# Cajmere — Percolator

Cajmere’s Percolator (1992) appears on 2 of our lists — Juke and Footwork and The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred, highest at No. 1 in Juke and Footwork. Every verdict, in full.

- **Released:** 1992
- **Label:** Cajual
- **On:** Juke and Footwork and The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred
- **Updated:** 2026-08-29
- **Artist:** [Cajmere](https://waxonia.com/artist/cajmere/)
- **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/track/cajmere--percolator/

## What 2 lists say

### No. 1 in [Juke and Footwork](https://waxonia.com/genre/juke-and-footwork/)

One bleeping figure, endlessly repeated, that became a genre's shared vocabulary. Thirty years of Chicago records quote it, and a whole category of track is still named after it.

### Picked by [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/)

One bleeping figure repeated until it became a city's shared vocabulary. Thirty years of Chicago records quote it and a whole category is named after it.

## Analysis

7 sections, the first drop of 2 at 1:02, 34% of the way in.

- **Dynamic range:** 5 dB — moderate range, typical of a modern master
- **Phrase:** 8 bars
- **Length:** 3:05

- `0:00` A · **peak**, instrumental — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: drums, bass
- `0:39` B · **breakdown** (bar 21, off the grid), instrumental — energy falling away mid-record, percussion thinning — playing: drums, vocals
- `1:03` A · **steady** (bar 32, off the grid), instrumental — holding a level — the groove, neither rising nor falling — playing: drums, bass, vocals
- `1:49` C · **breakdown** (bar 56, off the grid), sung — energy falling away mid-record, percussion thinning — playing: drums, vocals, other
- `2:05` A · **peak** (bar 64, off the grid), instrumental — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: drums, bass
- `2:35` A · **peak** (bar 80, off the grid), instrumental — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: drums, bass, vocals
- `2:51` A · **outro** (bar 88, off the grid), instrumental — the closing fall — playing: drums, bass

**Drops** at 1:02 (bar 32), 2:04 (bar 64). A drop is a moment, not a stretch.

**What is playing.** Separated into parts by a source-separation model, so each lane is the instrument it names.

- **drums:** the drum kit, separated from the mix
- **bass:** the bass part, separated from the mix
- **vocals:** the voice, separated from the mix
- **other:** everything else — synths, guitars, keys, strings

Measured from the YouTube master on 2026-08-29. Section labels describe how the energy
moves, not musical form. Anything we were not confident enough to state is omitted
rather than hedged.

## Listen

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Cajmere%20Percolator) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=BYAZ-lq_KLg)

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Hand-curated by Waxonia. We host no audio; all links point to streaming platforms.