Wild City #072 - Hamza

New Delhi based Hamza has attained a reputation as a pioneer of the house music scene in India and one of the most innovative and exciting producers nationwide. Pushing a diverse and international sound, he's influenced by his strong musical background as well as growing up in India and traveling the world, living in cities such as Paris, Boston and New York. Hamza combines deep, tribal, and funky sounds with strong world music influences. This is evident when you put your ear to anything coming out on the Wind Horse Records camp - a label he set up back in 2011. From its very first release Wind Horse quickly garnered attention from notable figures such as Dubfire, Peter Kruder (Kruder & Dorfmeister), Richie Hawtin, Quentin Harris, and Tom Findlay (Groove Armada). Hamza also used the label's channels to work with some of the biggest names in world music, including Punjabi vocalist Jasbir Jassi, Tibetan singer-songwriter Yungchen Lhamo, and David Hykes, the only western vocalist specialising in Mongolian chants. After additional EPs and albums from Indian artists like Vipul, Audio Units, Vinayak^A, and international artists Mink and Gion, the label recently celebrated its twentieth release: Hamza’s debut artist album, Gitano. Gitano was a masterpiece. Taking in the sounds of guitars, trumpets, congas and timbales of folk percussion, it instantly turned these ever-recognisable sounds in to club-friendly rollers. Incredibly balanced music, it's held together by tribal percussion that seems to be in a continuous state of forward motion. Yet a straight 4x4 beat holds everything together, a solid kick and clap combo that makes the album compatible with electro and techno. One of those long time coming mixes, #072 in the series is a celebration of this release. Over the course of more than an hour, it shows continual emphasis on synthesised melodies, unobtrusive rhythms, airy vocals and an upbeat tone. Even when he digs deep into his archives, there's something familiar about the music on offer, not to mention a real sense of continuity from one song to the next. For a tracklist and further info, head over here: http://www.thewildcity.com/EN/music.xhtml/article/5366-wild-city-072-hamza