Wah Wah 45s present two cover versions from Afro-electronic duo, Raz & Afla. Having recently released their sophomore LP, Echoes Of Resistance, to great acclaim and support ranging from Nick Grimshaw on BBC 6 Music to Tash LC on BBC Radio 1, the pair then delivered their unique take of the Richie Havens & Odyssey classic Going Back To My Roots.
“We love this song. The lyrics resonate with us, talking about the meaning of connection to a land and its people. The history of this song is also fascinating, from Hugh Masekela and Orlando Julius through Odyssey and Richie Havens. We wanted to give it our own flavour. You can’t choose your heritage and where you are born. It is always a part of you and we like to celebrate that.”
Written and first recorded by Lamont Dozier in 1977, Going Back To My Roots was famously covered by Richie Havens in 1980 before becoming a huge crossover hit when interpreted by disco outfit Odyssey in 1981. It’s that version that provides the inspiration for the artwork on this release, courtesy of designer Michael Sallit, but musically Raz & Afla very much give their take their own unique dance floor feeling.
The follow up is something of a left turn, tackling Aphex Twin’s sleazy and sinister turn-of-the-century dance floor bomb Windowlicker and taking it somewhere completely unexpected, as Raz explains: “We wanted to go to a different place from our influences for this one. When we told people we will cover this tune everyone said ‘but how?!’ In Raz & Afla style. We had an idea of what elements to recreate from the original and how we can reference it within our spectrum of sounds. It was so much fun to do and really kicks off at our live shows.“
It’s a heavily percussive reinterpretation, replete with spooky wordless vocals, guitars and synths that builds into something of a future Afro-house anthem, whilst respecting the genius of the original recording. And it’s not only the music that is paid tribute to, with graphic designer Michael Sallit once again coming up trumps and here using the inspiration of Chris Cunningham’s iconic artwork to deliver an equally tongue-in-cheek thing of beauty.
Listen to Windowlicker and Going Back To My Roots here
Press release courtesy of Only Good Stuff
