Footwork Crew Teklife Blowing Up, Launching Label, Remixing Kanye
By Justin Freeman in Arts & Entertainment on Aug 7, 2015 8:00PM
Last week, Chicago footwork crew Teklife announced that they plan to launch a record label and release an album.
It’s currently untitled, and is going to be a compilation of 15 tracks from members of the crew, including DJ Earl, DJ Spinn, the late DJ Rashad—and “pretty much everybody.” The album has a speculative street date of November, and while they plan to put it out digitally, if there is enough interest a vinyl release could follow.
Coincidentally, we’ve seen an influx of material from the Teklife crew recently. DJ Manny released a solo EP, Tek Files Vol. 2, back in June on Hoko Sounds, an eclectic cassette label based out of Pittsburgh. Tracks like “Would U Mind” features a seductive Janet Jackson sample writhing around a bombardment of minimalist drum claps.
Meanwhile, on Thursday DJ Spinn remixed Kanye West’s new single “All Day” and debuted its accompanying music video. The video follows a group of dancers who call themselves The Era around the city as they showcase their very impressive skills. The video acts like a love letter to footwork culture. It’s quite simple and beautiful and we think the remix may be slightly better than the original version. Check out the video below.
Several members of Teklife are about to leave and tour Mexico together later on this month. This is one Chicago-based collective that's staying more than busy.