17/07/2018
Felix Laband is the O.G of South African Electronica . His first album “ Thin shoes in June “ was released in 2001 and was a first in a country which was healing from Apartheid and certainly did not have any experimental record labels to speak of . African Dope was probably the first underground label to make any noise and was responsible for introducing Laband to the world . The album was an unexpected success and was the beginning of a musical career that has been going strong for nearly twenty years now . Laband’s refusal to compromise and his dedication to creating beautiful and strange music that sits outside of hip genres and fashionable trends has been one of the main reasons for his enduring success in a world completely over - saturated with mindless , soulless electronic music .
Laband’s musical career has not been an easy one as Felix also seems to be the Master of self sabotage and disappearing off the face of the earth . Just when Felix signed with German record label “ Compost “ and Universal publishing, Berlin, for his critically acclaimed 3rd album “ Dark days exit “ in 2005 , Laband literally disappeared from the music scene instead of touring and promoting the album . This did not stop the album from spreading and gaining him a huge international fan base .
Compost records has been regularly repressing the album on vinyl due to popular demand, with the last pressing in 2017 . The album is still lauded and has gained a whole new generation of loyal fans .
Just when the general consensus was that Felix had stopped making music , he surprised everybody by releasing his 4th full length album “ Deaf Safari “ in 2015 . The album has been a huge success with tracks like “ ding d**g thing “ receiving over a million hits on Spotify . This was followed by “ bag of bones E.P “ released on vinyl in 2016 which also gained much critical acclaim .
Laband is now about to release “ TIKNO SESSIONS 2007 to 2018 “ a huge body of work that Felix is very excited about . Felix has also recently released a Re issue of his own personal favourite album from 2002 “ 4/4 Down the stairs “ on limited edition double vinyl format . The album is currently available from roastinrecords.com who pressed the album.
Turning 41 years old in September and about to start a whole new exciting phase of touring and recording , Felix feels that he is in the height of his career . He has also been exhibiting his art with many exhibitions through his art label representatives Kalashnikov, a very rewarding experience for Laband .
“ I feel I am at the point where everything is starting to make sense . I am so grateful to all my fans who have kept supporting me through good and bad times and I am so excited to start touring again and merging everything I do into a whole new experience that I feel very confidant and most importantly , passionate about ! I love making beautiful / challenging creations . Having the opportunity to create stuff that inspires people is a gift and I plan to make the most of the talents I have been blessed with ! “
Keep your eyes on Labands Instagram and soundcloud as he plans to start uploading lots of his new work leading up to the release of “ TIKNO SESSIONS “ which will be a music and art release .
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