FG’s near-decade of genre smashing good vibes can be directly traced back to the high spirits of label co-founder Nick Catchdubs. Hailed as “one of the US’s premiere party DJs” by FACT Magazine and a “Mr Do It All” by XXL, Nick has been pulling double duty as a nightclub and festival mainstay while helming Fool’s Gold with partner in crime A-Trak. Now Catchdini makes a bold leap forward as a producer with today’s release of his debut album, Smoke Machine.

Smoke Machine is a 34 minute blast of hyperkinetic beats and nitrous oxide raps. Alternate universe hip-hop superheroes riff on club hookups and pop culture WTFs: Liz Claiborne, Daria, spinning G-Unit chains, Jay-Z’s MoMa installation. “We blowing up spots like Bashir did to Jacko,” boasts Heems on “Full House,” and the man has a point. Smoke Machine detonates your expectations of a “DJ album,” propelled forward instead by Catchdubs’ own tweaked and explosive sense of fun. less