South Africa’s leading national radio station 5FM reintroduced Xperia Mashlab several months ago. The Mashlab’s aim is to take two artists, selected by the fans’ votes and have them collaborate on a song. Driven primarily by the fans’ decisions, the process is extremely interactive and thus brings an entirely new element to song writing and collaborative efforts as a whole.
The latest Mashlab effort included two of Cape Town’s biggest current musical groups – electro-rap duo PHFAT and bouncy indie-pop band Al Bairre. Given the fact that there could not be two more sonically diverse bands out there, they pulled off an incredible track together. ‘Caviar Dreams’ is slick, smooth and brimming with dark synths, courtesy of PHFAT’s talented producer, Narch.
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The consistent ebb and flow of the eighties-styled electronic progressions seem to perfectly represent the combined forces of the two bands. The Johnson twins of Al Bairre provide characteristically constant, ethereal backing vocals throughout the track, while the alternative vocals of Mike of PHFAT and Nicholas Preen of Al Bairre seamlessly merge. The 20-second distinctive PHFAT rap, crammed into the last few moments of the track simply adds the cherry on the top of what is, quite honestly, and incredible feat, and simple proof that just the right sort of collaboration can blur the lines between any genre of music.
Words by Skye Mallac