Ten Years ago, LA drum and bass legends Reid Speed and Whiskey Pete made a mix that literally everyone was jamming to they dubbed “Hustle Harder.” It was a seminal mix in a number of ways, including the fact that it was put on the burgeoning Soundcloud app for all to digitally stream. Heavy on the dance vibes and what jump up was considered to be back then, “Hustle Harder” was bouncy, fun bass for the summer.
As sort of an anniversary present to the scene, Reid and Pete have created another mix called “The Jumpoff” which is just as fun and powerful as that groundbreaking mix a decade ago. It will remind fans not only what LA sound is but what jump up is, was and should be. It’s streamable now exclusively through Your EDM
Lately it seems jump up D&B is being classed as needing to have a sort of off center straight beat and has even been called “sped up riddim” in some ghastly overdefinition by bass youngsters. Originally, however, it was neither of those things and jump up had just as much of a kick drum as every other subgenre at the time. It was simply more jumpy and bouncy, with straight up party vibes and a lot of hip hop or reggae flare.
What Reid Speed and Whiskey Pete have done with “The Jumpoff” is to not necessarily do a fully throwback mix, but to highlight that intrinsic jumpiness with modern tracks that still have a great kick, an even better bounce and a ton of LA and NYC attitude. It’s meant to get people partying in their houses and cars just like their mix did ten years ago, and what better time to do it since we need all the home-and-car-partying we can get.
The mix ten years ago was mostly tracks by Whiskey Pete and other US producers but this time around, he and Reid have expanded the tracklist roster, including lots of funk form the likes of AMC, Upgrade, Benny Page, Total Science, Raiser, TC, Bou and Serum (full tracklist is in the Soundcloud posting). It’s a diverse mix track-wise and folds lots of subgenres into the party vibes, with lots of rave flourishes and guest MC flows.
This mix isn’t to promote a release or tour, but simple for the love of mixing and getting the crowd moving. That crowd happens to be a bit spread out at the moment but that doesn’t mean heads can’t still bounce along with the music and threaten the stability of floorboards everywhere. Enjoy this mix and keep the rave going at home!
