Music
Canadian Musician Chloe Charles Speaks Race, Roots and #NewBlackHistoryMusic
Published
9 years agoon
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On Part 4 of #NewBlackHistoryMusic we spoke to Chloe Charles, a soothing Canadian musician in the genre of Orchestra Soul Pop who bares all in her music and effortlessly emotes our deepest fears and desires. We linked up and got talking about who she is and how she contributes to the New Black History Music.
She is a hair-splitter of a musician, singer as well as a self-taught guitarist. Born in Toronto and raised in Uxbridge Township, the tender songstress had a very colourful and creative upbringing and an even more vibrant lineage. Granddaughter to John Richmond who is a renowned Canadian visual artist, her mother Victoria Richmond who is a writer and her late father Noel Charles a Trinidadian who was the owner of the famous Alexandre Nightclub in Stockholm, Sweden and Bridgetown, Barbados as well as husband to John Lennon’s first wife.
What’s the most interesting aspect of your childhood and how did that build you?
I grew up with my mom. My dad left when I was really young and we started living in the city of Toronto where my mom realised that she was working too hard to make a living and spend enough time with me, so we moved to the country where my grandad had this beautiful property which used be an art school. He planted every single tree on 30 acres of land and built up this beautiful art school. When we eventually moved there he turned it into houses. Sort of like communes, with artsy creative people. Growing up there was inspiring and special and it allowed me to do my own thing. I’m an only child so I had a lot of time alone and I’d run around in the woods and take walks at night because I was never afraid to be alone; I love nature and it gave me the space to be creative and find my own voice. My family was very supportive when it comes to being an individual. My mom was a closet writer and she’d always be sitting somewhere writing poetry or stories and this of course contributed to the creative and supportive atmosphere I grew up in.
So there was no way you were going to end up on a different career path?
I was really scared to go that route, for one I watched my grandad and the lifestyle he led, in the end it worked out and he found his own way but I observered his struggle and how he was sometimes angry at the masses for not actively searching for fulfillment that stimulated them more than just for entertainment purposes. In watching him I realized that just because you are doing something that you love doesn’t mean that everyone else will love it.
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What is the general mood about Black History Month amongst fellow Canadians of mixed race? Does being of mixed race affect how you perceive and celebrate black history month?
It does, I think I have celebrated it as an insider as well as an outsider. My dad is from Trinidad; he had a very little connection to his culture. I think he felt a shame when he was younger and probably experienced lots of racism and had to adapt by putting on a persona to survive in London England. My mom and her family on the other hand are white from Ireland and England. I have a cousin who is also mixed but I feel like here in Toronto especially because we are so multicultural Black History Month becomes important for everybody. It’s not only limited to black people of African descent. February in Canada is special. In the States there’s much more of a divide between white and black but in Canada it’s really quite integrated,. You see it everywhere and it makes me proud of my other half, especially because I don’t know much about my history from my dad’s side. I only know it as far back as my grandparents and so there are a lot of events that go on that teach me about our history, a history that my father never spoke about.
Is there an influence from your black history that comes out in your music?
(Laughs) that’s interesting. Honestly I don’t think I could say that my black descent specifically influences my music but it influences me, just like everything in my life. It’s part of my existence, my history, the way I’ve been treated over the years and therefore developed. Being of mixed race I have had strange experiences in both directions; I’ve felt racism from both black and white people. It naturally comes into my songs because most of my songs are autobiographical.
Tell us about your latest offering “With Blind folds on” what inspired the title?
Well, the title is a line from one of the songs on the album called “Clover”. It speaks about love and finding it when you least expect it. For me however, it’s somewhat of a motto. Life is so cluttered with rules and norms and other people’s opinions and emotions, external ideas of success, the “shoulds” and judgments to an extant that it becomes hard to hear your inner voice. Sometimes you need to shield yourself from the over-stimulation of modern life in order to listen to your own intuition, find your own path and make decisions based on what is important to you and not the external world. In North America and many other countries, people are so driven by achievement. The pressure of having to succeed is so great that it can overshadow what is good for you or what you really love or what would be considered a personal success. If you can just stop and remember that the world wont end if you stop achievling, take the time to listen to your intuition then I believe you will be much less anxious, appreciate your own personal successes and find your own path. I had to do it constantly, stop over thinking, over analysing and stop being overly logical all the time and just feel my way through life.
