J Dankworth 'Freezer Pizza' (Mukatsuku)

J. Dankworth
'Freezer Pizza' / 'Nardwuar'
(Mukatsuku)

J. Dankworth is a name that hasn't pinged on my musical radar until this new 45 from Nik at Mukatsuku Records landed on my doormat unannounced. And as any Mukatsuku 45 is something you should listen to, it went straight onto the turntable to be greeted with some super-slick beats.

The dark arts of beat-making is one of commitment, forever digging in search of the next audio nugget, and that is where the magic happens. Some people have an unfathomable ability and requisite skills to recognize, isolate, and layer a disparate collection of sounds into something coherent and beautiful. You know it when you hear it too, even if you don't fully understand the technical wizardry going on in the backgroud (and nor should you need to). The best beat-makers can create soundscapes from sources that many would think that nothing could come from there...but that refrain, that snippet of a drum pattern, that tinkle on the keys all loaded up into an MPC can, in the right hands, become something wonderful and new.

This 45, taken from the 2017 release '100 Magnets' is one such example of an exemplary creative flair behind an MPC and mixing desk. Just like class beatmakers DJ Premier, Light The Fuse, and Moar amongst others, whatever alchemy directs their arrangements and sound selection, it just works, and their beats are elevated.

I'm off for a delve into the back catalogue of J. Dankworth now.

Buy: Juno