Artists tweet at us all the time, that’s not unusual, but it’s pretty unusual for an actual, honest-to-God fan to take it upon themselves to smear good music all over everyone’s mentions. That happened on the first of what we might as call “Bandcamp Day,” when the platform waived their customary fees for transactions in order to put a little folding money into artists’ pockets as coronavirus lockdowns descended across the globe. Greg Reain overcame the DJ tendency to hoard their favorite bandcamp finds and @’d us with this one — twenty unreleased tracks from JT Donaldson.
and then @jtdonaldson just casually slides out 20 previously unreleased joints, each one of which outclasses just about everything else released in the last year or so … // cc @5Magazine
— G Boogie (@DJGregReain) March 19, 2020
He was right. This isn’t an album so much as a bag of money with a dollar sign painted on the side. It’s maybe the best JT Donaldson had in the vault, or maybe just what was in reach, but 20/20 Unreleased Tracks is a phenomenal collection.
Many of these are extended mixes, seven minutes or longer. “Keep On” leads off with funk smeared soul-with-strings for a full 8 minutes. “Take A Ride” is positively soulful — a rolling bass undergirding a luscious vocal hook that catches your breath. Much of this settles into what could broadly be categorized as deep house but almost anyone who plays 4/4 underground music will find something brilliant for their sets in this. Twenty tracks here are being sold for just $10 and up, which is amazing. It’s too early for Christmas but a USB with these 20 tracks on it would make any DJ’s holiday.
JT Donaldson: 20/20 Unreleased Tracks (Digital)
1. JT Donaldson: Keep On (08:02)
2. JT Donaldson: Take A Ride (07:14)
3. JT Donaldson: Time Away (04:17)
4. JT Donaldson: Far Out ft. Ghoulfive (04:19)
5. JT Donaldson: Jazzmin (06:00)
6. JT Donaldson: Sphere (07:02)
7. JT Donaldson: Interlude 1 (02:16)
8. JT Donaldson: Understand (06:46)
9. JT Donaldson: Shelter (07:27)
10. JT Donaldson: Reverse Mode (05:25)
11. JT Donaldson: El Coco (07:02)
12. JT Donaldson: Movements (06:15)
13. JT Donaldson: Untied (09:40)
14. JT Donaldson: Interlude 2 (03:40)
15. JT Donaldson: Gemini 123 ft. Ben Hixon (07:12)
16. JT Donaldson: An Open Mic (Remastered) (07:10)
17. JT Donaldson: Always (07:20)
18. JT Donaldson: Get it Out (Remastered) (07:21)
19. JT Donaldson: Ixelles (06:29)
20. JT Donaldson: Vantage Point (07:27)
Originally published in 5 Mag issue 181: A Tribute to Mike Huckaby. Support 5 Mag by becoming a member for just $1 per issue.
