Playgroup

by Andy Kellman
Playgroup is a studio party/rumpus-room collective orchestrated by Trevor Jackson, a graphic designer (sleeves by Eric B. & Rakim, Stereo MCs, and the Jungle Brothers), producer, and remixer (Massive Attack, U2) who has worked under the Underdog and Skull pseudonyms. Jackson also runs his own Output label. A melting pot of disco, funk, hip-hop, dub, new wave, and electronica, 2001s Playgroup, released on the Source label, featured contributions from Roddy Frame (Aztec Camera), Edwyn Collins (Orange Juice, solo), reggae veteran Shinehead, Kathleen Hanna (Le Tigre, Bikini Kill), and Rowetta (Happy Mondays). Astralwerks picked the record up for release in the U.S. in March of 2002. By the end of that year, Jackson released a pair of mix albums: his own contribution to the DJ Kicks series and a title called Partymix, Vol. 1.