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Track of the Day: sir Was – a Minor Life

• 10th Mar 2016

Not many people can get away with looping a bagpipe under a dreamy slice of lo-fi electronica, but producer sir Was seems to have gotten away with it. As if unsatisfied with that piece of audio magic, he’s also thrown in some recorder samples in a total ‘fuck you’ to convention. We applaud you sir.

You can check out the beautiful video for the downtempo groove of ‘a Minor Life’ below, featuring the artist himself – real name Joel Wästberg.

Growing up in the tiny village of Frillesås on the western coast of Sweden, he had an early career as a jazz saxophonist that led to studying in Gothenburg (where he lives now) and an influential time at the University of Kwasulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa. From there he started focusing more on drums, and immersed himself in discovering pan-African rhythms & sounds, traveling through Mozambique and Zimbabwe, finding musical inspiration all along the way.

The resulting range of styles is as uncommon and refreshing as the story might suggest. It is intricate without feeling complex, with driving beats and dynamically varied instrumentation weaving throughout.