Winter in Jakarta Release Cover
Few young labels can boast the taste and tenacity of Jakarta Records. The Germany-based house has been releasing material since 2005 and has served as a home for forward-thinking artists such as Ta-ku, poet Akua Naru and Blitz The Ambassador. But beyond their usual roster, Jakarta has also been a key catalyst in the world of online (re)mixes and micro-releases. Drawing on the talents of their very best friends and family, their Summer in Jakarta compilation was a gorgeous piece of work, a bellwether sign of how beautiful and strange modern beatmaking has become.
Now that brilliance is back with the new Winter In Jakarta release, a progressive glimpse at the very near future of homegrown hip-hop, electro and R&B. Okayplayer is very pleased to premiere three never-before-heard tracks from Winter, which will be made available worldwide on February 9th.
First up is IAMNOBODI's "Mr. West," a track which sees the German producer pairing the Charlie Wilson interlude of Yeezus's "Bound 2" to a gritty synth and clockwork handclaps. It's a gorgeous dancefloor cut that packs enough funky drums and spaced out keys to satisfy just about anyone with a set of working ears. Second, Mura Masa's "The Way I Want U" drops absurdly sub-atomic bass before launching into a blizzard of claps, hi-hats, digi-clicks and vinyl hiss. The production is spotless clean and instrumentation wickedly rich. "The Way I Want U" is the future-R&B cut we've all been waiting for--a sign that Jakarta Records has the ability to bring out the best in not only a single artist, but an entire genre of music.
Finally, we bring you Craves's latest release, "Me & You." With its sugar-sweet pop vocal chopped, boosted, and dropped in all directions, the track oscillates like an off-balance gyroscope, wiggling in only the ways you wouldn't expect. Craves's cut is maybe the most club-ready of the three, and will send you off on the rest of your week dreaming of just how great the full Winter in Jakarta compilation will be. You won't have to wait long, however, as it all drops next week. With these three new cuts, plus sounds from Stwo, Oddisee, L’Orange and more, it looks like Jakarta is set to burn up the cold season.
>>Listen to the first three tracks off of Winter in Jakarta here.
