DJ Girl is a DJ and producer who was raised in Detroit, but since the pandemic has been based in Austin, Texas. She's the co-founder of the up and coming Eat Dis Records and her recent releases have been generating excitement in all the right places.
In some ways, 'Hellworld' feels like a direct relation to a lot of early 2000s Planet Mu releases. It could sit neatly alongside Hellfish or Neil Landstrumm, with a similar anything-goes, gleeful attitude, but instead DJ Girl mashes together a driving sound that is founded upon Detroit techno and electro, Chicago juke and Miami bass, with an old school/new school production style that's finessed with distortion and sparse IDM production. It's a midwest USA style that takes a leaf from DJs and producers such as the wild-style hard techno of Lenny Dee, the tough midwest acid of Woody McBride and the system wrecking electro of Dynamix II, with a joyful, take-no-prisoners bounce.
'Hellworld' kicks off with the industrial juke of 'Get Down', followed by the powerful electro of 'Opp Pack Hittin' (the first of two tracks to feature MC Malik McFly). 'Technician' is a chirpy old school electro track that gets crazier as it progresses, while 'Lucky' mashes together samples and rough beats like an electro version of breakcore. 'Gallery' again features Malick McFly and switches between footwork beats, pumping techno and electro. 'So Hot' is hard 8-bar electro while 'When U Touch Me featuring Irish producer Lighght feels like a very manic take on hyperpop. The album ends with the tough, spiralling acid of 'Groover' which wouldn't be out of place on a late nineties Jeff Mills mix. The fun is infectious on this one.
