Johannesburg, Friday, 3 December 2021 – The next single off DJ Lag’s upcoming debut album Meeting with the King is an epic club track that sees him collaborate with acclaimed Canadian-American electronic music producer Sinjin Hawke.
Titled “Raptor”, the instrumental represents Gqom’s endless possibilities and manifestations across borders, bringing together DJ Lag’s gift for creating a minimal, percussive-heavy, looping sound with Hawke’s genius for relaying elements of grandeur and melody through his eclectic approach to producing.
“There’s something special about the way Lag uses drums, they’re so tough and epic yet minimal and spacious at the same time, has been a treat working with him,” says Hawke of the collaboration.
“We made a bunch of songs together over the pandemic and ‘Raptor’ stood out as the most potent mix of our styles. It was initially composed as an instrumental for a vocalist, but we later found that it sounded great on its own and decided to release it on Lag’s album as a club track.”
The single is accompanied by a stunning video that opens with DJ Lag and a mythical creature dancing in a space saturated with electric blues – together creating an other-worldly atmosphere. Scenes of Lag and others engaged in near-anarchic dancing complete the compelling visual that makes clear the track’s intention: to get people heaving, in unison, on the dancefloor.
Stream or download DJ Lag and Sinjin Hawke’s ‘Raptor’ here: http://platoon.lnk.to/rapture
Critically acclaimed for his debut solo album, First Opus, and his innovative audiovisual work as Fractal Fantasy with Zora Jones, Hawke has worked on several groundbreaking projects. A specialist in choir manipulation and orchestral arrangements, collaborative pieces with Just Blaze, DJ Rashad and MikeQ paved his way to produce for monoliths like Kanye West and Frank Ocean.
‘Raptor’ will be followed by ‘Destiny’ – a song that brings DJ Lag back home through a powerful collaboration with South African singer songwriter, Amanda Black.
The global anticipation for the release of Meeting with the King has been stoked by DJ Lag’s first DJ Mag cover and a multi-layered feature that traces his journey from its early days, the battles he’s fought to earn his position as a “pioneer of the world-conquering South African dance music genre, gqom” and his deep-seated and ever-expanding creativity. He also recently completed a high-profile tour of Europe, including playing the Boiler Room Festival 2021 in London and Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE).
Connect with DJ Lag on social media and follow his journey to the release of a Meeting with the King out worldwide on 18 February next year.
Connect with DJ Lag:
Facebook: @realdjlag
Twitter: @RealDJLag
Instagram: @realdjlag