- Rarely does a label exercise as much restraint as Mälmo's Geography Records. They release so seldomly that, after Giovanni Damico's Cuttin, Samplin, Housin EP went two years with no follow-up, it looked as though the small-but-influential label had called it quits. It turns out that this lapse was more a period of fermentation. Late last year, DJ Fett Burger (or Birger, in this case) released on Geography, turning one of the label's hits inside out, and bringing his deep whimsy to the catalogue in the process. The arrival of Jayda Guy's Swirl Shake Mix shows that this was no aberration: the label has moved from deft formalism to pumping oddities.
These tracks also depart from Guy's recent music. Releases on her and Fett Burger's Freakout Cult and 1080p showed a producer confidently exploring house music's deep and sensuous aspects, but here she's set on sifting through a single banging idea to see what gems show up. "Shake It All Down" is so far the closest thing to a Jayda G DJ tool, with sparse melody and a simple-but-engulfing drum pattern with blazing snare interventions. The "Vocal Mix," featuring ska-style chords and an airy voice, is propulsive as well, but its numerous breakdowns let considerable air out of the tires.
Fett Burger joins her as DJ Dog on "Feel It," which despite its different title, is at heart another remix of "Shake It All Down." This is one of the pair's more playful offerings, made primarily of mechanized hand percussion and wonky sound effects. It's also the only cut here to feature an actual bassline, one that's more funky-smelly than funky-infectious. Others would do well to emit such a singular odor.
TracklistA1 Shake It All Down
B1 Shake It All Down (Vocal Mix)
B2 Feel It (Jayda G & DJ Dog Remix)