GORDON KOANG / SLEEP D / ANDRAS - "Y DAH / SOUTH SUDAN REMIXES" 12”

 

MUSIC IN EXILE:

Gordon Koang, South Sudan’s enigmatic superstar and ceaseless fountain of infectious pop music, kick starts 2021 by announcing his forthcoming remix EP. Featuring re-workings of tracks from his recent Unity album, today's announcement is joined by the EP's first single, "South Sudan (Andras House Remix)", out now via Music In Exile. In the midst of a run of singles and festival performances around Australia, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, derailing Gordon’s newfound success and growing status as the darling of Melbourne’s vibrant music scene. Forced to find alternatives, Gordon enlisted some of his newfound friends to lend their remix touch to his work, including one of the finest electronic voices in the city's community, Andras. Expertly pairing Gordon's vocal performance to a hypnotic house rhythm, Andras' "South Sudan" now finds new meaning and audience within the electronic music genre. Immediately developing a collaborative working relationship, today's re-imagination showcases the sweet spot where the pairs' distinct musical styles can co-exist and create their own unique sound. Andras on the remix: "Gordon’s voice carried me through this remix project. My remix is the same track with some empty space in it, an extended breakdown, and… yes…. I made the bass drum louder. I also popped Gordon’s accapella over a ‘Bubblegum’ style backing track. But feeling there was a great likelihood i’d garbled the lyrics (given I don’t speak Neur or Arabic) I promptly deleted all the session files and suggested leaving the original intention intact (see above). But with Gordon’s blessing, here’s that dodgy tape remix, a kind of sonorous justice, given the poor quality digitised tapes through which I got much of my African musical education. I thank Gordon for his willingness to share the fuzz."