If you're a maker of pop music, it's almost a given that your first attraction ought to be vocals. If the vocals aren't on point, then you more than likely must douse them in reverb and pull the direct vocal practically right out of the mix (which is what see a lot in indie/lo-fi music). In the case of the Jinja Safari-co-fronting, Pepa Knight, his vocals are showcased front and center, because they're absolutely compelling. There will be no hiding going on here, and as we find out with tracks like "Rahh!" and his Peter Gabriel-covering "Downside Up", St. Lucia better look out, because there's a new challenger in town for the majestic-pop crown. While "Downside Up" was released last month as the introduction to his new solo project, it's the lead single, "Rahh!", that's kicking off the announcement of his debut album due out later this year. The collection of new songs were originally written and recorded in India on his travels from 2011-2013, but were tragically deleted by accident in October of last year. Luckily for us, Pepa did not let all be lost, as he recently re-recorded everything, and we're sure glad that he did, because his music needs to be heard. [do action="manual-block-quote"]I recorded most of the music for my solo project in India on my laptop. Some songs were written about a particular place I traveled to and I used sounds that were recorded from the same place. ‘Rahh!’ was written on top of an old fort in Rajasthan, waiting for the sun to rise with a bunch of pilgrims and a Sadhu man. The sample at the end of the track is the Sadhu chanting and the drumbeat was inspired by a tabla player I met from the same town[/do] "Rahh!" is available on iTunes now.
Pepa Knight