Jersey Club was the breakout genre of the year. The scene originated as a response to the frenetic ruckus-starting repetition of Baltimore Club, but swiftly forged an identity all of its own. Jersey Club offers 2 major changes to the template – firstly stripping out the traditional Bmore breakbeats, leaving more space for that speaker battering 808 kick, then replacing hi-hats with a bizarrely compelling bed squeak sound. In one of those strange mutations that define genres, this seemingly random sample became one of the most used (and abused) signifiers of 2014.
Jersey artists embraced Soundcloud with a vengeance, uploading fresh tracks weekly, chopping up anything from the latest pop hits, to whatever crazy sounding loops they could pinch from Youtube and Vine. This allowed producers worldwide to quickly pick up on this previously insular regional scene, and suddenly artists from Sweden to Australia were layering bedsqueaks over their own 808 heavy remixes. Big tracks started appearing from anonymous, masked producers- major players who were producing Jersey in secret– something that didn’t sit well with the originators.
“I don’t like people making Jersey anonymously, but I can’t do nothing about it,” sighes DJ Sliink, one of the strongest and most consistent producers on the scene.
“If you really appreciate the genre, why hide yourself? If you respect Jersey club music and like it, why not show your face? Why you hiding behind a mask? Embrace it.”
He’s speaking having just smashed his London show, another stop on a world tour. For those who want to openly support Jersey, Sliink has nothing but love. He’s been collaborating on tracks in Paris (“they’ve got a more melodic take on the sound”), and playing back to back with Girl Unit in Toronto, and he knows the future’s looking bright-
“This time next year, major label artists are going to be jumping on Jersey. I’ve written some tracks for someone huge. It’s on it’s way….”