Trooko Kicks Out Moody Jam “Don’t Work”

In December 2016, Doorly—an L.A.-based Brit and regular with Cajual, Hot Creations and Dirtybird—launched his new label, Reptile Dysfunction, with a cut featuring Mike “The Streets” Skinner after a late night working on a track he didn’t feel was right for his existing outlets. Born of this need to place output that wouldn’t fit elsewhere, the label will also release vinyl-only disco edits and global bespoke events where fellow wonky house-heads can feel at home.

In celebration of that left-field spirit, today Reptile Dysfunction gives us our TOTD,

“Don’t Work,” from the True Work EP by Honduras-born up-and-comer Trooko. After putting in the work locally, Trooko teamed up with Switch’s Dubsided, with whom he’s produced tracks for Major Lazer, M.I.A. and Beyoncé. Trooko’s True Work EP is the second release from Reptile Dysfunction and has an origin story similar to its predecessor’s.

“After another late night going through some of my old tracks, I found this piano chord and bassline I had made a couple of years back,” Trooko recently told Insomniac. “The melody took me back to a time when I was uncertain about a lot things, and where I was trying to make things work, but they just weren’t. Couple days later, Doorly asked me to put together some tracks for his new label; I knew this track would fit perfectly.”

Trooko brought in Lukas Gorham on guitar and YM on vocals, and together they kicked out “Don’t Work,” a moody jam built on filtered disco grooves, prickly snares, and atmospheric breaks where the aforementioned vocals and quirky guitar licks evoke the melancholy musing and nagging frustration that led Trook to ponder why, despite our most earnest efforts, some things just “don’t work.” Fortunately, for all involved, this track does.

Available March 3 via Reptile Dysfuntion.

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