Okapii

Copenhagen crew Okapii represents with the spectactular groover, Don’t Mind The Rain. “The group explores west african music by putting a future twist to it,” is all the info I received from their label but I need to know when the album is dropping. Alex Rita’s vocals are mesmerizing and I love the instrumentation. We’ll keep you posted! - Bama Love Soul

Who would have thought the afrojam of the year would come from the land that gave us Lego blocks? Denmark's own Okapii recently released their second single "Gattu," which fuses African percussion and electronic beats to give us a sweet pop confection. Okapii Is the brainchild of producer Mads Oustroup and singer Alex Rita, whose heavenly vocals provide the pop sensibility to "Gattu" and give the song a universality. The Afro-electronic combination generates a bouncy and infectious groove that will touch everybody from Copenhagen to Compton. Between this track and their debut single "Don't Mind The Rain," Okapii is firmly on our radar. - SoulBounce

Together, Scandinavians Mads Oustrup & Alex Rita Bramsen are Okapii. Neither see much in the way of sun in their respective bases of Copenhagen and London but they’ve perspicaciously managed to create music reminiscent of sun rays of warmer climates.

Influenced by west African rhythms, soul and electronic music, Okapii’s overall sound has a melodic electro pop feel that fans of Little Dragon and Quadron would be pleased to hear.

As part of the recent showcase at Roundhouse Rising, the pair debuted a collaborative set created during the CDR bootcamp to a receptive London audience. We have no doubt that this was just one of many Okapii gigs in London, Copenhagen or anywhere in need of some sunshine. - Steph McLaren

Most times when we reflect on the great releases of any year, we tend to lean towards full length projects or at least EP’s, forgetting that there were great singles released by artists that may not have a finished a project for that year. 2013 most certainly saw many singles released. here’s my list of top 10 lone singles.

Will Work For Love / Charles Hammond Jr.
Goodnight / Philip Owusu
In The Meantime / KING
Da Da N Da / Chante Cann ft. Snarky Puppy
All The Joy / Moonchild
Something About You / Dornik
Twelve / Shafiq Husayn
More In Love / The Baylor Project
Rose Tea / B.jamelle & Diggs Duke
Don’t Mind The Rain / Okapii - Duane Powell

CDR x Roundhouse Rising runnings well underway! Who’s been following our diary snippets from the production lab? (Click click, Day 1, day 2 and 3) All stems lead towards this Saturday’s live (and now sold out) event with Shlomo, Ego Ella May, and Okapii. To add background to the beats, we spoke with Alex Rita of Danish duo, Okapii. Tak!

When and where did you first hear about or attend CDR? What do you recall?
In Copenhagen around 2012? Can’t remember exactly, But I do remember thinking this is nice, a community for all the geeks. LOVE IT.

What do CDR / Roundhouse Rising attendees have in store for them when you represent on February 22'nd?

I hope people will sway and feel the warmth, and forget about cold London for a moment while they listen. Also expect some really talented musicians who care about the harmonies/melodies and who put their heart into what they do. Last but not least expect my knees to be a little shaky!

Musical/creative ambitions/resolutions for the year ahead?

Finish our album and I’m getting more and more into making videos. So some funky music videos for our new material. Hopefully play some more live gigs!

Please give a brief (or not!) description of your audio production/recording setup?

We’ve been fortunate so far to be in a studio that has everything! Logic, a mic for me, lots of percussion and nice stuff that makes sweet little sounds, I’m not sure what all our gear is called. You’ll have to ask Mads [Oustrup] about that.

Any music makers you’d love to collab with?

YES, Sampha, Sampha Sampha! I think his voice is one of the best I’ve heard in years. I saw him play 3 tracks as a warm-up for Andrew Ashong. I started crying! Only Stevie and Donny can do that, Bob too. You know when you start crying that’s serious! Tuesday Born, is another artist i would love to collaborate with. I’m also starting to think about who could remix some of our new stuff.

Who/What has been on heavy rotation on your audio player of late?

Flying Ibex (some of the most beautiful music I’ve ever heard. It’s a mystery to me why they are not touring the world) Sampha, Mo Kolours, Alice Coltrane, The Room Below Boiler Room set.

Please talk us through the track you last [cmd] ‘S’d ? ([ctrl] ‘S’ to PC users) [in other words, last project you saved]

I went to CDR in London – Feb 9th and submitted Storm, a track from our upcoming album. It’s percussion driven little 2 minute track. Actually it’s sort of like an interlude. We only recorded live strings on it and I think it has lifted the whole track a lot. It was amazing to hear the strings out loud. But as it is still work in progress my vocals was quite high and that ended up being all I could think about!

Finally, have you any advice or words of warning for producers/musicians/vocalists developing musical works in progress to play at CDR?

Warning: If you are a bit shy about your music, go to CDR alone. Then when your track comes on no one will know you made it and you can just listen to it on the amazing sound system without feeling pressure from what others might think. (hopefully the person standing next to you won’t say “ughr, that was a horrible track”) Advice: Don’t be shy, don’t feel pressure. Bring all your nerdy music friends and meet some lovely like-minded passionate musicians!! You might even meet a new friend icon biggrin CDR Preamble: Okapii

More Okapii goodness at okapii.bandcamp.com, Facebook, and YouTube. - Tony Nwachukwu

Apparently duos are the new black, straight from Copenhagen we come across Alexandra Rita Bramsen and Mads Oustrup and together they introduce us the project Okapii.

The track "Gattu" has a vibrant and at the same time relaxing sound. It feels so tropical and chillaxing with the catchy ’Gattu, gattu, gattu’ in the chorus that you would hardly think it’s almost winter time as you listen to it.

The ethereal tones and melody combined with the soothing female voice playfully create the perfect balance setting up a cheerful mood.

Personally, I’m certainly looking forward to finding out what this duo can bring to the table in the near future with their wavy vibe. - Arletta Przynoga