The footwork veteran lays down the history of juke in this outtake from an ace new documentary.
Earlier this month, filmmakers Tim & Barry (the brains behind web channel Don’t Watch That) premiered their feature-length documentary I’m Tryna Tell Ya.
Filmed during a trip to Chicago in 2012, the doc shines a light on the close-knit crew of DJs and producers who have steered the development of footwork, from scene elders Traxman, DJ Spinn and the late DJ Rashad to younger faces like Manny, Earl and Taye. As well as getting in the studio with the Teklife crew, the film also goes behind the scenes with the dancers who’ve played a crucial role in the scene, dropping in on rehearsal spaces and a dance circle at local venue Battlegrounds.
To mark the online release of I’m Tryna Tell Ya on December 2, we’re sharing this 15-minute interview with a very energetic Traxman, who looks back on the early days of juke, meeting RP Boo in 1997, advice from his mom and lots more. Look out for a brief appearance from Rashad, too.
Watch that above and read our mini Q&A with filmmakers Tim & Barry. Teklife’s Next Life compilation is out now on Hyperdub, with proceeds going to Rashad’s son.
Why did you decide you needed to make a feature-length documentary on footwork? Was that your original plan or was it going to be a shorter film initially?
Rashad and Spinn invited us to Chicago after we met on Just Jam and really clicked. The plan was to go shoot episodes of Beat This, mixes, dancing and interviews to put out as individual short form pieces, but when we got back and started editing we realised we’d just shot a documentary, and started working on it a few months later.
What really comes across in the film is how individual all the producers are – they’re all different ages and all have very different personalities. Who surprised you the most?
I had been playing footwork on my Deja Vu radio show since 2009 so I was already a big fan of the personalities producer-wise, but had no idea how large the personalties were in real life. Especially Traxman, who was just a whirlwind with an opinion on everything, and Manny who came with us to nearly every shoot and has a great sense of humour.
How do you think the footwork scene in Chicago has changed since the first Bangs & Works compilation in 2010? Does it seem like a big scene, and are younger kids getting into it still?
I couldn’t really say how it’s changed as we were only there for a week in 2012. When we there there were definitely still younger guys coming through like Earl, Manny and Taye.
How near completion were you when Rashad passed away? How did it affect how you put the film together?
The film was very near completion, I just wish Rashad could have seen the finished thing. The most direct effect was that it slowed things down. I was editing the film at the time and didn’t want to do anything for a couple of weeks, and after that working on it was really difficult on a personal level. Once I got past that though, editing the film became quite a cathartic process.
