New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Wind Horse Records) In the latest Wind Horse Records release from Hamza, India's leading house music producer, he continues to ambitiously collaborate with amazing talent that most house DJs could only dream of working with. For the Wind Horse Rising EP,
Hamza magically enlists the formidable vocal talent of Yungchen Lhamo, a Tibetan singer living in exile in New York City. Lhamo is world renowned, winning an Australian Grammy and appearing on songs with the likes of
Annie Lennox,
Natalie Merchant, and Billy Corgan from Smashing Pumpkins. She was also signed to
Peter Gabriel's revered Realworld Records label.
Mesmerized by her voice and unintimidated by her profile, Hamza wrote Yungchen Lhamo asking if she might be interested in collaborating on a house music track for Wind Horse. To Hamza's surprise, Lhamo not only enthusiastically replied but also proposed an in-person cooperation; she would fly to Delhi at her own expense for the studio session. Upon her arrival Hamza and Lhamo immediately clicked and the creativity flowed. Lhamo's two-day visit suddenly turned into two weeks, and the result is "Wind Horse Rising."
"Wind Horse Rising" begins in disguise with a deep, tech-house groove. Then Lhamo's spine tingling vocal rises from the machine rhythm alerting the listener this is quite a special dance music track. Hamza's use of exotic textures and dramatic breakdowns embrace the vocal rather than distracting from it, creating a perfect, uplifting synergy for the dance floor. Spacious and tightly driven at the same time, Hamza's production expertise is even more evident in his alternate Dub version, adding further fuel to a DJ's fire.
Working with Hamza was such a positive experience for Yungchen Lhamo that she contributed one of her own tracks, "Middle Of Nowhere," to close the single. Recorded last year, Lahmo entrusted Hamza with the parts and allowed him to now remix it in a Wind Horse style. Hamza responded with one his most beautiful works. "Middle Of Nowhere" features a lush and vibrant music bed that seemingly cradles Lhamo's vocal. Exotic percussion and warm pads fill the air over a four-on-the-floor kick drum in an expressive and otherworldly production. This is a track the DJ would play for someone who doesn't believe in the unlimited potential of house music.
Says Hamza, "Wind Horse refers to the energy that creates positivity in our bodies and souls. This EP for us is an offering." The Wind Horse Rising EP marks the tenth release for the Delhi-based imprint. Hamza sees this symbolically as the closing of a chapter and the opening of the next. "We are super-charged and hope that we can now share our ideas with other producers and remixers from other parts of the globe, even further spreading our vibe to different dance floors worldwide." Stay tuned for the next exciting phase for Wind Horse Records and Hamza.
