Various Various
SILKYBEATS002

Cover versions of international songs have long thrived in South Africa’s music industry. Often unable to license the original tracks (until the early 90s the result of an international boycott of the country) labels instead hired producers and session artists to re-record them for the local market. Early house music in SA was no different.When Ron ‘Robot’ Friedman, former bass player for local rockers Rabbitt, was winding down his label On Records in the early 90s, he reached out for new inspiration as the popularity of ‘bubblegum’ disco waned. For one of the label’s final releases he hired young DJ/producer Quentin Foster, obsessed with the new soulful house sound coming out of the US, to take the reins on a studio project dubbed Citi Express.On Robot’s insistence it included a cover of Stevie Wonder’s ‘Living for the City’ (from 1973’s Innervisions) as the title track. Foster set to work in his home studio, dubbed Tone Def, selecting and re-working other US and UK tracks — ‘It’s Too Late’ (originally released in 1989 by Kelli Sae), ‘Love is the Message’ (influenced by the 70s soul anthem and credited to Gamble & Huff but bearing a closer resemblance to Better Days’ 1990 release written by Steve Proctor), ‘People of The World’ (recorded by Sorell Johnson in the UK in 1990) and ‘Victim of Your Love’ (released in 1990 by Gary Vonqwest as ‘Victim of Love’) — adding some signature South African touches in the process that foreshadow the imminent rise of kwaito. One original composition was added for good measure, ‘Open Invitation’.The result offers a glimpse into those early days of house, a uniquely South African take on a global sound that still resonates today — reissued for the first time on Afrosynth Records.

Varhat is back on Yoyaku’s YYK No label series with an explosif four tracker.

DJ Babatr, an influential figure in Caracas' miniteca scene, pioneered the city's distinctive raptor house sound, also known as changa tuki. Breaking free from established norms, DJ Babatr explores genres, creating a sonic universe that defies easy classification. Born from the rich tapestry of Venezuelan sound, DJ Babatr boldly reimagines electronic music within the nation's unique context, shaping and redefining the global landscape with Raptor House. His recent resurgence in the electronic music scene, catalysed by his contribution to Nick León's breakout track "Xtasis," has rightfully brought attention to his innovative work. This vinyl release on Paryìa, the next chapter in the ongoing narrative of electronic music, captures the essence of Venezuela's electronic evolution. It serves as a testament to a cultural movement originating in vibrant Venezuelan neighbourhoods, inviting listeners on a transcendent journey through innovative electronic landscapes. As electronic music continues to evolve, DJ Babatr's story underscores the importance of diverse voices and Latin rhythms in shaping the genre's global roots and influences. To seal off this special release, NYC’s Ayesha's percussive remix of DJ Babatr's track brings a fresh, dynamic energy to the raptor house sound, infusing it with pulsatingrhythms and vibrant textures.

These run of releases on ‘Existence Is Resistance’ come from the Legendary Proto Garage Record Label ‘Same People’, and see’s Persian & Long time musical partner DJ Texsta, repressing some of their most pioneering UKG E.P.s.

DANS LE CREUX D'UNE MAIN by Salon Privé

Le temps lent by Enfant MagiqueSlowing down time with Eric GingrasThe simple acoustic guitar plucks out a lulling back-and-forth, accompanying a voice that seems to arrive from another, far-off era. Elsewhere, the guitar moves around in the background, repetitive and drawn-out. But here, alone, it takes the time to find its rightful place, much like the deceptive simplicity of a hand-made quilt. This humbly whimsical patchwork seeks out form, succeeds, and is reunited with the voice. Articulate and elastic, it sometimes crisscrosses, sometimes circumnavigates this landscape of song both subtle and rich. Its clear lines of flight point to a remote village and its recent arrivals, a motley crew of hybrid things and beings: woolly sheep, beat-up robots, small synthetic drums, minimalist jaw harps, obsessive alarms, light footsteps on a gravel path, a few propellers, many layers of slow time.The sea’s waves break against this shoreline where our mutant from the 1970s seems to have washed up. He isn’t looking for a fight, and he isn’t looking to show off. However, as the custodian of utopian leftovers from an open agreement between artifice and artful making, he is clever and skillful in a thousand and one little ways. His voice is stubbornly discreet, but also able to take flight, carrying with it words devoid of preciosity and over-categorization. This is a voice that prefers attention to affectation. Bresson-like, it knows how to recount when recounting is needed, articulating both quivering fatigue and deep doubt.Joined now by others, the mutant feels supported, loved. He withdraws, and an assertive, childlike voice moves into the foreground. The mutant accompanies, discreet but fully present. And what better medium for this finely woven poetry and play of childhood’s expression, both clumsy and bold.- Anne Lardeux (translated from French by Simon Brown)