The Bermudian Obeka is back to tell us his pan-African electro-acoustic stories in a new EP entitled Summertyme. PAM presents an exclusive look at the eponymous music video.
Just a year ago, Obeka was introduced to PAM with the experimental EP, Move Like So, a unique fusion of his roots and UK club culture. Based in Manchester since he was 16 years old, it is with an undisguised nostalgia that the producer has shaped this new EP, reviving sounds, flavours and traditions buried in his memories. A fervent ambassador of the mixed Caribbean and pan-African musical cultures that characterize his island, Obeka also draws inspiration from musical tales brought back from South Africa, Jamaica, France, the UK and Cuba. The encounters with these people and communities that have shaped his personality as an artist can be heard on six new tracks with palpable emotions, shared with three guests from different backgrounds: Jamaica’s I Jahbar, Manchester’s Drowzee and South African gqom figure Mxshi Mo. From the organic softness of “Shimmers” to the almost dreamlike ragga of “Chaka Zulu” and the ethereal polyrhythms of “All of Us”, the EP transposes the soul of the archipelago into the clubs, also sublimated by the feel-good “Summertyme”, the EP’s flagship track and the subject of the video clip presented here. Obeka and Steadman Baptiste from Trinidad and Tobago express themselves in wide open spaces, imagining a return home through shared experiences of the past, present and future.
“The roots of the island character exist forever beyond drastic changes or changes relating to travel. An island spirit finds its shape and evolution through what it remembers best. Movement, sounds, peace, identity, family, culture, and nature. Traveling while remaining present, all within reach, in one place.”
Summertyme out now via SummerTyme Records. Follow Obeka on Instagram.
