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“Our favorite machine is the Roland TR 707, it’s used in most of our tracks”
If dance music was a building then the 707 would be one of the principal foundations, having defined a generation of producers from Marshall Jefferson to Aphex Twin, Plastik Man to Phill Collins, Daft Punk to Snuff Crew! But such sentimental use of a defining instrument is not exclusive to the Snuff Crew, it would appear that if you want your music to “Jack” then the 707 is a pretty good way to start, and Snuff Crew love to “Jack.”
Since dance music’s inception Acid House, or the house of Jack, has spawned a gospel spread by disciples that span generations. The Snuff Crew represent a new generation of “Jackers” that bring a new definition of Chicago House to dance-floors and with this they join an illustrious list of artists that include Kikumoto Allstars, Andreas Gehm, KiNK & Neville Watson. Like these producers their arsenal is part Analogue and Part digital, using high-tech and up-to-date software to record timeless and irreplaceable hardware such as the 707. Their ideas for music often come on like epiphanies in situations that for the uninitiated could appear mundane. From dancing in a club to listening to their favorite DJ-Sets or radio from Clone and early mixes from WBMX, collecting of old Chicago and Italo-Disco records or when they just talk about something or sit in a train or watch people or think about some nice girl, this is all good material for our boys to flesh out a track.
With this in mind we turn to their eponymously titled debut album from this mysterious German collective. For those familiar with previous release on labels like Playhouse, Hour House Is Your Rush and of course Gigolo Records, you will be pleased to know it is business as usual on this long player. Jackin Trax sit between rougher cuts and even deeper moments, sound-tracked by the oh-so-familiar beats of the 707 and the pitched-down vocals of the Snuff Crew. Snuff Crews production coupled with old skool compression and mastering techniques give us a sonic modulation that makes this album unmistakable.
The album opener is "Berghain," the title being a nod to the internationally acclaimed club in Berlin, Snuff Crews spiritual home. In making this reference we might ask ourselves what our protagonists are trying to say? Maybe they are saying that after Jack built his house, and after his sound took over the world and made him rich beyond his wildest dreams that he built a new house, a house to end all house and that house was…Well, actually maybe not. Snuff Crew are men of few words and prefer to let the music do the talking. Which is not to say that they don’t have something to say, in fact all the album tracks contain themes of sort. Ranging from spreading the Gospel of Jack ("The Mission), to Sex, ("Desire"), Freedom ("Free"), the eternal human battle to maintain some sort of say in your own destiny ("Control"), our deepest emotions ("Temple"), or simple excess ("Storm"). But when all this is said and done it is an album about Jacking ("Jack me", "Our House", "Bring It back"...)!
You can buy this album by clicking here!
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