Dubeats
On Selekta Records in April, Hamza Rahimtula, ‘India’s house pioneer’, and Loopy Juice release 10 slabs of funk that could easily soundtrack a second summer of love.
‘Giving It Up’ leads the way as an absolute groove powerhouse on this – it’s serious heat. But it’s followed by a body of funk-infused deep house scattered with world music reflecting New Delhi roots. The album takes inspiration from all over the globe, with a blends of house and native Indian instruments and singing styles that come together for one monumental groove: tracks like ‘Delhi 2 Paris’ speed up into looping disco-house energy while ‘Ego Invader’ strips back into a simple drum-heavy intense number.
Artist:Hamza Rahimtula & Loopy Juice
Title: Delhi 2 Paris
Label: Selekta Recordings
Release Date: 2021-04-02
Interview with Hamza Rahimtula
Who is Hamza Rahimtula?
I am a Dj/Producer and Label Owner. I started India’s first House Music Label Called ‘Wind Horse Records’ in 2009. Since then, we have represented sounds from our part of the world and contributed to the landscape of house music through injecting our cultural sounds into dance floors worldwide. In Addition we have also introduced house music from different parts of the world to the Indian Sub Continent. Besides Wind Horse, i have released music on label such as Kompakt, Get Physical, King Street Sounds. I live in New Delhi and tour Asia and Europe on a yearly basis, and also perform occasionally in the states.
Tell about your new album on Selekta Recordings?
My New Album is a collection of funk & Disco inspired House tracks i made with “Loopy Juice” that happens to be an Alias of Stereo Nation. Stereo Nation is a Multi Platinum Punjabi (North Indian) Artist living in Birmingham (U.K). Taz, who is man behind Loopy Juice and Stereo Nation is a living legend in India and within the Indian Communities worldwide. He and i have a common love for funk music and through this album, we were both able to delve into our funk identities. To be honest, i don’t how how he agreed to work with me. I am just grateful for the opportunity and also thankful to Dennis and Selekta Recordings for letting us release our music the way we wanted it to be.
Who are your greatest influences?
Joey Youngman
Joey Youngman is just a maestro! He is the only House Music Producer till date that blew my mind. Not only is a master of groove but also a trained musician who knows how to slay those funk licks. He is a wizard in my opinion and because of him, i really started to appreciate house music. His Music taught me there is nothing like a tight house groove!
Jamiroquai
Again, Funk bass lines and vocal hooks like no other. Just a genius and never goes wrong. he has a natural gift to create songs that are not cheesy and can appeal to a commercial music listener and someone with a more adventurous musical appetite.
Highlight Tribe
They made me connect to my primal and tribal roots. These raw organic sounds with speeded up disco psychedelic grooves was just a crazy combination that made me want to go mad on the dance floor. Today I perform live with Gypsy Percussionists in India and we mix all sorts of tribal and world influences with percussion. However we keep things housy, but in a more raw and primal way. Highlight Tribe has done a lot to inspire me in terms of how i want think about live shows.
Can you tell us about scene in India?
India was into Psychadelic music from the 70’s in Goa. Over the last 15 years the Goa trance remained, but the House and Techno also joined the dance floor community. Now we have some heavy duty producers like Unnayanaa, Farhan Rehman, Pawas and Stalvart John. In Addition to these producers there are tons of artists that are making top notch music in their respective genres. We also have many festivals and our own circuit that keeps us busy with gigs ad releases. However, we still have room to spread new sounds and the market here is not saturated. We are a culture that loves to dance is open to many types of music. Its an exciting time here and it’s great to see so much talent.
Indians are musically and technically very very strong! Finally we have a level playing field so in the coming years the world will discover that this is a special region in the world for music. As for parties i love going to, I think Goa is great place now. Lots of interesting scenes. Magnetic fields festival is a top festival.
How have you been keeping busy during lockdown?
Just making music like crazy. Also figuring out my live set. bought some new Roland gear that i am using to figure out how to play live.
What else can we expect from Hamza Rahimtula over the next year?
Have an album series called Banjara Series. The first album from Banjara Series came out in August 2020 which focused on fusing Turkish sounds with House Grooves. This year i have 4 more albums from Banjara Series coming out. Banjara Series Tibet, India, Mali and Spain coming out. The concept is fusing folk sounds of different countries with House Music. This is something i have been doing for a long time, but through this project i intend to showcase these different influences in a more organised manner for listeners.
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-Hamza Rahimtula