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Music

Chicago's Jared Brown Likes a Record with a "Grown and Sexy Feel"

The Last Record: Chicago-based DJ Jared Brown selects music from The Nativist, Klein, and Naked Music NYC.
Photo of Jared Brown by Alexandra Barket.

Whether it's for playing out at a club or listening at home, DJs and producers typically have an encyclopedic hoard of music, new and old. In The Last Record, they tell us about the last three songs or albums they've purchased, and why these were important additions to their music collection.

This week, we spoke to Jared Brown, who hosts "Central Air" on WHPK on Tuesdays at 11am. "I thought I was going to have a late night slot to play club music and techno, but they gave me 11am," Brown said. "I've been trying to dial back some and play stuff that informs my taste and also new stuff that my friends make and I can put it out there on the FM." The show and all of WHPK's programs can be streamed here.

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The Nativist - Various Options

It's probably one of my favorite new releases that I've found in such a long time. It sounds like a drum n bass treasure you would find in some record store and be so surprised you found it and someone would let the record go. I love jungle and drum n bass. When I first heard the full-length project, I thought this sounded like this person was an understudy of A Guy Called Gerald when A Guy Called Gerald made Black Secret Technology. Sonically, it has textures that are very similar.

It also still feels really new. It doesn't sound like someone super nostalgic for another time trying to recreate that era. It gets me excited that drum n bass will maybe have a space in the American club scene because I don't really see that as much as I'd like. I've been pumping that so much on my radio show. This is the only project of theirs I've heard.

Klein

I think she's from London, but she's based in LA right now. She sounds like she's inspired by when Martina Topley-Bird worked with Tricky, but also Faith Evans and some weird, obscure music. She's got this really soulful sound. The way she makes music, it kind of sounds like an audio collage, but it's really emotional. It's interesting.

I don't know if she's affiliated with NON records, but I saw this write-up featuring NON artists and they also talked about Klein. On the same day that I read that article, a friend of mine sent me a link to her Bandcamp and said, "I think you will really like this. It reminds me of your sensibility around music." She has two projects on there that I purchased. One of her projects is called ONLY. And the one I really, really like is called Lagata. It's so good.

Naked Music NYC

I try to keep Hyde Park Records open because that's my neighborhood spot. They have these discounted CDs there. I found this CD and the album cover is just very 90s. I just bought it on a whim because something about it just pulled me to it. It's giving me these neo-soul lounge, black love in Love Jones instrumentals. But it's super dope. It's also giving me that Herb Kent, the Cool Gent, quiet storm and grown and sexy feel. It's everything. I've been playing it so much. I was trying to send one of my other friends a link to it because it's so good. I'm a nerd so I'm always kind of looking for new music, but the way that this came up, it just is so my vibe.