In honour of a remix/mash-up I’m working on, this week’s Throwback is going to be a 2 for 1!
I was first introduced to the Saafi Brothers in the mid to late 90s. I wasn’t much into them at the time, although I was impressed by the blue coloured vinyl on which I was hearing them 🙂
Many years later, for whatever reason, I decided to check them out again. It was then that I truly came to appreciate the real depth of their material. The archetype of their sound is a combination of psytrance, dub and downtempo. Although this has since become a fairly common sound it would have been pretty unique at the time. You might say they were pioneers in this regard.
Occasionally they produce more dance-floor-oriented tracks, but in my opinion, their strength lies in the more cerebral stuff. These are really tracks for reflection and introspection, which is probably a big part of the reason I’m drawn to them.
“Together in Silence” from Mystic Cigarettes c. 1997:
“Wellness Farm” from Midnight’s Children c. 2000:
If you enjoy these tracks I’d suggest you also check out Summerhills (from Liquid Beach c. 20303) – it’s a shining example of their subtle approach to building up tracks. Oh and stay tuned for more details on my remix/mash-up of these two songs 🙂