I have put these two tracks together based on one simple rule. They are the two most original, unclassifiable, genre-bending and categorisation-defying songs I came across in the last few weeks. Instant Club Bizarre essentials too!
First up, all the way from South Africa Okzharp featuring his Johannesburg based dancing muse Manthe Ribane and their fruitful collaboration sung in Tswana "Dear Ribane". Inspired by South Africa's thriving house music scene, "Dear Ribane" mesmerises with its exotic cocktail of tribal beats, unevenly pulsating rhythms and exotic rhymes. Hyperdub has always been unparalleled when it comes to discovering and supporting striking, up and coming artists (Burial, DVA, Ossie, Jessy Lanza to name just a few) but Okzharp's throbbing "Dumela 113" EP could be easily considered one of this prolific, London-based record label's best releases to date. "Dear Ribane" is a surprising, sublimely produced and irresistible invitation to dance.
Where do I even begin with Aïsha Devi's fascinating "Mazdâ"... The Swiss-Nepalese underground producer/conceptual artist has just released her debut LP "Of Matter And Spirit" via London’s Houndstooth label. The record is an uncompromising experiment of abstract electronica, industrial synths, witch house, dark ambient, noise, noir electro with some Oriental reminiscences ("Initiation to an Illusion") and echoes of The Knife's epic "Silent Shout" ("Kim and the Wheel of Life"). Does it sound avant-garde enough to you? Here's what we read about "Mazdâ" in Dazed which premiered this unquestionable contender for the video of the year, directed by Chinese artist Tianzhuo Chen, earlier on this week:
"High-pitched, candy-coated vocals, shimmering synth lines and heart-thumping bass are stitched over images of near-naked people wearing rubber masks, drooling at each other or munching on the carcass of a raw chicken in this completely off-the-wall music video for Aïsha Devi’s electro masterpiece “Mazdâ”."
Danish producer Kasper Bjørke is teasing us with yet another fantastic single before the official release of his long anticipated and special-guest-packed new record "After Forever" which drops 22nd September via hfn. This new track, oddly dedicated to Times New Roman font, features the unpredictable wonder child of folktronica and nu jazz, Jimi Tenor's natural successor on the Finnish electronica scene Jaakko Eino Kalevi. Kalevi's latest EP "Yin Yang Theatre" has some delicious moments too, like the irresistibly enchanting slice of nu-disco "Speak Out" and the experimental "Tecno Souvlaki" which was just accompanied by a video directed by Christine Gensheimer. This scandinavian edition of my Double Trouble thread (or even triple trouble?) is sounding rather well if I do say so myself...
