Trevor Jackson's
Playgroup guise produced dozens of remixes, singles, and DJ mixes, but only one proper full-length album. There were hours of unreleased tracks recorded during the years leading up to that album's release, and during the summer of 2016,
Jackson released nine EPs (one per week between July and September) on a new label called Yes Wave Records. Released later in the year, the double CD
Previously Unreleased collects most of the tracks from the series (many of which were co-produced by
In Flagranti's
Sasha Crnobrnja). Unlike the
Playgroup album, most of these tracks don't feature guest vocalists, so they generally appear to be club tracks rather than proper songs. That doesn't mean this should be dismissed as a collection of inferior work or unfinished demos. The tracks are often simple, repetitive instrumentals, but they channel the best of '80s dance music, encompassing house, electro, Italo-disco, post-punk, and other styles, and they're always energetic and smartly assembled without being too sophisticated. Even the two tracks that stretch out to 12 minutes ("What's Happening?" and the more serene "Little Things," which features guitar by a young
Kieran Hebden, aka
Four Tet) have a steady, hypnotic flow to them and stay engaging. Plenty of tracks nail the early acid house sound, with tracks like "Move My Body" and "I Want to Believe" (featuring
EDMX, aka
DMX Krew) consisting of stripped-down rhythms and simple, commanding vocal samples. Other tracks venture into heavy dub territory, piling on crazy effects like
Adrian Sherwood or
Mark Stewart, but
Jackson's dub excursions incorporate post-punk basslines or hypnotic beats closer to dub-techno crews like
Basic Channel than any producer from Jamaica. The electro tracks are equally indebted to
Kraftwerk as well as the hip-hop pioneers directly influenced by them. Only two songs have proper vocals, and they're both sung by
Mike Z of Philadelphia minimal wave legends
Crash Course in Science. Think of
Previously Unreleased as the alternate history of
Playgroup, and a fascinating treasure trove of unheard goodies.