Jana Rush

For as long as there has been footwork, there has been Jana Rush. The Chicago-born pioneer started on the decks aged just ten and was producing not long after. Since the mid-nineties she has put out music that endlessly innovates within the juke and footwork framework. Her coiled rhythms and stripped-back drums are vehicles for emotions that range from anguish to empowerment. Her second album, Painful Enlightenment on Planet Mu, was a frank listen that spoke of her struggles with depression. Her sets are controlled but chaotic fusions of every element of footwork, from the silkier, more melodic side to heavy jungle rhythms and electro-tinged bangers, hyperactive and packed with so many emotions that an hour feels like a whole night.