Hot on the heels and imminent success of DJ 3000’s impressive ‘Don’t Stop EP’, comes ‘Werkin EP’ [MT 138]. DJ 3000’s second EP of the year drops again on his own imprint, Motech Records. This second EP is a two-track affair, and like his ‘Don’t Stop EP’ was produced during the middle of the Covid-19 lockdown.

Motech founder and artist DJ 3000 (aka Franki Juncaj) says, “loads of ideas came to me and like lightning in a bottle you gotta capture it.” The title track, ‘Werkin’ is a continuation of the soundscapes explored with his critically acclaimed track ‘Don’t Stop’. Crisp hitting 909’s along with analogue chords and droning vocal chop give ‘Werkin’ a real old-skool authenticity. DJ 3000 explains, “my ideas for both ‘Don’t Stop’ and ‘Werkin’ were to make some raw unpolished tracks inspired by older Detroit-Ghetto tracks, but with decreased BPM providing more of a techno flavour.”

The second track on the EP is ‘Without Fear’, which takes simplicity in structure and sound, combining modulated Detroit chords that provide aggression and catchiness, locking the listener into the groove. The result is a classic Motech / 3000 track that nicely bites with plenty of movement and pace. “I feel ‘Without Fear’ embodies the attitude of Detroit right now, and certainly through the course of history; we do what we do without two s**** given as to what people think, because we will rise! The ‘Without Fear’ title comes from the early days of me making tunes where I didn’t give a s*** what anyone thought was hot or what was the in-trend production style of the moment. Just back to making music that comes to me at the time and roll with it. If I think it’s funky, I’m releasing it”, explains Franki.