I picked that up in your previous album, there was a lot of questioning of direction, How to feel, what to think. How was the process with this album from beginning to end?
It was a really long process. For the past few years I’ve spent my time living between Europe and Canada so I have two separate bands, and they have somewhat separate sounds and I wanted to mix this album up and work with people that I play with all the time, so I brought in my violinist from Italy, my pianist from Germany, and some of my fellow Canadian musicians with me here. So instead of having to tell everybody what to do and having a lot of people go into studio with a tight schedule I was lucky that the Canadian government supports the arts and thus I was able to have longer studio sessions. This allowed us to literally try everything. I had a policy that you can never say no to an idea. It was such an amazing experience to take all the sounds out of my head and actualise them. When I write a song, I so much in my head, the orchestra or all the harmonies, so I have a pretty clear idea of what I want. In the past I worked with producers and when you do that you end up adopting some of their style. I mean when you’re young and working on your first Ep or album I feel that you are a little bit more impressionable and not yet confident in your ideas. However, with this album I decided to trust myself and go ahead and self produce with the aid of the amazing musicians I trust and respect. I’m really proud of the end product.
It was recorded in Toronto, mixed it in Berlin and one song was done in New York, so it became an international project. That had its benefits as well downfalls. What was new to me and got quite complicated what was that the technical practices differed from country to country and because style and tastes are quite different so it took longer than expected but it was worth it.
Were there any musical influences that guided towards the sound that you finally achieved?
To be honest when I think about influences I think about life in general. The sounds that influence me are often very dramatic provoking strong emotional responses in me. I pick and choose from various places, for instance choirs, or string quartets or thunder and rain. It’s more of a collection of sounds that you pick up in life, these sounds have an impact and live inside of you.
At one point we ended up accidentally using the sound of mallets on the wood in the inside of the grand piano. We used it as a percussion instrument because it made a thunderous, crackling sound mixed with the resonance from the keys. It was pretty cool.
Any particular end goal, is there a legacy?
My career is for two reasons, when I write I try to push the boundaries genre, judgments and expectations as well as push personal boundaries of honesty. I try to expose more more of myself to help accept myself and my imperfections. I’m pretty hard on myself and I can be critical and through writing I find a way to see that I am just human.
On the other side,I hope that me being honest about my flaws and struggles helps people to be kinder to themselves and realise we all go through the same things, and that our imperfections are what make us all unique and beautiful. When I am on stage I hope to connect with my audience and share the experience of humanity.
Speaking about connecting with your audience, there’s a song on your album called fans, I found it quite interesting but I would like to hear from you; what is it really about?
(Laughs) That song, of course that one (Laughs). This one actually has nothing to do with my audience or fans. There’s another one that does, “Take Me Naked”, but this one is actually talking about a fuelling fan. It’s the story of the end of a relationship when you know it’s over and are faced with the choice to fake it and pretend that everything is fine because it’s comfortable and familiar or end it. It could be the most horrible and volatile relationship ever and you’d find yourself comfortable with the insanity. It describes a moment when you are in bed with your partner looking up at the fan and thinking to yourself if you will continue to fake it and put on a mask or take that terrifying leap and end it.
Wow, I had it completely wrong. I thought it was about you getting on stage and having to put on this facade for your fans to connect to you. Knowing very well that when you get off the stage you are someone totally different. I thought it was about what you want the fans to perceive and feel.
I like that, I should say that. It’s funny because the song “Take Me Naked” is actually about what you are talking about. You were close (laughs). I have one song about that.
Is there any particular song that you like a little bit more than the others?
Yes, My personal favourites are usually not what the masses enjoy, “Hold Me”,“Wool Sweater” and “Tulip”
I actually like the last two.
Thank You.
With “Hold Me”, it feels like there’s a push and pull, you want this person to stay yet you want them to go, as a guy I would be very confused if I someone said/did that to me, what’s the vibe there, what’s going on?
(Laughs) That’s generally how I am in relationships. I am probably the worst person to get into a relationship with these days. It’s actually more of an inner dialog saying, you want this person there who lets you know that it will be okay, while at the same time you know that the only one who can fix your issues is you.
Are we going to see you South Africa?
I would love that, I have no connections so far but I would love to. It would be amazing! I have no idea what this year has to offer.
Are you excited about what ever may come?
