This month marks Mexican label Gold Frame Records‘ first anniversary. Throughout the year, they consistently released high-quality electronic music destined to break dance floors in half. The label wanted to celebrate this anniversary by doing something special. On August 27, there will be a megabash at Monterrey #47 in Mexico City, featuring many of the artists that are part of the label, plus a special guest: Teklife‘s Taso. The Chicago crew has been influential for Gold Frame Records’ artists so far, so this pairing makes perfect sense.
To warm us up, the label has compiled a set of songs (along with some extra goodies) by everyone involved, which they simply call 1er Aniversario #TEKLIFExGoldFrame. It starts off with a nice tribute to Teklife’s biggest name, the late DJ Rashad, and includes one of his collaborations with DJ Spinn, “Drank, Kush, Barz.” DJ Earl also makes an appearance with “iii CANT STOP,” an unfiltered juke track. Both this and the aforementioned song pretty much encapsulate the Chicago genre’s sounds.
Then we have the actual producers in the lineup. You can hear Taso’s more aggressive take on juke on “Droga de Diseño,” featuring Spanish freak El Coleta, and the jungle-infected, cheesy sax-sampling beast “SaxXx.” No Light‘s style is also high-octane, nervous, and busy, but more subtle thanks to his use of atmosphere, something that puts him closer to Machinedrum’s sound. This can be heard on both of his tracks, “One Show” and “Frameworks.” BCOTB‘s “WNTD” and “High Rollers” show that he’s the one with the most explicit Teklife influence, and he manages to mix footwork and future R&B elements seamlessly, with some jungle breaks thrown into the mix.
Guadalajaran producer Phynx brings the mellowest moments to this playlist, combining the genre with elements of hip-hop. You can hear this on both “Cool Kids” and “Silver Cord.” He also plays with juke on the latter, which is undoubtedly the connecting thread here. MXMLST is also featured, with his and Naked Geometry‘s smooth rework of 10010’s “Lessons.” RED BRO ∆ contributes a remix as well; in his case, it’s a Chet Faker edit that doesn’t really stand out, or at least not as much as his original track, “SHUT UP MURRA A A A…”
Next to the huge and polished songs on this playlist, the ones by Dazed Youth sound basic and underwhelming, but they still manage to catch your ear. The schizophrenic collaboration between Sonido Berzerk and Tropikore is the bomb, and certainly one of the standouts, especially when it basically becomes a merengue track. Closing the playlist is a track we love, the soulful trap edit of Plan B’s “Apreta,” by Mexican duo Traplords. What a way to celebrate!