from Civil disobedience - လ​ူ​ထ​ု​မ​န​ာ​ခ​ံ​မ​ှ​ု part 1​/​4, released February 24, 2021
The Togolese Rapper and political activist Yao Bobby collaborates with swiss noisemaker Simon Grab. An intense Soundbattle between energetic rhymes fired into a dark soundworld of raw electronic bass pulsations with a dubby punk attitude, produced on an incorrectly wired mixing desk. Rap meets experimental noise electronics.

What happens if one of the most distinguished rappers of the African continent meets Swiss production madness? With their «Diamonds» EP Rap activist Yao Bobby from Togo and Swiss based Simon Grab deliver a more than adequate answer to this more than adequate question. Hip hop, industrial techno and dubby noise music flow together as a futuristic melange, providing a proper surface for Bobby’s specific flow and tombs of bass, feedback, loops and minimal clicks. As co-founder of a pan-African hip-hop movement and representative of African music history, Yao Bobby writes in both French and Ewe, allowing his lyrics inspired by Kora and Afrobeat to confidently glide over the drumming, dub and noise beats of Ganzerplatz studio co-operator Simon Grab. The two sound artists are supported by of Asian Dub Foundation´s very own Aniruddha Das. Under his moniker Dhangsha (Bengali for „destruction“) the cofounder and bassist of the British electronica collective stands for gloomy sound explorations characterised by minimalism and repetition.

simongrab.bandcamp.com/album/diamonds
dhangsha.bandcamp.com