Hakuna Kulala kick off a new white label series with the pressurised debut from Congolese, Kampala-based DJ/producer Oyisse with four kongo tekno drillers
Chasing up that zinger from Leon Duncan, ‘Elembo’ extends a fierce introduction to Oyisse’s inch-tight mutations of gqom, dancehall and Congolese rhythms, including a barking banger starring the hoarse bars of Sekelembele. It’s proper, upfront body music in a guess-again style that Nyege Nyege Tapes’ sibling label Hakuna Kulala have taken to heart, offering a strong taste of nightlife in the Ugandan capital that’s bound to catch fire in clubs across the world.
The two A-side cuts hew to a slower dancehall/dembow tempo, with the staggered kicks and grinding flow of ‘Dark Side’ echoing Afro-Caribbean currents as much as industrial mutations from Shanghai, while ‘Ekopola’ hits with the might of The Big productions, placing urgent Sekelembele vocals on a shark-eyed blend of ragga and gqom rhythms articulated with a tekno intensity.
No doubt the B-side keeps it lip-bitingly on point, squaring up craftier staccato drums recalling Nazar’s hard kuduro rhythms in ‘Pema’, while ’Skunk’ exerts a danker spin on the kind of gqom experiments explored by Menzi, but again taking it back to source in Congolese rhythms.
