[Dekmantel]

It would be fair to say Juju & Jordash make house music, but aside from killer tracks like “Deep Blue Meanies” few of their tunes bring to mind typical dance clubs. I’m much more inclined to picture the most esoteric and surreal jazz club imaginable (think free jazz emanating from the Black Lodge). Quasi Quasi almost seems to be goading DJs to try playing its nominally house beats, rewarding those brave enough to give it and all its wonderful weirdness a shot.

The title track fuses chattering hi-hats and sharp elbowed bass jabs onto the melancholy movements of a sax-led jazz ensemble, setting the stage for distorted and stoned narration. It’s promisingly uncompromising stuff, as Juju & Jordash’s peculiar aesthetic is best left unfiltered. Ra.H, another producer known for jazz-techno hybrids, turns in the release’s highlight with his mix of “Quasi Quasi.” Playing up the malaise, it’s a thoroughly melodic version of the original, its handcrafted vibes threaded by repeated piano chords and droning organ tones. Flipping the record over sees Juju & Jordash remix Blaktroniks’ “Open Up Your Heart,” providing a slower, heady trip through Blacktroniks’ vocals, while “Frisky Perez” closes out the 12″ with arpeggios abound and jerking rhythms. With Quasi Quasi it’s increasingly apparent Juju & Jordash are the masters of making dance music that seems just too unorthodox to be dance music; but for all their idiosyncrasies, the tracks’ underlying grooves make it difficult to resist moving along.