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For a whole year Alex Barck was living on the Pacific island La Reunion.
The plan to record here his solo album was soon established. It will be
released later this year on Sonar Kollektiv. The three preliminary 12inches
(„Re-Set“ with Pete Josef, „Don’t Hold Back“ with Jonatan Bäckelie and
„Skydancing“) already accelerated the expectations for Barck’s debut across
all audio blogs and the respective music press. And now follows the fourth
and final vinyl 12inch before we finally can hold the album in our hands.
With the already released Reunion-12inches Barck clearly proved how the
Indian Ocean, the life on an island and its forces of nature have influenced
him musically. „Oh Africa“ is more than inspiration though. It’s the actual
processing of the native Maloya and Séga sounds which Barck learned
about and come to appreciate at his weekly residency at „Potiron’s“ in
Saint Denis.It was at one of these Wednesday nights that he met Christine
Salem. The probably most famous singer of La Reunion soon became a
friend and one of the results of this musical fellowship is „Oh Africa“.
The track is a tribute to Barck’s temporary adoptive home and a declaration of
love to a whole continent. After half of the playtime Barck’s Berlin origins push
through and we are treated with a proud hybrid of traditional African folk and
soulful percussion house. La Reunion has a new national anthem!
If a song has so much soul like „Oh Africa“, a remixer has to pay close
attention not to burn his fingers. That must have been one of the main
reasons why Barck consigned his old acquaintance Osunladeto fulfill the
task. The New York based producer and label boss (Yoruba Records) is on a
roll with flawless, sophisticated releases and remixes for almost twenty years
now (his album „A Man With No Past Originating The Future“ released in
January of this year is another highlight). And this guy surely knows how to
take African elements and lots of Soul to build an ambitious dance track.
That’s exactly what he does with his remix for „Oh Africa“ and thus
makes Reunion No. 4 one of the absolutely essential release of 2013.
A further treat is the remix of „Don’t Hold Back“ by Copy Paste Soul.
The London based producer established his reputation with remixes for
Pepe Bradock and Photek. Known for his slightly left, sometimes broken
deep house his approach corresponds perfectly with the one of Alex
Barck: Lots of bass, even more breaks and a reliable sense for the
things that work on a dance floor without a doubt.
Tracklist
Track 1
Track 2
Track 3