Roman-Turntablist DJ Khalab
Dele Sosimi’s album ‘You No Fit Touch Am’ was released in 2015 to much universal acclaim. A perfect document of the lessons the keyboard master and vocalist learned in Fela Kuti’s ranks during the 70s and 80s, but brought firmly up-to-date and with contemporary social comment as vital to the Afrobeat genre as any rhythm or instrument. In 2016, to take that forward thinking even further, Wah Wah 45s commissioned four huge remixes from a quartet of the UK’s most interesting new production names.
That was just part one of the story though – this year the label can reveal the final four remixes to be taken from this hugely popular and influential project.
Setting their sites further afield, first up is Roman turntablist and producer DJ Khalab. Since winning Track of the Year at Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide Awards in 2016 for his collaboration with Baba Sissiko, this talented Italian has been very much in demand. His remix of Dele’s heavy hitter ‘E Go Betta’ combines sprightly electronics with ear-bending bass drops to provide a forward thinking dance floor destroyer.
Along side Khalab comes new boy to the scene and a definite name to watch in 2017, O’Flynn. His debut release on Blip Records was a percussive monster and something of a head-turner, and his latest offering on his very own imprint caught the ear of Gilles Peterson, among others. O’Flynn’s re-edit of ‘E Go Betta’, one which gives it a little more foot friendly bounce, emerged on Wah Wah 45s in digital form last year, but proved so popular that it had to be included in this heavyweight 12-inch release.
Irreverent Album Cut
On the flip, irreverent album cut ‘I Don’t Care’ gets two very different re-works for two very different London based producers. First up, XVI recording artist Books comes through with a firing Afro-jazz/house workout aimed directly at feet, whereas Wah Wah 45s family member and up-and-coming knob-twiddler in his own right, Bopperson, offers up a more mid-tempo tropical delight – the perfect way to complete this stunning selection of remixes.
Once again, Wah Wah 45s have delivered four tracks of killer dance floor fodder for pretty much every occasion. Taking the already incendiary music of Dele Sosimi in a more angular and electronic direction, worthy of another 12″ release on this most discerning imprint, we’re sure you’ll agree.
Born in Hackney, East London, but soon to return to his parents’ native Nigeria at the age of four, Dele Sosimi was schooled and raised in Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s shadow at the height of early 70s afrobeat. Having been chosen by Fela to join his band at somewhat of a tender age, he was still a young man when sharing Fela’s Glastonbury stage in 1984, and became both Musical Director for both Fela’s Egypt 80 and Femi Kuti’s Positive Force.
After Fela’s passing in 1997, Dele went on to concentrate on his own solo career and, with diligent patience, carved out his own Afrobeat crown. In London, where he now resides, his Afrobeat Vibration all-nighters are charged with his passion, labours and his unrelenting spirit and deliver Fela classics alongside his own compositions from his first two studio albums, Turbulent Times, and Identity.
London’s new Afrobeat king is here to party and you’re all welcome to join in!
Previous radio support comes from Lauren Laverne, Gilles Peterson, Guy Garvey and Huey Morgan on BBC Radio 6 Music and many more worldwide.
Dele will be celebrating this release with a full live show at The Bussey Building in Peckham, South-East London on March 17thwith support from Soothsayers, DJ Khalab and Wah Wah 45s DJs.
Reactions
“The second version instalment that explores Kuti student Sosimi’s 2015 album You No Fit Touch Am, Wah Wah have recruited more innovators to take fresh perspectives on Dele’s crisp Afrobeat. DJ Khalab mirrors the guitars with rising synth textures that sit subtly in the background adding more tension that’s released with a brilliant blunt bass hook. O Flynn adds just a little dubby disco charm to “E Go Betta” while Books gives “I Don’t Care” a serious twist as it intros with swooshing Hidden Orchestra style breaks before dipping into a chugging house stomp. Bopperson closes on a slow smouldering note, creating more space around the Dele’s beautiful instrumentation. Refixes fit to touch.” Nik Weston, juno.co.uk/ Mukatsuku Records (United Kingdom)
“Good stuff!” Darker Than Wax
“Sounding good, thank you” DJ Moxie, NTS/ Radio 1 / www.djmoxie.com (United Kingdom)
“Superb!” Chris Greenwood, Stop Making Sense / Bedroom Bar / Soas Radio / Mi-Soul Radio (United Kingdom)
