Jossy Mitsu // Planet J
(Astral Black)

Jossy Mitsu, alongside her 6-Figure Gang cohorts, has demonstrated the power of community and a unified front. With Sherelle, FAUZIA, LCY, Yazzus and Dobby, the Birmingham-based artist has helped ignite UK dance music with a renewed focus on faster tempos and the pure ecstatic release of forward-leaning bangers. It’s not that no one was making jungle or footwork before that crew came along, but they brought an energy which is undeniably infectious, and the club scene is better for it. Over the past 12 months the individual crew members have seemingly followed their own paths, from Sherelle’s all-conquering DJ presence to FAUZIA experimenting with live, vocal-led loop-pedal ambience, but the half-life from their flash of collective energy still hangs over club culture.

The eagle-eyed might have spotted a Jossy Mitsu alias appearing late last year – the dark and seductive low slung stylings of CELIIINE – but she’s made strident steps out on her own with the release of her debut EP proper on Astral Black.

Planet J is a no-nonsense four-track salvo that ably frames Mitsu’s creative interests within the club music spectrum. ‘Odyssey’ is a stripped-down, steppy affair with spooked out atmospherics and a pervading dreadweight pressure which teases and delivers in equal measure. ‘1997’ is a tough jacker with deep house chords framed by industrial percussive hits. Hold tight for the B side though, as ‘Turismo’ rushes you straight into some urgent drum machine jack and artfully musical amen dicing before ‘Ø’ drops you down into an angular, minimalist beatdown punctuated by precision-tooled kicks and twitchy perc.

Intricately detailed and confidently different, Planet J is a triumphant opening statement from an artist perfectly placed to bring yet more fresh energy to club music, especially now we’re all thinking ahead to when we might be dancing together again.

This review was originally published as part of Juno Daily’s Albums of the Week round-up.

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