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Praise coming in from Groove Armada, Laurent Garnier, Erol Alkan, Crazy P, Louise Chen, DJ Bone, Fred P, ABSOLUTE and Horse Meat Disco.

Prolific disco/house producer James Curd is perhaps one of the undersung heroes of the scene. With hundreds of production credits to his name on every label worth its salt from DFA Records to Classic Music Company to Permanent Vacation to Lumberjacks In Hell — and of course, Exploited — he has serious skin in the game. It’s finally time for his debut album to make its mark on the world, rounding up 14 of his finest moments to date for Exploited and packaging them up into one joyous blend.
“‘Taken All This Time’ is a catalog of music that stays true to my life growing up in my critical formative years in Chicago” he explains. “I used to make tracks from beginning to end on an MPC2000. I had a studio in my room that was set up on a door that was held up by two overturned trash cans. If I was recording on the mic I had to shut my windows because I lived on the third floor above 90/94. Sometimes I would get WGCI bleeding into my speakers while I was trying to work. It was the best of times. I worked at a record store called Supreme most days. Then I would work on music till late and head out to the club. I had a residency with Derrick Carter, Gene Farris and Diz. I made so much music — especially in the brutal winters.”
You wouldn’t know that much of this record was made in the depths of winter, given the warm, balmy vibe that surrounds much of it. With his magical synth wizardry cutting against jazzy keys, disco/funk basslines, and sublime vocals, it’s a beautiful mix of sounds that is at home on the dancefloor as on the home stereo. Each track contains elements built on his MPC, with all keys, vintage synths, guitars and bass played live. “ In a time where so much music is pieced together by sample packs and drum loops this album is created brick by brick.... or beat by beat. Every keyboard sound was played on an actual keyboard in my studio. Guitars and bass were played in.”
The album draws its influences from ‘70s disco, ‘80s boogie and ‘90s deep house in equal measure, serving as a musical document of Curd’s upbringing. Beautiful vocals are provided by a diverse cast of singers and rappers, including Bear Who? Luke Million, Likasto, Natasha Lillith and KE, with other collaborative moments featuring Fred Everything and Karmon.
The prolific producer has previously worked with James Murphy for a release on his DFA Records label, and works on many film, TV and video game score projects, including for the ‘Grand Theft Auto’ series and 50 Cent’s show ‘The Oath’. But right now, it’s all about this beautiful collection of tracks, providing a milestone in his career that he will be able to look back on very proudly in years to come.
Single and Album artworks were done by James' friend Cody Hudson who is a Chicago based artist known for his graphic design contributions under the name Struggle Inc. and for the production of clean, multi-dimensional graphics, Cody's design aesthetic is part urban modernism, and part organic visual deconstruction.
His graphic work and paintings have been exhibited throughout the US, Europe and Japan including the Museum of Contemporary Art (Chicago), New Image Art (LA), Rocket Gallery (Tokyo), The Lazy Dog (Paris), & Andrew Rafacz (Chicago).

Artist: James Curd
Release: Taken All This Time
Label: Exploited
Cat: EXPDIGITAL222
LC: 15799 
Publisher: Exploited Ghetto Music Publishing
Releasedate Beatport & Streaming: 24.09.2021
Releasedate Global Download: 08.10.21

Taken All This Time (Album)

Checking Out NYC

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James Curd - Checking Out NYC I Exploited

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Exploited Rec promises to strip the wallpaper from the walls of your home stereo.
Shir Khan started Exploited in 2007. Exploited Rec now plays host to some wide-ranging and innovative electronic talent - including Adana Twins, Claptone, Budakid, Joyce Muniz, James Curd, Shir Khan (to name a few) - and its artists have been receiving numerous supportive spins from the likes of Solomun, Pete Tong, Soul Clap, Wolf&Lamb, Azari&III, Jesse Rose, Axel Boman and A-Trak.
This is serious dance music at it's most cutting edge with all the juice to really get you going. It's totally contemporary, innovative and has a chunky dirty feel. "Exploited" take you on an invigorating roller coaster ride back to your youth when you first listened to dance music with all the thrills and spills you so enjoyed about clubbing. It's heavy, exciting and special.
'"Exploited Records" is a seamless melting pot of varied styles that simply can't fail to please even the most discerning ears. Highlights here are plentyful. Not to be missed at any cost.' (Clash)
'Musical hybrids are truly the flavour of today, but few have managed to capture the atmosphere of an unpredictable microcosm of a night out on a recordlabel - until now. Shir Khan's label "Exploited" bottles the zeitgeist's giddy thrills with plenty of style and substance. This is dance music hybridism in all its most glorious forms, and Shir Khan is an expert at making square pegs fit round holes.' (DJ-Mag)
'"Exploited Records" boss Shir Khan has been gaining a lot of acclaim recently, and deservedly so - as he has shown us the high quality, diversity and forward-thinking nature of his label. Engaging, riveting and diverse.' (Data Transmission)