While most DJs might host wild parties in their hotel rooms, the Paris-based South African DJ producer Mo Laudi prefers quiet jamming sessions with traditional musicians. After the Africa 4 Tech conference in Marrakech, he invited the Moroccan collective Abderahim Bana back to his and produced a spellbinding new track.
‘Abderrahim Bana are Moroccan legends,’ Mo Laudi explained. ‘I loved what they did, the sound of the gambri guitar, the castanets and the vocal chants when they performed was so trippy like a trance, it reminded me of my own music DJing 5am in the morning taking the audience to a foreign land.’
The connection he felt went deeper. ‘I could hear South Africa rhythms in their music and I felt a strong connection… I like making bridges connecting north and south Africa, traditional with modern, live music with digital…’
The process, though intricate, took place over just one night, he says. ‘I invited them over to my room and layed down an Afro-house beat and while they were chilling on the patio, after I asked them how it sounded. Step by step I recorded the different parts, later added the synth that follows the gambri. Raw bedroom producer meets field recording.’
https://www.instagram.com/p/BMmYAhUjlBW/?taken-by=mo_laudi&hl=en
And he doesn’t want it to be a one-night stand. ‘They are super talented guys, I would love to do more tracks with them one day I would love to have this project on tour… but that’s after my EP which I’m releasing soon…’
Mo Laudi’s EP is coming out soon on Globalisto. Stay tuned to TRUE Africa and we’ll let you know when.