Signals In My Head: Album Review
The mainstream music press tends to engage with Black electronic music genres in cycles. In 2014 you could hear footwork music everywhere from major music festivals to car commercials, by 2016 you would think people just stopped making the music. This way of engaging with genres is explicitly built not to allow for creative evolution. It’s looking at genre as a commodity to be studied rather than a living, ever-changing construct. DJ Manny’s newest album Signals In My Head forces introspection about what genre is and why evolution is important. Signals In My Head makes you think about how we consume music and interact with genre.
DJ Manny has been active in Chicago for over a decade cranking out fast-paced bangers in the footwork scene. He crafted one of my favorite songs of all time in 2013 with DJ Rashad titled “Drums Please.” His style is technical but he’s always had an incredible understanding of space and manipulating listener expectations. His last full-length album stayed firmly rooted in the jukey style of footwork, but there were hints that Manny was trying to break out. On Signals In My Head, Manny fully utilizes his ability to create space to craft a sweeping odyssey.
Signals In My Head breaks down the barriers between genres: specifically, Manny expertly blends drum and bass, footwork, and pop. He incorporates elements of each almost equally, creating a striking atmosphere. From the first track, “Never Was Ah Hoe,” you can tell this is different. Some fast-paced drum loops collide with a classic footwork baseline and pop synths that make you feel like you’re in a club at the bottom of the ocean.
Even the more classic footwork tracks on the project like “All I Need” are reaching towards something else. “All I Need” builds toward a conclusion that it never quite reaches: it never feels frenzied, but the track creates an anxiety that sits in your stomach, lurching around violently. Many tracks on the album create a similar feeling. DJ Manny uses this space to bring listeners into his world and craft something great.
The title track sums up so much of what makes this album worth studying. It’s an unclassifiable track that feels like it could soundtrack both a relaxing night at home and a car chase through downtown Chicago. Most importantly, the track never slows down. It’s always moving at 100 miles an hour and it never reigns itself in. In fact, with every measure, the song moves and morphs. Signals In My Head is an album about constant forward motion, going with the inertia that got you there in the first place.
Sometimes, as consumers of music, we like to see the beginning of an evolution in music, but never the ending. Luckily, producers like DJ Manny don’t let us lose sight of the broader vision. Signals In My Head is a wonderful project that showcases one of the most talented producers in Chicago experimenting with his sound.