New cuts from Cajmere/Green Velvet are rare enough these days (two in all of 2008, I think) that each new release is something of a news story. "The Case (of the Lost Jackers)" is brand new (not even on the Cajual/Relief website yet) but available for purchase as of about an hour ago on Beatport.

"The Case" follows the maestro's recent trend (as much as you can find a pattern among so few releases) of going way back into dance music history, even before Relief and Cajual's existence, to the danceable synth-pop of the 1980s. You could also hear this tendency on "It's Time 2 Jack," the bonus track on the Walk EP and Caj's tendency in sets to pump out dusties like Chip E.'s "It's House". Even "La La La La La (nside my mind)" sounded more at home when bracketed by some classic Chicago jack trax instead of the R&B influenced House that was then burning up the charts.

My quick take: Not feeling the Original Mix so much, and the bonus track "Earthquaker" is way too hard for my delicate sensibilities. The Instrumental Mix is pretty strong though - the synth-pop New Wave sound is mashed together with Prince (Revolution era Prince) brand of funk. Here's a quick clip (you can avail yourself of the other mixes for yourself here):

It also looks like Cajmere is updating his podcast archive for the first time in about 18 months - here's a link to his set New Year's Eve at Chicago's Smart Bar (also on iTunes).

Photo: Green Velvet at Zentra by Czarina Mirani, 5 Magazine.