Mike Nasty Explores Jazz on Endless Groove

I’ve always appreciated house music that gives the listener enough time to settle into it, especially when the producer knows how to introduce small musical ideas without interrupting the rhythm every eight bars. It’s a quality that can be surprisingly hard to achieve, given how much electronic music production revolves around keeping arrangements interesting, introducing new elements, and preventing repetition from becoming boring.

Mike Nasty (@djmikenasty) has spent much of his career in that space, and his latest EP, Endless Groove, continues the soulful, jazz-influenced house music he’s been developing on his Nasty Tracks imprint.

Released October 16, the seven-track project features five originals and two dub versions, with Rhodes chords, jazz-inspired harmony, and R&B influences providing much of its musical character. It’s a sound rooted in decades of house music history, particularly records where the groove stays relatively consistent while the harmonic details and arrangements slowly develop around it.

For someone who has spent more than sixteen years DJing, producing, and organizing events in New York, that approach feels entirely appropriate. Mike Nasty understands the relationship between music that sounds good on its own and music that has a job to do when played in a club.

Endless Groove Builds on Mike Nasty’s Jazz Influences

One thing I find interesting about Mike Nasty’s recent output is how consistently he returns to jazz harmony as an important part of his production style.

Last year, we covered his album Sketches in Deep, which explored the relationship between jazz improvisation and house music across tracks like “Jazz Flower,” “Passion,” and “Nocturne.” That record gave him space to explore more expressive musical ideas while keeping his arrangements tied to house’s rhythmic foundations.

Endless Groove picks up a similar conversation, though its stated direction feels particularly focused on the groove’s longevity.

The seven-track EP draws from the harmonic vocabulary of seventies jazz-funk, R&B, and the house records that helped carry those influences into club culture. The references to Larry Heard, Kerri Chandler, Moodymann, and Theo Parrish make sense here because those producers helped establish a particular relationship between rhythm, melody, and repetition.

And I think that last part is especially important.

People sometimes reduce jazz influences in house music to seventh chords, electric piano, and a few loose percussion elements. Those sounds certainly contribute to the aesthetic, but much more is happening in the music of the artists mentioned above. It’s about how the different musical ideas interact, how much time each idea gets, and how the repetition itself changes the listener’s experience.

Mike Nasty’s approach to Endless Groove seems rooted in that tradition, with arrangements designed to develop patiently rather than rush from one major section to another.

Nasty Tracks Reflects Mike’s New York Background

Mike Nasty’s background as a New York DJ is another important part of the release.

Over sixteen years, he has worked across house, hip-hop, and R&B, while sharing stages with artists including Roger Sanchez, Todd Terry, Todd Edwards, and Jovonn. His work extends beyond DJing into event curation, production, and running his independent label, Nasty Tracks.

That range of experience helps explain the musical direction of Endless Groove.

New York’s relationship with house music has always drawn on disco, soul, gospel, jazz, and R&B. It’s a history where musicality and the physical experience of dancing have often existed side by side, and those influences remain part of the language of contemporary deep and soulful house.

Mike’s work outside his own label also reflects that background. He co-produced Lion Babe and Busta Rhymes’ collaboration “Harder,” another example of his involvement with music beyond a single club genre.

Still, Nasty Tracks appears to be where he can focus most directly on the records he wants to play and the musical traditions he wants to explore.

With Endless Groove carrying catalog number NT024, the imprint continues building a catalog around his particular interests in soulful house, jazz harmony, and records that DJs can incorporate into their sets.

Endless Groove is another chapter in Mike Nasty’s exploration of that relationship, and there’s something to be said for an artist continuing to develop a sound he genuinely enjoys instead of chasing whatever happens to be attracting attention elsewhere.

The seven-track EP is out now on Nasty Tracks.

Listen and purchase: https://mikenasty.bandcamp.com/album/endless-groove