of dubstep and house have come to embrace the frenetic simplicity of footwork. Both on record and in clubs, it's now fairly commonplace to find the higher tempos and/or distinctive rapid-fire rhythmic patterns and vocal cuts of juke nestled amongst the more traditionally UK-rooted sounds of garage, grime, and dubstep. In the case of DJ Rashad at least, this influence seems to have been somewhat bidirectional. Having been given a platform across the pond by both Planet Mu's Mike Paradinas and, more recently, Hyperdub boss Steve Goodman (a.k.a Kode9,) Rashad's more recent releases have seen him increasingly absorbing traits from UK dance culture, from sampling distinctly British idioms on last year's album cut "Bakk Off" to experimenting with wonderfully icy jungle workouts for "Let It Go" on Rollin', his Hyperdub debut back in March. This second EP for the label continues that progression—it's undoubtedly still a footwork record, but as his song structures get tighter and his productions cleaner, Rashad seems more at home than ever amongst the broad and forward-thinking bass experiments of the Hyperdub roster.
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