“Fun!” Detroit Swindle (Netherlands)
“I can’t believe you are still managing to get quality out of Dele’s album but with such a fantastic root piece to work with it shouldn’t be that suprising.” Tom Headfunk, Vectis Radio / Headfunk.info (United Kingdom)
“Nice set of remixes – particularly Books.” Alan Gubby, Buried Treasure Radio – The Henley College + Reading College / http://buriedtreasure.bandcamp.com/
“Dele’s tracks just have so much depth to explore and expand on and these remixes are no exception to the power of his music and commentary. Dope remixes going straight into my playlists.” Robert Steer, mixcloud.com/mrlob (Australia)
“Great remixes.” Mathieu / www.bha.co.in
“FULLLLLLL support here.” Michael Stukes, WHCR 90.3 FM (Harlem, USA)
“I don’t care (Books Remix)! Sweet stuff” Radio Nova Lujon / Electronic Mass /
“Love the O’Flynn re-edit of E Go Betta!” Bern Leckie, Chill Radio (United Kingdom)
“AWESOME MIX” Friendly PR (Denmark)
“These originals are strong, it´s hard to beat them but the guys do a fair try.” Måns Strömberg, Radio Helsinki Radio YLE
“I love this; I will get the vinyl for sure, thank you. Full support.” Alex Attias, Radio Couleur 3 (Switzerland)
“More marvellous mixes!” Dan, Detektor FM
“Loving the remixes, actually have 2 favourites, Khalab & Books remixes. Thanks for this. The Books remix is such a lovely tune driven by the bass. Cannot fail to fill a floor with this tune.” DJ Kappa, Radio Reverb, New Web Venture (United Kingdom)
“It sings happiness and pure uplifting beats for the soul!!!!!” Aja Allsop, WSJR (USA) / The Jazz UK / BluesJazz Radio (TX USA) / Electric Lion Radio (London) / Impact Radio (Italy)
“Rahhhhh!!! Love this.” Eavesdrop Radio WKDU 91.7FM/ www.recordbreakin.com / Philly (United States)
“Excellent! A brilliant tune taking to great new places!” Leo / www.jaheire.com (Ireland)
“Winner Remixes!” Chris Exarchopoulos, Black Radio Berlin – Up’n’loud Radio (Germany)
“Nice remixes…” Jason Deckstatic, No.8 / XL / Space Ibiza NYC / 1 Oak Southampton
“Awesome.” Tony Heynen, GlobalRiddims (Belgium)
“Really like the O’Flynn re-edit. Will support.” Steve Hobbs, Solar Radio (Unied Kingdom)
“Class has a name!” Lorenzo, Jockey Club Ibiza / Tiburon Formentera / Royal Plastic Radio Show Ibiza / Lust & Leben Magazin
“Oooh very nice. Like the beats and the electronics. I think the O’Flynn mix fits the radio slot the best. Great release” John, Juice FM 107.2
“Dope Remix from Dj Khalab.” Seb, Radio Krimi
“Very strong remix package. The DJ Khalab remix is fantastic. The O’Flynn and Books remixes are pretty good too.” David Cullen, Oban FM
“Love ’em all – good to see O’Flynn’s edit gets an vinyl outing and whilst DJ Khalab is the hipsters choice [not sure about hipsters but it’s the obvious ‘club’ version]; it’s your man Bopperson’s remix that’s the most intriguing / Wah Wah 45s-ish? love the dubby bit – very nice with a big horn. Brooks’ bangin’ and afro-city centre.” Gerry Hectic, Million Postcards / Futuristica Music / Jazz Chronicles (United Kingdom)
“Nice set of mixes. O’Flynn and Boppers are my faves!” Aly Gillani, First Word Records / Excursions Radio Show (United Kingdom)
“Superbe cette idée de regonfler l’univers de DELE !!! BIG UP FROM “REPUBLIK KALAKUTA”” Jean Marc, Radio Television Suisse / Romande Couleur3 (Switzerland)
“Big up, Dele!” Iván Mera, Higher Street
“Very creative remixes! The original was vintage. This takes this great sound to the next generation.” Jay Paul, WRUV-FM Burlington (United States)
“Nice remix package! O’Flynn, Books and Bopperson are the winners the rallye!” Sven Thomschke, Radio Z 95.8 Nuernberg (Germany)
“Nice.” Hector Pizarro, Vallee FM (France)
“Wonderful stuff boys, love the remix treatment, danceflor bombs right there!!” Richard, Point Blank FM (United Kingdom)
“More great mixes of this outstanding talent. Big up to the Wah Wah boys for more great work.” Shep Kennedy, Likwid (United Kingdom)
“Great selection. Both the I don’t care remixes are awesome – stripped down nicely.” Kengo Oshima, Soho Radio / Cuban Brothers (United Kingdom)
“Great collection of soulful remixes, Neil’s the fave ‘cos it’s pure swagger xx” Jamie Groovement, groovement.co.uk / Reform Radio (United Kingdom)
“Big fan of Dele” Ben, Playlister FM
“Loved this album played it everyday for ages not too enamoured with the remixes. I like the I don’t care Books remix. saying that I can’t wait to hear his new stuff” Andrew Sharp, Stomp Radio / Soul Survivors (United Kingdom)
“Nice mixes! Will support.” Toshio Matsuura, Inter FM897 (Japan)
“Quality remix package !!!!” Markus Milz, “Further In Fusion” Radio Corax 95.9FM (Germany)
“Wonderful. Full support” Dan, Playlister FM/Heavy Hz