I am, I find it interesting how you have no clue what life has to offer, you can make plans but shit happens. Or you can look back and never have imagined that you could have met people or had experiences that change your life.
A photo posted by Chloe Charles (@chloecharles) on
Written By: Lethabo Ngakane
Twitter: @Lambisking
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Music
Love and Marriage: Deciphering Riky Rick’s Forgotten Cinematic Album
Published
7 months agoon
July 26, 2024
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I am astounded by the contrast between the temporary and the permanent, such as love and marriage. We often experience permanent things with contempt, perceiving them as safe and secure, dull & boring, while simultaneously being drawn to the fleeting and uncertain nature of the temporary, like a moth to a flame. Are we realistic, or have our septic wounds made us feel inadequate for what’s permanent or long-term? In my thirties, I have often pondered the ideas of love and marriage, swirling them within the chalice of my mind, only to arrive at a drunken stupor of confusion—a hangover from an idealised relationship between the wonders of love and marriage.
This brings me to the central question: Why did Riky Rick create this body of work? What was happening within the labyrinth of his musical talents and the fissures of his mind? Why title the EP ‘Love & Marriage,’ and why at that time?
This cinematic EP from the forgotten days of the Blogspot era—where even Kaffein Magazine has its roots—weaves textures, notes, scents, and emotions around the concept and perhaps the reality of love and marriage, as perceived by the late Riky Rick during that time.
Before delving further into why I believe this album deserves a revisit, consider its luminance, artful storytelling, and its connection to vulnerability.
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- ‘Can I See You’ This song feels like a honeymoon phase of an impending heartbreak. The kicks and snares are reminiscent of classic hip-hop, accompanied by melodies that fit joyously into the beat, creating excitement, desire, and optimism. The beat bears a heavy sample from the 1970s Jackson 5 hit ‘Can I See You in The Morning,’ which is perhaps indicative of wishful thinking, followed by a sound bite from the 2006 movie starring Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston—‘The Break-Up.’ It’s a beat full of warmth, joy, and excitement for things to come. VERY REMINISCENT OF RJD2’s ‘Dead Ringer’ album.
- ‘Your Love Is…’ This track offers an early glance into Riky’s experimentation with singing and is reminiscent of Andre 3000’s ‘Pink & Blue,’ with experimental synthesizing of the voice adding more texture—especially at 2:29, where a vibrant love transforms into a moody purple hue, creating a union of two emotively different vibes: the blues and the reds, and everything in between.
- ‘Another Day’ This track sounds like an inner-city park in the centre of Johannesburg, with voices, laughter, birds, and the bustle of the city bedding the vibey hip-hop beat. The sounds of car radios and stations being switched create a medley of sounds as it progresses to the end. The beat is stripped layer by layer as the sun sets behind the towering buildings, and the streets become empty of the chords that once were.
- ‘The Tyson Story’ This song is, personally, by far the most accessible story. The story is real and extremely vulnerable, especially if you can contextualise, relate, or perhaps empathise. In retrospect, this song centres around bullying, being belittled in ways you never thought possible. The mixture of sensitivity and pain builds a monster. This story is told with various sound bites from Mike Tyson interviews, who—as the piano intensifies—continues to tell his story, beckoning the deep questions of identity: “Who am I?” In many ways, it could be a reflection of Riky’s story, how Rikhado Makhado became Pretty Rick, Riky Rick, and the list goes on.
- ‘For You Again’ The crackle of vinyl cushions the nostalgic and soulful vocals, making this feel like a warm winter with family. A nod to the 70s kind of love—a gentle, honest, and galactic type of love.
- ‘Jozi City Lights Part 4’ This easily progressive track leans into a jazzy sound that revolves around a rift of strings, percussions, and keys. The sirens break the whimsical trip, dampening the mood and taking us out of the groove—just another Jozi night with police sirens painting the night.
- ‘Floating Away’ This track is another fun exploration of vocals, in a style and projection that was yet to become familiar as his career evolved. It is chilled, loopy, and addictively monotonous, creating an immediate feeling of familiarity that will have you nodding along and dialling in.
- ‘Touch of God’ This track bears an abstract beat with melodic reversed vocals and instruments that are perhaps symbolic of a state of dwelling in the past. It ends with an obscure yet cinematic ride into conversations about God and faith taken from Pulp Fiction. The beat periodically switches to unreversed vocals, which seem brighter and full of hope, signalling the beginning of transcendence from what is holding one back. It’s a search for meaning in God to soothe the pains of the flesh—a conversation between two people or perhaps between self…
So why the title ‘Love and Marriage’? Is it influenced by his relationship with music? Could it be life experiences or a story of his becoming? I guess that is for you to answer.
