Pariah

Album review

Jana Rush isn't the biggest name in Chicago's footwork scene, but she's been around since its inception. She began DJ'ing on radio station WKKC in the early '90s, when she was only ten years old, with peers including DJ Deeon, DJ Rashad, Gant-Man, and others who would gradually become legends of the Chicago dance music scene. Along with Deeon, she released a 12" EP on the legendary Dance Mania label in 1996, billed as "The Youngest Female DJ," but she took a long break from music at the beginning of the 21st century in order to make a living. When she returned during the early 2010s, her sound had evolved past the raw, thumping ghetto house she was previously known for, and closer to the complex, frenetic style known as footwork, which was just beginning to receive international attention at the time. Pariah is her debut full-length, arriving at least a quarter century after she began DJ'ing, and it showcases her singular, highly experimental take on footwork. Rush seems to delight in contorting rhythmic patterns into the strangest shapes imaginable. The second track, "Beat Maze," is as hard to follow as its title suggests, with sweeping snare drum rolls and a shredded sample of Rush's name, all dancing over the vacuum of blank space. "Frenetic Snare" mashes up Amen breaks, effortlessly blending footwork and jungle. Rush has spoken of her admiration for breakcore producer Venetian Snares due to his music's obtuse time signatures, and it wouldn't be surprising if this track was named in tribute to him. A few tracks seem to be a bit more relaxed, however. "Divine" sounds like it's submerging a gospel choral sample under pulsating atmospheric pads, and "Chill Mode" almost seems like a footwork reconstruction of the Art of Noise's "Moments in Love," although it seems to simmer more than chill. Then there are moments of sheer weirdness, such as what sounds like a metal cart rolling underneath the middle of the hard-hitting "CPU," or the acid permutations of "No Fuks Given" and "Acid Tek 2." "Old Skool" balances the familiar with the strange, taking a funk/soul sample and chopping it so that it's utterly incoherent, then looping it and dicing it up with slapping beats. Pariah is an astounding album from an artist who has been in the game for eons but has never come close to fitting in, so why start now? Instead, she's being nobody but herself, and coming up with some of the most exciting, fearlessly original music around.

© Paul Simpson /TiVo