“Dancefloor fire!” Mark Stangroom, Pyro / Shapes Of Rhythm
“Excellent as always!!! Great remix.” Veronique, Radio Krim (France)
“Mulimultimulti with soul, attitude and style. Can’t really decide which tune I like the most.” Rene Josquin, Format Analog / Monkey / Solar / Sisyphos
“The whole package is heavy, my favs been the ‘O’Flynn’ and ‘Bopperson’ remixes, can’t wait to feature these on the show!!” Alan, Multi Storey Soul Radio Show, RTE Pulse (Dublin, Ireland)
“The Wah Wah boys never let us down…” Shep Kennedy, Likwid (United Kingdom)
“O’Flynn & Bopperson for me!” Johnny Cush, Shoreditch Radio (United Kingdom)
“Plenty of killer remixes. Dele does it again.” Russ 22/02/2017 11:11 www.soasradio.org (United Kingdom)
“Great collection of remixes, my favourite is the stripped back remix from Bopperson.” Josh Dowler, ‘Global Beats Breakfast’ 1 Brighton FM (United Kingdom)
“cool remixes but my fave is the Bopperson Rmx.. ACE” Simon Harrison, Basic Soul Radio Show (FM, Internet + podcast), Nu-World Mix (samurai.fm) (United Kingdom)
“Hey guys, thanks for the new music, it’s always a pleasure to get some new Wah Wah goodies. Nice remixes, I especially liked the Books one.” Tilos Radio (Hungary)
“Absolutely loved the first re-rub of this great afro artists. This extends the goodness. Fave track = I dont Care (Books)” Jon,Eastside Radio 89.7FM / The Vinyl Frontier
“I don’t care Books Remix – Funky Groove!” Ash, Solar Radio (United Kingdom)
“Solid set of remixes Bopperson and Books are faves.” Aroop Roy (United Kingdom)
“Awesome remix package! Thx” Bernd Roesler, DJ / Remixer / Compiler for Sony Music (Germany)
“This one continues to give and give! I was looking in the Allo Love 6 for a trackto play for Dele’s birthday of earlier this week so something from this will work as well … Incidentally I have given a lot of radio support to Dele Sosimi and Wah Wah tracks if you want to include me in the pantheon!” Debbie G,Resonance 104.4FM / Wycombe Sound London/High Wycombe (United Kingdom)
“Nice. Love this man’s work. Bring him to the US!!!” Phil Gray, KPSU Radio (Portland USA)
“Wah Wah raising the bar as always. Remixes are so often hit and miss these days but this collection is pure fire. SO much so that I think it’s hard to pick a favourite. I think Books Remix edges it…pure driving invention all the way through and some surprise breaks. I cannot wait to play this.” Jelly Jazz club nights / Rambunctious Social Club (United Kingdom)
“Great mixes” Lamp, Coalition, The Hub, Radio Reverb, Coastway Radio, Brighton (United Kingdom)
“This is ace, great source material anyway – killer horns but Khalab’s mix sounds off the wall banging even through my laptop speakers with O’Flynn’s and Books mixes both properly groovy and right up my street. Bopperson rounds things off nicely with a more laid back wig out. Wicked!” Paddy Disco Shed
“Love” Amrisha, Radio 79 / www.iamrisha.com (United Kingdom)
“Loving the traditional sfro-beat build up on the Khalab mix, then that deep sub bass kicks in taking it to another level – perfect for a big system play!” Phil, Starpoint Radio / Likwid / The World! / www.eclecticjazz.com / Soulm8 (United Kingdom)
“GReat guys! Perfecto for my radio shows. Think gonna hit the powerplay list on Oxigénio!” Tiago Santos (Brazil)
“E Go Betta Khalab remix = a right belter!!! Bopperson remix I Don’t Care well jazzy. Nice.” Lubij, KMAH Radio/The Wardrobe/Belgrave/Headrow House (United Kingdom)
“Yo, this iz nice!” Swift, Kwcp 98.9 LPFM Little Rock Ar
“Remixed with intelligence and sensitivity” Derek, KPFK Los Angeles (United States)
“More great mixes!” David Bassin, KUSF / FreeFall
“Digging the remixes, will get some radio love for sure” Paris, Sydney Morning Herald/Fairfax, 2SER 107.3, Eastside FM, Groovescooter
“Loved this album and these remix sound like killer interpretations of the work!” Luke Bolton, Fly High Society/So Flute
“Great remixes doing these tunes justice. Excellent.” Velanche Stewart, Urban Landscapes/California (United States)
“Preferring the edit to the remixes but great stuff.” Chris Read, BBE / So Much Soul / Classic Material / Breakin Bread / www.musicofsubstance.com / www.whosampled.com (United Kingdom)
“Fiiiiiiiiiire! xxxx” Ross, All Over, Hideout Sessions Podcast
“Big party vibes.” Nicole Finnerty, Kane FM 103.7 FM / Flex FM / Festival Radio (Various) / dubtasticmusic.com (United Kingdom)
“Great remixes…love it..thanks” Niksa Dragolin, Eurostar Radio 101.7 FM(Croatia)
DJ Bunuel, Radio Helsinki (Finland)
Moxie, NTS Radio (United Kingdom)
Toshio Matsuura, Radio “Tokyo Moon”, Inter FM89.7 (Japan)
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