This Ep is one of the most slept-on offerings that we’ve heard in a while. Download it on the link below, before someone removes it.
Download here.
Music
H’ & Them: The Experimental Tshivenḓa Musician Redefining Genre Boundaries
Published
2 years agoon
July 4, 2023
Aluwani Silas Thovhakale, known by his stage name H’ & Them (Hermit & Them), hails from Thohoyandou, Limpopo. As a solo artist, he embodies an experimental approach to music, constantly pushing the boundaries and defying categorization in both his mother tongueTshivenḓa and English. The Hermit’s ever-evolving sound is “a captivating chimaera” that keeps his listeners intrigued and never quite knowing what to expect.
His latest album, titled “Home In A Bit,” was released on May 10, 2023. It presents a mesmerising fusion of genres, skillfully blending elements from Alternative-Urban/Indie, Hip-Hop/Rap, Melancholic Indie-Folk, Alternative R&B, and Lofi. Within this sonic tapestry, H’ & Them delves into poignant themes of grief, homesickness, longing, and nostalgia.
The album’s inventive and offbeat soundscapes, along with its thematic coherence across eight tracks, propelled it to success. The track ‘Home In A Bit’ climbed the ranks and secured a place in the Top 10 of the Apple Music Alternative Music Charts, reaching an impressive peak at number 7. Let’s take a closer look at each of the eight songs on the album.
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Opening with “vhuthungu”, the album sets the stage for its introspective journey. This track captures the essence of life’s bittersweetness within its melodies.
“out no more” serves as the core vibe, it has the characteristics of a catchy interlude, drenched in regret and loneliness.
“unk’l“ provides a moment of dark comic relief, injecting playful energy into the mix, the song strikes moods, melodies and cords reminiscent of Frank Ocean in his early days.
“ps4po v12” shines as a standout track, offering a moment of glory and radiance through a fat “Peace out” to what we assume to be a lost love.
“numb” reawakens deep emotions initially expressed in “vhuthungu”, tugging at the heartstrings as he convinces himself that he’s indeed numb from the heartbreak.
“Home In A Bit”, the album’s title track, speaks directly to the longing of the soul, conveying the universal need to move forward and find a sense of belonging.
“System’s offline” serves as the closing remark, leaving the listener with a lingering sense of introspection and contemplation as the Hermit seeks closure before he disconnects from the painful past.
Finally, “mathomoni” represents the beginning, symbolizing the cyclical nature of grief and the process of healing.
Personally, this album feels and sounds like a heart breaking in the city, bleeding all the way home to heal—a story that some of us are privileged enough to relate to.
Follow the H’ and Them and listen to the album below:
Music
Spotify Unveils DJ, the Personalized AI Guide That Takes Music Personalization to a Whole New Level
Published
2 years agoon
March 8, 2023
Are you tired of scrolling through playlists trying to find the perfect song for the moment? Look no further, because Spotify has got you covered! Their new feature, DJ, is here to make your music experience even more personalized.
This AI guide knows you and your taste in music so well, it’s like having a personal DJ in your pocket. It will scan the latest releases, sort through your old favourites, and even resurface songs you haven’t heard in years. The DJ will then deliver a stream of songs picked just for you, complete with commentary about the tracks and artists in a voice that sounds so realistic, you’ll think you’re chatting to a real-life music fanatic, or maybe listening to an episode of a Dissect podcast.
If you’re not really feeling the vibe that your playlist is serving you, just tap the DJ button and it will switch it up. The more you listen and provide feedback, the better its recommendations get. It’s like having your own personal music concierge!
SO HOW DOES IT WORK?
So how does this magical DJ work? Spotify uses its personalization technology to give you a lineup of music recommendations based on what they know you like. Then they added generative AI technology, which is put in the hands of their music editors to provide you with insightful facts about the music, artists, or genres you’re listening to. And the cherry on top? They even brought in a dynamic AI voice platform to bring the DJ’s commentary to life with stunningly realistic voices from text.
WHERE TO UNLEASH THE DJ?
