Umoja

Umoja

Genres: dub, netherlands, dutch, reggae, House

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About Umoja

Umoja is: 1) a band fron the Netherlands 2) a band from South Africa 1) Umoja is Sjef Rolet and Job de la Porte the quintessential sunshine duo from the wet fields of The Netherlands. The name Umoja is a Swahili word meaning ‘unity’. Beyond being a mere artistic name, the spirit of togetherness (Umoja) is a philosophy shared by the two producers. Between Sjef and Job, Umoja has over a decade of experience dishing out warm dusty grooves. The duo is part of the Amsterdam based INI Movement, an eclectic boutique label, licensing and events platform. The conception of Umoja is not a fable involving neither an A&R exec nor does it involve been stranded in the Amazon rainforest with nothing but two synthesizers. It is rather an organic evolution between two humble groove aficionados whose path crossed over half a decade ago. Both Sjef and Job are Haarlemites born and bred in the commuting town of Haarlem in the Netherlands. The duo came to know each other through their individual production and disc jockeying rendezvous. Their musical partnership would not take off until 8 months later when they collectively built a studio in a massive loft then occupied by Sjef Rolet. The studio became known as the Pigeon Paradise. It was during this period that the two producers intimately got to know the each other’s work. Sjef was at this time more aligned with hip-hop productions and Job with trip hop productions. They however shared a similar trait: an intrinsic appreciation and understanding of world rhythm, the mechanisms of groove and contemporary electronic beats. In the summer of 2011, with some time to spare they both sought to expand their production skills. Unbeknownst to the other, they were both experimenting with sounds from afro-beat and world music traditions. These experimentations later came to be known as the ‘after-pigeon late night sessions’. It was during this period that both producers immensely influenced and learned from each other; the birth of Umoja had arrived. 2) “A monumental career in pop music isn’t easy when the system is built against you. But South African songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist “Om” Alec Khaoli managed to do just that. As apartheid reached its violent peak, Khaoli pursued an escapist form of dance music that resonated across his complicated country, influencing countless legends and releasing recordings across the world. Khaoli first made his name as bass player in the Beaters and later Harari—both legendary, scene-defining Afro-rock and soul outfits. The Beaters played a very late-60s blend of worldly pop and folk, building a scene for creative and experimental rock made by blacks. Their affect on South African popular music cannot be exaggerated. The Beaters evolved into Harari, which played big shows across Africa in the late 1970s, from Namibia to Lesotho, Malawi and Zimbabwe. They had a deal with A&M Records in the States and their records were available in Europe and elsewhere. But it wasn’t until that group eventually birthed Umoja that Khaoli met with multi-platinum success, growing into his own as a creative production powerhouse in the synth-drenched South African pop music of the 1980s and 90s. Starting in 1982, Umoja recorded a succession of hugely successful recordings that reached a crescendo with 1988’s 707. Every song on the short album reached #1 on the South African pop charts and the record went double-platinum. The band changed personnel over the years but Khaoli remained producer, bass player and chief songwriter. Whereas Harari was an all-star group, Umoja was an evolving manifestation of Khaoli’s creative ideas with band members working more as sidemen than collaborators.

Taken from Last.fm

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