- The variety of genres Steve Goodman has been involved in over his career is remarkable. From dubstep to grime to UK funky, to Burial's forlorn garage and, more recently, to footwork, there's not a whole lot of the UK underground that doesn't bear his footprint in some way. As a result, his recent DJ sets have been especially adventurous; tempo is nearly disregarded, tracks are haphazardly jammed together, and the whole thing is more about feeling than technicality. To see him do it live is enthralling, if not exhausting, as he flips through genres like pages in a book. Unsurprising, then, that the tracklist for his Rinse mix is all over the map. How do you follow Burial with Theo Parrish, and then find your way to a 15-track stretch of footwork?
That's the kind of setlist that would seem to demand pure DJ wizardry, and true enough, sometimes it doesn't work. The beginning is rocky, snapping to a start with Burial's "Truant" before Theo Parrish is shoehorned in, only to simply fade into Morgan Zarate's plaintive vocal cut "Pusher Taker." Things eventually come together into the heavily swung, UK funky-indebted music he's associated with, but even then his path seems to shoot out in all directions. He's great at bridging things together, as on tracks from Visionist, Dexplicit and Faze Miyake, but more boisterous moments from Rustie and S-Type stop the mix cold with their triumphant refrains.
Goodman has a rough-and-ready mixing style learned from years of pirate radio, which makes Rinse 22 feel nicely off-the-cuff. And here those stylistic tics feel more dominant than ever. Sometimes tracks begin out of nowhere and swallow up their predecessors—the kind of live-in-action moment you would hear tuned into Rinse. Looking past the occasional awkward transition, you get a real sense that Goodman just mixes things differently than everyone else. Sick of Joy Orbison's "Big Room Tech House DJ Tool - TIP!"? You've never heard it handled like this, where its booming bassline becomes elastic and bouncy. No matter how you look at it, this isn't your typical mix CD.
Goodman sounds most assured when Rinse 22 rockets into the footwork session that brings it to a close. Weaving through complex rhythms and thickets of vocal samples, it shows how much the Chicago sound has been evolving since it began receiving international attention in 2009. It's also a jarring change from the first half, as if we were on another CD entirely. That's the most challenging aspect of Rinse 22: it's as restless as you expect it to be. But for every bump in the road, there's a great—or delightfully bizarre—track waiting around the next corner. Rinse 22 might not be Kode9's best mix CD, but it's definitely his bravest.
Tracklist01. Burial - Truant
02. Theo Parrish - Kites on Pluto
03. Morgan Zarate feat. Roses Gabor - Pusher Taker
04. Titonton - Spread
05. Alex Parkinson & Chris Lorenzo - What Must I Prove 2 U
06. Joy O - Big Room Tech House DJ Tool - TIP!
07. Funkystepz - Vice Versa
08. Terror Danjah & Champion - Stone Island
09. DVA - Chilli Burrito
10. Champion - Friday 13th
11. Jam City - Her
12. Kode9 - Uh
13. Kuedo - Mirtazapine
14. Visionist - Something Old Something New
15. Dexplicit - Change Formation
16. Faze Miyake - Burciaga
17. The Bug feat. Flow Dan - Dirty
18. Dexplicit - Wave Machine
19. Cashmere Cat - Aurora
20. Rustie - Triadzz
21. Terror Danjah - Sam Cro
22. S-Type - Flyp City
23. Kode9 - Xingfu Lu
24. RP Boo - Steamidity
25. RP Boo - Red Hot
26. DJ Manny - Work That Body
27. Kode9 - Kan
28. DJ Rashad - Rollin
29. Unconventional Science - 8 Shots Up (Bleep Bloop Remix)
30. DJ Rashad feat. DJ Earl - Freshtek
31. DJ Rashad - Brighter Days
32. Addison Groove & Sam Binga - 11th
33. DJ Rashad & DJ Spinn - Last Winter
34. DJ Rashad & Freshmoon - Everybody
35. DJ Rashad & DJ Manny - Way I Feel
36. DJ Rashad & Phil - Everyday of My Life
37. DJ Rashad - Let It Go