Some time in 2018, the mighty AUF TOGO met with the fierce BECKER & MUKAI in the Sounds And Sons Studios in Shoreditch for a couple of long recording sessions, where they brought together drum machines and guitars, percussions and synthesizers and their combined influences and creativity.
A first EP aptly named AUF TOGO MEETS BECKER & MUKAI was released on SaS Recordings in 2019 with great response from the media and record shops alike. Following the success of their first meetings, they decided to meet up again in 2020 for further sonic adventures. This time, they invited Anita Cualega to place her lovely voice on Aéroplane, a Balearic ode to world travel and the quartet's first foray into song. Steel drums legend Fimber Bravo also popped into the studio to add his magic touch to “Inside The Human Mind”, the quartet's most psychedelic track to date.
The result is AUF TOGO MEETS BECKER & MUKAI AGAIN, another startling release of psychedelic electronic music, that draws influences from Balearic beat to the late 80’s Manchester sound, from psychedelic rock, Jamaican dub and space disco and take the listener on a metaphorical journey through space and time. This record is a singular piece of rugged mid tempo electronic music that works both on a dance floor in Berlin, at sunset in Ibiza or in a living room in London.
AUF TOGO is the combination of Sasa Crnobrnja from In Flagranti (Kitsune, Phantasy, Gomma and many more...) and Mytron & Ofofo (Multi-Culti, les Yeux Oranges...) and Clement Cachot-Coulom from The Fabulous Penetrators and Big Girls. Their combined sound is one of vintage recording equipment and instruments, coupled with the tweaks and blends from the modern studio.
BECKER & MUKAI are Jean-Gabriel Becker (Jeanga And George, Lux Prima...) and Susumu Mukai (Zongamin, Floating Points and many more...) and together present a loose, almost improvised sound that works very well within the rigid confines of house music.
These two outfits getting together in the studio was a match made in heaven, so one long improvised take gave way to another, each protagonist picking up a different instrument each time, recording hooks and beats and dub effects, and ultimately they joined their production skills to create these four gems.
The artwork has been fully hand-drawn by Susumu Mukai and is inspired by the look of 90s reggae dub clashes.