Shopping for tunes a couple of weeks ago I came across this amazing ghetto-tech EP.
Solid goods from front to back, Jonny Megabyte’s Pickles and Tootsie Pops EP – released on Databass – is unconventional, underground, ghetto-tech jit/juke music. Co-founder of Larkham Records, a label dedicated to experimental/lo-fi/underground ghetto-tech and booty, Jonny Megabyte breathes some new life into a genre that tends to be restricted to well-worn samples, song structures, and themes.
All 5 tracks hover around the 150-160 bpm range. Don’t be shy about the fast bpm – that’s just the way the jit groove rides.
Here’s what you get:
Never Never Stop is an insistent jit anthem with sharp claps, clever rhythmic variations, and retro-sounding pads. I’d love to hear/play this at an underground booty party.
Liquid Gold reminds me a bit of late 9o’s introspective downtempo or atmospheric D’n’B with its warm pads anchored by snappy claps and filtered vocal stabs. A pretty and emotive bit of ghetto-tech…
Do you wanna ride? has a jackin’ percolator bubble synth with a simple pitch-bent bassline before being joined by RnB-inflected vocals – kinda reminds me of Ginuwine. There are some great rhythmic variations with the vocal track and eerie e-pianos create a moody underground feel.
Get High feat. DJ Omega is the most traditional, in the loosest sense of the term, juke track on here. It’s a stripped down vocal party track creeped out by dark synths underpinning a desire to dance and smoke weed.
Pickles and Tootsie Pops is the choice track for me. Driving, lo-fi, and twisted with quirky vocals and wonderfully retro pad sweeps. It’s experimental, catchy, and creepy. I would love to see a real jit throwdown with this as the soundtrack.
Your website is brilliant! I was overwhelmed by the complex choice of language and your insightful comments on music and culture. Please keep producing these sorts of comments, they’re important and insightful.
Cheers,
brendan.