Premiere: Reda Saiarh & Thomas Lavanchy – E-O

Music

An ode to New Beat from the Geneva-based producer on Afrobotic Musiciology.

The door swung wide open with a dramatic thud; in its frame a dark silhouette of a man loomed over the room. Most eyes turned to fix on the entrance, while others cowered beneath their tables, too afraid to make eye contact with the strange figure. He wasn’t completely shrouded in mystery, however. In fact, many had been expecting the day he’d darken their doorway, but they never thought it would actually come. From the stories they’d been told, this situation could go one of two ways; they had to hope and pray that luck was on their side.

Last May, Moroccan-born, Geneva-based producer Reda Saiarh released his first EP, alongside production partner Ramin Salem, on Rotterdam’s Afrobotic Musicology. The release signalled the duo’s deftness for blending Eastern & Western samples, a trait that’s on display on Reda’s solo return to the label, Let’s Dance. Made up of four New Beat-inspired tracks, an era of music he was put on to through his Dad’s record collection, the release includes a contemporary flip on a Bowie classic, a homage to Yello and an acidic cut laced with Gabonese chants, in partnership with Thomas Lavanchy.