Ready to have your own personal AI DJ guide your music journey? Good news! The DJ feature is now available in English for Spotify Premium users in the U.S. and Canada (Try using a VPN 😉). Here’s how to get started:
- Launch the Spotify mobile app on your iOS or Android device and head to the Music Feed on Home.
- Look for the DJ card and tap Play to start the personalized music experience.
- Let Spotify take over and curate a lineup of tracks with insightful commentary on the artists and songs, tailored specifically to your taste.
- Feeling like switching it up? Hit the DJ button located at the bottom right of your screen to explore different genres, moods, and artists. It’s that easy!
So what are you waiting for? Let the DJ be your guide to discovering new music and connecting with your favourite artists on a whole new level.
Music
A song was made and then we became: A conversation with Off The Med’s Lead vocalist Kid Khuthaza pt.1
Published
4 years agoon
June 4, 2021
I always seem to think that people who move and spend a few years overseas tend to forget their home language, slang, or pretty much the essence of where they came from, which is often if not always, not the case. This thought comes from earlier childhood memories of jokes made around celebrities who went to the states, spent a few weeks or months and came back with awkwardly heavy accents and a dodgy loss of expression in their mother tongue.
This interview was another reminder that people have grown more conscious and proud of their identity, especially when they are halfway across the world and away from home… the conversation begins as drizzles of small banter that begin to feel like we’ve just bumped into each other in a queue for a taxi, after years of no communication; “What are you doing up so late in the evening bro?” I ask with enthusiasm, “It’s not late, it’s 8 am here” he responds in a composed manner. I quickly realize that I am so frazzled that I am not aware of the time difference, which is the prime contributor to why we are having this interview about making music in a foreign land(#SoFarGone); I break into nervous laughter and get straight into it, “So I want to get get a bit into who you are and why you do what you do…” my eagerness is quickly curbed by the shuffling of what sounds like plastic packets and the clacking of dishes followed by his lackluster remark, “ Ima kancane, ngi sa seyenza something (Please hold on, I am still doing something)”, It turns out that he is preparing breakfast and that this interview is not about to become typical, but more personal and very close to home.
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Kid Khuthaza carries the undeniable spirit of a love affair between a Rock star and a Hippy, with the dress sense of a retired Russian gangster living in Boksburg. He exudes an endless amount of confidence in his verses as well as when he commands a crowd who probably do not know what the hell he is saying. He is a proud member of Off The Meds a Swedish/South African group consisting of super producers Adrian Lux, Carli Löf and Måns Glaeser as well as him – vocalist/MC Kamohelo Khoaripe known by his stage name Kid Khutaza. The group formed by chance or fate if you will – all the way in 2017 which feels quite like yesterday considering how consistent they as a group have been over the years.
Kid Khuthaza is definitely a name to remember when imagining the sounds of tomorrow, his guttural voice coupled with his minimalist kwaito-styled verses resonate with the monotonous yet quick-witted streets of a South African township as well as the high energy and teen spirited nature of the alternative Swedish club scene.
“The guy I’m currently staying with now had an after-party down the road from the studio, a song was made and then we became.”
As I anxiously wait at the rare sight of a quiet night in the township, I make a quick and silent wish that we do not experience an unwelcome visitor in the form of Load shedding (Load shedding is aimed at removing the load from the power system when there is an imbalance between the electricity available and the demand for electricity often leading to hours of no electricity in various South African business and residential areas alike). I begin to think about how Kid Khutaza started creating as a photographer before delving into music.
I glance over my questions and try to formulate them in my head in the most natural way possible, and it becomes clear to me how important this conversation is to the culture, as I paddle frantically under the deep waters of over-preparing while adjusting my voice to mimic the gracious poise of a duck with water running off its back…in a few seconds he interjects, “Se ngi grand, I’m ready”
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Is it pronounced Khuthatza or Khataza? – two words that have different meanings but are very synonymous in the hood. “You are the journalist, you should know” He responds with a much welcomed and smug sense of identity, “You can pronounce it however you want, it’s the same thing, it’s, however, you want it…that’s what I like about the name” he exclaims in isiZulu while he continues to eat in the background. We break into laughter as we talk about his bold move overseas and if he ever thinks about the moment he decided to fly out and start a new life, “I don’t think about the moment as much, it comes up here and there when people ask me or like once or twice a month at random times I’d be like f^@# there are only white people around me”.
