04 May 2021by Jarrad Treger
QT-High & Emvafaya – Inner Center EP
Mexican-based Salvador Rizo aka QT-HIGH and New York-based Francis Mercier aka Emvafaya are set to release their Afro-centric masterpiece, ‘Inner Center’, on leading African House music label, Swoon Recordings, including an upbeat remix from label head honcho, Ryan Murgatroyd. Fusing their love for ethnic percussive elements and their own interpretation of the sound of the desert, they match their unique energy with ease and encapsulate their passion for tribal sounds in this offering with excellence that these artists have been known to deliver.
A powerful and memorable bassline leads the title track to the EP, ‘Inner Center’, forward with focus and energy, encapsulated by enigmatic percussion and haunting vocals. Tension building breakdowns and mesmerizing drops, filled with high fidelity soundscapes lead you through this sonic landscape that these two artists have so eloquently crafted, with a confident resolution that shows the true nature and talent of the combination of QT-HIGH and Emvafaya’s production prowess.
Up next, and closing off the EP with a true grace that he has developed continuously from release to release, Ryan Murgatroyd’s remix of the original guides us through a re-envisioning of, ‘Inner Center’, without losing it’s true essence and energy that QT-HIGH and Emvafaya naturally developed. Melancholic vocal edits and cinematic melodies layer the growling bassline and harmonious synth lines that Ryan Murgatroyd has become known for. Delivering another individual take on modern Afro-centric House music and lending yet another example of the quality emerging from the African continent.
Talking about the release, QT-HIGH said, ‘Inner Center speaks to my ethnic and tribal Mexican roots mixed with my love for African percussion’ and Emvafaya had this to say about the release, ‘QT-HIGH and I created ‘Inner Center’ based on our love for ethnic sounds and deep synthesis! We wanted to infuse our interpretation of the sound of the desert with raw synths and percussion.’