The newest offering from Miles Cleret’s Soundway Records is a dubbed out cut of‘Hafi Deo’ by Congolese soukous pioneer Tabu Ley Rochereau, rearranged by UK record dealer Nick The Record and Idjut Boys member Dan Tyler. Though the original version was released on Tabu Ley’s very own Genidia Records in 1985, Soundway had already repressed it to a 12” in 2014 following Tabu’s death, which left a legacy of 250 albums and over 3000 songs behind him.
Whilst the original version hits us with the memorable vocal hook in the first few seconds, this spaced out cut is more patient in slowly introducing its themes, resulting in a euphoric and slow burning dance floor weapon built on rolling drum machines and spiralling delays. Still doing justice to Tabu Ley’s iconic pop mix, the track holds off on the vocals for a full two and a half minutes, making them even more impactful when they’re finally introduced. This is a subtle yet tasteful remix and we would expect nothing less on Soundway’s ever-growing catalogue.
Hafi Deo is joined on the A-side by Frankie Francis’ edit of Steve Monite – Only You. Both are released 25th August – buy from Soundway’s bandcamp.