It was amongst such company that 4 years prior to our interview he would meet soon to be, members of the Off The Meds. “The guy I’m currently staying with now” he calmly states, “had an after-party down the road from the studio, a song was made and then we became.”
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As we delve deeper, Khutaza delivers a heartfelt explanation of how they make and perform their tunes and it begins to become engrossingly evident how the inception of how the group met, melds into how their sound is formed, which in most cases is the result of them as friends having fun and seeing what music forms from that joy and ultimately where it takes them. “Everyone has their different influences, so we just get into the studio and blend it together then it just becomes an Off The Meds sound. It’s not a Swedish sound or South African sound it’s really just experimental, we just having fun”.
The coming together of these individuals has resulted in them performing at global music festivals. I began to wonder how he felt being jolted onto those stages and what he had gathered from being part of such experiences. “The first one was a bit big as well, a lot more weird than big; It was at an Absolut midsommar Festival and Kuli Chana was playing there as well, I bumped into him there and we spoke, I think someone must have told him about me or said that a guy from South Africa just came in (laughs) anyways it started raining and we couldn’t play on the main stage and we ended up playing under a tent, I was pretty nervous and it took me like 10 minutes to go on and perform. Every time they played the song, people expected me to jump on and I was like “no,no,no.”…eventually they just let it play and I just went on.”
My curiosity led me to enquire a bit more about whether he still gets these butterflies or it pretty much becomes like riding a bike. He maintains his assured tone in his response, “I still get a bit nervous, but it depends on the gig…I mean I still get a bit of social anxiety because we don’t plan our sets or rehearse, we just go there and just start playing…we play like a proper DJ set and there’s no “hey thanks for coming”, we just play and get off the stage. It’s like a DJ set, that’s how we do it because it’s really Dance music and I’m just trying to hype the people up, so there’s never really a plan or an order, they just play the music and I jump on and maybe sometimes they’ll play something different and I will just improvise.”
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At this point in the conversation, it has become evident that Kid Khuthaza has found comfort in his identity in a foreign land and that his contributions have been well received by the Swedish audience as well as his band members, his responses are effortless, heavily loaded and yet so succinct, very similar to his delivery of verses and bars that he lays down for Off The Meds. His style of delivery is extremely reminiscent of that of a Kwaito .
Kid Khutaza pays homage to the genre through his raw minimalist delivery infused with jovial stories of everyday life laced on very experimental and alternative beats, I began to wonder if his style is premeditated or naturally a part of who he is; “It’s pretty easy for me to write monotonous lyrics, I’d do like an 8 bar and do the hook then repeat the 8 bar, which is very similar to how Kwaito is or how old school grime is. It makes it easier for people to get and then it’s easier for them to sing along. It’s the style of writing I prefer. I write about everyday things and things that happen around me.”
I’m not saying they copied it but they sort of followed that interest.
The history of Kwaito has been one so solid and rooted that it has been difficult for musicians to replicate or carry the flag as custodians of the genre, leading to most believing that the genre has met it’s painful end. It has however remained the soundtrack to our childhoods and thus birthed an evolution if you may of modern musicians who have, just like Khutaza, infused it into their sound to share with a global audience; this topic resonates with both of us as kids “running” the dusty streets of the hood in euphoria looking for the next adventure, stealing peaches, eating amakipkip and ice blocks while the reverberating bass lines and minimal lyrics in the far background play what would be the soundtracks to our youth and for him the impetus to what would become an integral ingredient in his music- I’m filled with so much passion and excitement as I ask: “Everybody is really trying to bring the Kwaito sound back, do you think it’s a beautiful thing or it’s one of those things that people should let go of?”, for the first time in the conversation his response begins with a slight hesitation, as if he is trying to piece the right words together in order to avoid conflict or being misunderstood about a very sensitive topic, he continues to respond “I think there’s a lot of people that are doing it and others who are trying to do it, I can personally reference people like Spoek, OKMalumKoolkat, BFG and Sandy B, but Sandy B has been doing it for a long time, and when Dirty Paraffin was coming out, their songs were Kwaito and they took a lot of influence from like bubblegum music and Euro Disco and Yeah, they done it but they got more hype overseas and once the guys from back home heard it, they tried to jump on it. I’m not saying they copied it but they sort of followed that interest.”
