Contributing Writer
Rafiki (Krunk / Krunk Kulture) presents his debut solo EP, The Source, released on Joe Delon’s Lisbon-based label Welt Discos.
The Source EP showcases Rafiki’s musical philosophy perfectly. On the EP, he throws three decades of UK rave culture genres into the melting pot (hardcore, house, breaks, garage and bass), adds his own Indian heritage, and gives it a healthy stir. The results are conclusive: Original yet classic, familiar yet fresh. Each of the four tracks on The Source EP manage to find this sweet spot.
A London Sound kicks things off strongly. House, breaks and a wild synth are rolled together to create an out-and-out club banger, as shown by the incredible reception when played on the Daytimers Boiler Room takeover. Think acid strobes and bass stacks, entwined with the smell of smoke machines, enticing you to an East London basement where it’s all about the sound, the lights, and the bodies twisting around you in the darkness.
Next on the EP comes the title track The Source. Dark, haunting melodies wrestle to harness the uncompromisingly wicked drum track. The result is something brooding yet blistering like an end of level baddy approaching you across the dancefloor. Starting with some really funky breaks, Where Is The Honey? moves up through the gears into a driving 4/4. A huge acid bassline is tempered by bittersweet synths. Fizzing up and down several octaves, Varied Sciences closes the EP. This track takes machine funk to the next level. An acid twitching melody set down over ringing, metallic drums, this is a track that appeals to the brain and the feet.
Started by Joe Delon in Lisbon in 2019, Welt Discos is a label driven by a love of musicality. Reflecting Joe’s own taste as a DJ, the label pushes body-moving grooves from across the dance music spectrum. One ear is always turned to the pop, snap and funk of early synthesised club sounds.
Buy The Source EP at weltdiscos.bandcamp.com/album/the-source-ep-wltd007