Weekend Weapons…Ray Okpara

Weekend Weapons…Ray Okpara

21 December, 2009 | 7.40AM

• Written by: Terry Church
• Filed under: Music News: johnny d, oslo, ray okpara

Like Johnny D, the driver of the Mannheim house movement, Ray Okpara too attributes his hypnotic house drums and bongo dexterity to his old African roots.

It’s the Nigerian in me man, or something like that. Anyway, his grooves certainly help the Mannheim-Amsterdam percussive house train to roll-on merrily through Europe, as the clubland equivalent of the Orient Express continues to pick up DJs and clubbers at every city.

Okpara sits mainly in the Oslo carriage, but from time to time, he wonders into the Remote Area/Area Remote and Cecille cars.

His ‘Brothers’ EP in March 2009 was particularly well received by DJs, unlike his ‘Swimming To The Moon’ release, which gained about as warm a welcome as a ticket inspector amongst a group of formerly loquacious teenage fare dodgers (read RA’s 1.5/5 review here).

That said, all in all, Ray Okpara’s doubled up basslines and jungle-friendly house rhythms are all above board, and continue to gain fans as the steam roller threatens to turn into a monstrous runaway.

With a few uninspiring copy-cat passengers threatening to cause delays, as is always the case with trends in club music, we asked Ray Okpara to connect us straight to eight of the best bumpty-bumps on the line for this special whistle-stop Weekend Weapons.

Damian Schwarz ‘Holloway’ [Oslo]

This is a great track that buillds up slowly, and what makes it special is that it doesn’t actually have a kick drum. So you can push the crowd to total madness, as nobody knows when the kick will drop. I always have it nearby, ready to go.
 

Smokin’ Jo ‘Umona’ [Area Remote]

It’s a long time no hear for Smokin’ Jo! The first time I heard ‘Umona’ I wanted to play it straight away.

It has a nice break with the melody of an angel, but it builds right up to jack the dancefloor. It’s a great track that’s playable any time during a set, although I tend to play it towards the end.
 

Benja ‘Paradose’ (Christian Burkhardt Remix) [Hive Audio]

This is a party starter, or a party keeper, as it gets the crowd busy or drags them onto the dancefloor. Remixed by my friend Christian Burkhardt, I really like this, although I’d say it’s not the typical Burkhardt sound.

It keeps groovin’ with an old school touch. It has short percussive loops, some open hi-hats and just the right amount of minimal drums. This is deep.
 

Induceve ‘Time To Begin EP’ [Classic Recordings]

One of my favourite labels is Derrick Carter’s legendary Classic Recordings. They put out a lot of the music that inspired me, so I wanted to use this opportunity to highlight one of my favourite EPs from the label, Induceve’s ‘Time To Begin’.

I don’t know how many times I’ve played the AA side ‘Papillon’. There are these warm strings that pull through the whole track and make the record seem like it’s drowning. After a short break the strings build into a melody, only to come back with the same groove and rhythm. It’s very hypnotic.

The A side, ‘Time To Begin’, has one big loop with dubby vocals that talk through the whole song. I love the synth melody that moves the track up and down, and it has these big delays to keep the dub inda club!

‘On You’ is the last track on the EP, but it’s never forgotten. It has a phat kick with filtered sounds that come in and out. I love the vocals, sometimes they’re short, and sometimes they’re long, but always perfectly placed to create a very special atmosphere. The sound reminds me slightly breaks or drum & bass. 

Johnny D ‘Gardaness’ [Oslo]

No words can explain this track, just listen to it and you will understand.

Ray Okpara ‘Tru Crowd’ [Area Remote] (vinyl)

When the party is just kicking off this will make things go even higher. It’s one of my favourites at the moment, and more of a tool with a tech touch.

There are not that many changes in the track, and it only has some tambourine sounds to fill the song, along with a crowd shouting break. It’s not for everybody though. I only play this at peak time in a packed venue.

Silicone Soul ‘Hurt People’ (Bearweasel Remix) [Soma]

I’ve just got the promo for this and I liked it immediately. The Bearweasel Remix just goes straight and straight. Atmospheric sounds fill up the track, some of them are weird but they hit the spot.

I like the uplifting filters and open 909 hi-hats as well. It’s so cool that the track is not too fast and has just the minimum amount of changes in arrangement to work. And it goes on and on and....

Darius Syrossian & Nyar ‘Luis Conte’ (Nick Curly Remix) [Viva Music]

This track keeps saying “pump it” and it has these long, loopy rolling percussion that twists through the air. Then, after the second break, these crazy chord-like sounds come in. I love it. It’s a nice remix job from Nick ‘The Curly’.

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