— End of part 1, follow us on social media IG: @kaffeinmagazine, Facebook and Twitter @Kaffeinmagazine or subscribe to receive the link to part 2 of this article when it drops—
Music
La Soülchyld on Flipping R&B/Soul, Dropping an album and making #NewBlackHistoryMusic
Published
6 years agoon
March 28, 2019
Who is La Soülchyld, for those who do not know you?
I am a 22-year-old producer who likes to create music that invades the soul and give my listeners an exciting experience while listening to my work. I was born in Rwanda but I am also Ugandan.
Let’s get down to it, the music. Your sound is eclactic and elemental (with an African tribal touch), where did it all start and why this line of sound?
I started finding my own sound around 3 years ago when I created the name La Soülchyld. It began with me flipping R&B/Soul songs like “I Can Love You” by Mary J. Blige, “You’re Makin Me High” by Toni Braxton and such. Along the way, I kept growing thanks to the amazing collaborations I did with artists like RIVR, Kalo and a long list of other amazing producers whom I learned from. After a few years of producing, I found myself with a sound that I could start experimenting with and that’s when I started infusing Latin/African percussion into my work. The reason I chose that line of sound is that I wanted to represent my continent and give my (mostly US) listeners a chance to fall in love with the sounds of Africa.
3 December 2018, you blessed us with Endless which you worked with Zuks. Please share a bit more about that joint.
s/o to the homie Zuks, he is very talented. At first, he sent me that idea almost finished but I remember at the time he was not feeling the 808s he put. So after receiving the stems, I started working on the build-up to get a sense of the direction it was heading and when I felt the percussive elements were right I just let loose. Messed around with my drums and tried creating an 808 line that I felt was addictive and simple then gave it a structure
…and when it came to putting them all together it almost felt like a missing puzzle piece, it just made sense.
I always spent time experimenting and in the early days when I started as La Soülchyld I found myself focusing on certain aspects of my beats, that being my 808s and my percussion. Once I noticed that. I took time to learn about 808s and listened to more world music that had different percussive elements and when it came to putting them all together it almost felt like a missing puzzle piece, it just made sense. Another contributor that helped me with fusing these elements is my knowledge with the platform I use to make music, Logic Pro X. I have been working with Logic Pro X for 5 years and I am very comfortable with the system.
With so much saturation in music (especially on the net), how do you keep your head above waters and remain fresh and authentic?
The best way I try to do that is by focusing on myself and not worrying about what’s happening online. I take my time with my production and try to find what’s the best way to approach each piece and really move at my own time. By focusing on the quality it helps with my authenticity and brings the right fans to my music. Luckily I am still quite quick when it comes to making ideas and I am able to release a song every month so that helps with keeping above waters.
Speaking on authenticity how’s the vibe like during black history month in your town/city?
Sadly I wouldn’t know. I am currently living in Canada focusing on my Masters in Production. However, I do still read about the amazing things young Ugandans & Rwandans are doing for their country and its always inspiring.
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What is the name of your new project?
My new project is titled LSCHYLD III. LSCHYLD obviously is my short way for writing La Soülchyld. I started this series after my first EP called Chapters of Soül. I released all my best work under the LSCHYLD series and wanted to continue that however instead of making it an EP like the previous 2 I turned it to an album. I felt all the work going into the project was worthy to be on my first album and I’m very happy with it and the amazing features I got on.
What is the most memorable experience with regards to putting together this work?
There were two moments I won’t forget. One was when Michael Akhari sent me back the stems for his guitar part. I have always said he is a beast when it comes to slick guitar work and creating memorable melodies that haunt your mind. So getting back the stems for track 2 I was at a loss for words because I never expected him to exceed the high expectations I already had. The second one was when I found the sample for Moonlight II. The album was already done and was about to be released the next day but I came across that sample and started working on it asap. I managed to finish it and release it along with the others and yea it was fun working on that track.
What can listeners look forward to in the album?
Just some quality Soül. Tried to step outside my comfort zone with different production techniques I don’t normally do, instrumental structures I don’t usually make, going back to sampling tracks I wouldn’t usually sample and really just find new ways of pushing my sound. Focusing on displaying some sort of emotion with each track and communicating that to the listener with different instruments. People can also look forward to the amazing collabs that came out of this project.
Where can our readers get a hold of more of La Soülchyld?
You can find me on Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, Spotify and most streaming services.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lasoulchyld
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lasoulchyld
Written by: Bafana Mjakana