Like a respectable amount of shag carpeting, Deejay Manny brings much needed softness to a room. For a moment the acoustics not muted so much as sedated. Feet elsewhere work away on reknown concrete and tile. The grounds connoisseur, all the while, does not overlook this novel approach; even bearing the burdens of static electricity. Simple maintenance and preference, though, prevent en masse crossover. Stubborn fixation provided by the known comforts of marble, saltillo, or even parque is the root problem.
Yet the challenge is not converting orthodox disciples - purists will be purists forevermore. As with societal mores and taboos, though, the heathens generally win out. Deciding when to transition is key. Luckily, Deejay Manny's provides an opportunity. For all its glory, footwork/juke music appears, to me, an outsider, obstinate to innovation. As with drum'n'bass, the high BPM's are alluring but provide little stretching room in its cozy confines. Adding to the these quirks is an uncompromising approach. Footwork is dance music first and foremost. Not unlike Trax City's industrial days of yore, music associated with Teklife is relentless. Little wiggle room provided, though, and within it differentiation can be found. Aside from tempo/rhythm changes, use of samples, or simply veering off into left-field there exists crossover potential. So long as a balance is struck - which J-Cush and Lit City has done - the price of doing so does not require selling out.
At which point Deejay Manny walks into the room with a Minnie Ripperton record under his arm and starts mixing. The end result is an album-length that provides easy access as well as comfort. Trumping the source's relative obscurity, however, is the samples length. As it stands, the song lives on the cusp of a remix. What prevents the label's use is that only the chorus and an instrumental break are used. This summarily works in the song's favor because it stands on its own. "Perfect Angel 15" is very much a footwork song entirely driven by rhythm. And as atypical as is the a larger swath of material used, at no point does the track sound cluttered. Manny's bass lives strictly as a percussive tool, allowing the R&B bass licks to stand on their own. Neither Stevie Wonder/Minnie Ripperton's soulfulness nor the juking integrity is lost in the process.
"On Em Works 15," is also an album track. The latter, though, is much more typical footwork; it uses the hospitality of the former by retaining listeners amidst an easily navigable layout. Alas, while "Perfect Angel 15" uses a long :23 introduction as a preface, "On Em Works 15" applies the time towards creating suspense (ironic considering the song's strategic frugality). For example, only three syllables are used for in the entire first section. Not unique to the creator, but noteworthy nonetheless. For the remainder of the song the spoken vocal sample retains exclusive rights to the melody as the rhythm section manages the tempo, while every ten seconds another element is added or adjusted. With each change in the beat the vocals adapt and visitors to this space remain for the encore loop. By nature these songs nurture and invite. Newcomers are not overwhelmed with a clash of sounds and regulars are not pulled away by the unfamiliar. Enfin, these are two very well made songs with little, if any, to dislike.
- John Noggle
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