Meanbucket welcomes Chicago ghetto house legend Traxman
If anyone can claim to be at the birth and growth of the juke & ghetto house scene, it has to be Traxman. The Chicago native witnessed the bloom of the house scene in his city in the 1980s and later went on to release records for the eminent label Dance Mania. With the increasing popularity of footwork, juke and ghetto dance genres in the noughties, Traxman was embraced by European champions of the genre such as Planet Mu.
In yet another interesting twist of fate, the Chicago producer and DJ is now – at least virtually – heading to East Europe as his new EP is released on the Prague bass label Meanbucket. You’d be hard pressed to find a better demonstration of the global workings of music these days. The three-track Mr Boogie Guy EP, as its groovy title denotes, is an exercise in sun-kissed funk-driven ghetto beats in the 140-160 bpm range manifesting Traxman’s influences in not only ghetto beats but also funk, boogie or even rock. ‘Boogie Guy’ is a piano-infused flexer while ‘Sexy MF’ sees him transform into a ghetto-house Prince without omitting the funk phenomena same as ‘Digg Dis Baby’.
Published December 14, 2011.