Sirr TMo Sama gives footwork a strange peacefulness with On DatLeor Galilon September 22, 2020 at 5:00 pm

In June, the label arm of the Chicago-born Teklife footwork collective released its first flexi disc, “Juke Me Baby” by Reginald Cosper Jr., aka Sirr TMo Sama. Cosper builds the track on an ascending, bone-dry percussive pattern, weaving in a few different vocal samples and several drum loops; he never lets up on the gas, which gives the song’s ever-shifting, palpitating drive enough energy to power a midsize city. Cosper understands footwork with an intimacy that draws from his time as a producer, DJ, and dancer–he’s so good on his feet that last year the Chicago Dancemakers Forum gave him one of its four Greenhouse Awards to develop new work. Cosper has kept particularly busy with music throughout 2020; he’s uploaded 18 self-released singles, EPs, and albums to Bandcamp since January (some of them as simply “Sirr TMo”). On the expansive new On Dat, Cosper artfully plays with footwork’s acerbic percussive panache and rhythmic complexity. His gentle touches–the new-age synth hum on “Let Me Hit That (Bring It Back),” the swooning R&B vocals on “See You in the Morning”–give his unyielding, arrhythmic pulses a strange peacefulness. v

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