Loaded EP by Chris Udoh

We start this cycle around the Sun with a selection by Chris Udoh. This music challenges the prevailing narratives around genre. Udoh uses his decades long DJ, producer, and musician chops to reject any strict categorizations.

Savage / Loaded sets the scene with a spring loaded rhythm track. Crisp percussion and an angular bassline underpin an otherworldly female vocal gliding atop ever evolving pad drones. Lonely is this project’s dark beater. Udoh’s Philadelphia approach on Lonely is as much techno as it is leftfield disco. Melodic percussion, an even deeper modulating bass, and harmonized male vocals span the stereo field as a spoken word tells us “Sometimes at night I just get so lonely” - this is an understated pandemic hymn. The two versions of Starry Skies take the vibe up above the clouds, heading beyond the atmosphere. One can imagine Udoh in a futuristic silver space suit, brandishing a jetpack with flames bursting from it towards the Earth. The futuristic funk-o-naut looks toward the stars and blasts upward as his rhythms permeate the air.

In a way, these are postmodern compositions. Udoh rejects genre dogmas by mixing elements and influences from across time and every space that is dance music. He has created music that invites the DJ and dancer to become important determiners of meaning. All are invited to breathe life into these long and roomy arrangements. You and your dance floor are the ones that will complete this work.

If the love of music could be measured by ones constant persistence, then Chris Udoh is a true testament to this persistence. Chris has been a DJ in one form or another for over 35 years. By most accounts, his experience is unparalleled. Chris has taken time out to concentrate on solo productions as well as collaborations with other electronic dance music artists.