The Lahaar The Lahaar

• 1Doin' It09:36
• 2Step 205:32
• 3Work Work Work04:20
• 4Super (Kiki)08:19
• 5Chase Scene, Part 103:44
• Total Runtime31:31

Info for The Lahaar

No two ways about this, pop this record on and your swag levels are going through the roof, you're gonna feel like your Shaft or Pam Grier. You're gonna have a funk in your walk and a groove in your step - ya dig? This is the project of Julien Dyne, Horatio Luna and Surprise Chef's Lachlan Stuckey and it's a fuzzy funk banger with elements of space dub, NY alt-disco and cosmic disco - it's a pure city disco funk vibration.

Drawing inspiration from the depths of late 70's NYC proto-rap disco instrumentals, Nigerian boogie, Jamaican dub and modern jazzy house - The Lahaar is a Trans-Tasman collaboration between Julien Dyne, Horatio Luna and Surprise Chef's Lachlan Stuckey, featuring Mara TK and Toby Laing on vocals.

The EP embarks on a 5-track rollercoaster - kicking off with “Doin’ It”, fast-paced jazz-funk peppered with marimba and organ riffs, balanced out by the siren vocals of Mara TK.

“Step 2” suddenly brakes and swerves into cruise mode, repurposing the trumpets and dub echoes - picking up tempo in the soulful melancholia of “Work Work Work”. In the last two tracks the organs and guitars make a frenetic comeback by way of disco-house, ending with a nod to 70s cop movie funk.

The Lahaar

Mara TK
The name Mara TK holds a rarified weight of reverence amongst many music fans across the globe. The multi-disciplinary artist with saintly vocals is a pioneering figure in a movement that reshaped neo-soul’s potential. More than proficient on guitar, bass, piano or programming on drum machines, he is as prolific as he is accomplished, collaborating with towering icons and carving out his own distinct sonics through his various projects. The Maori-Scottish world-wandering citizen from Aotearoa (New Zealand) is a singular force in forward-thinking music.

The son of Maori psychedelic rock legend Billy TK, Mara would first turn heads via his group Electric Wire Hustle. With an ethos that paralleled the likes of groups Sa-Ra Project and Spacek, they defined an era for those searching for something more probing in the purview of underground soul, beats and electronica. It was Mara’s brilliant songwriting and golden-voice that often accentuated their impressive output. Stricken fans drawn in would include global tastemakers such as Benji B and Gilles Peterson (BBC), while Okayplayer would give their debut self-titled album a rare five stars. Such attention would spearhead the group to an international audience, establishing a cult following that continues to follow Mara’s work to this day.

Over the years Mara TK has been blessed to both collaborate in the studio with and perform next to artists as varied as Wajeed, Steve Spacek, Om’Mas Keith, Nightmares On Wax, Lord Echo, Jake One, Xeniah Manasseh and others. He is also an alumni of much-lauded Red Bull Music Academy in Toronto. In the process he has forged an artistically idiosyncratic (and highly in-demand) reputation.

After EWH’s final release ‘The 11th Sky’ in 2016, Mara TK would go on a five year hiatus. Through a journey of musical self-discovery, the results would see the light of day in 2020 as he returned with his highly anticipated solo ‘Bad Meditation’ - a thirteen-track magnum opus, written and produced by Mara himself. Out through globe connecting London label Extra Soul Perception, the album has been showered with critical praise and further cemented Mara TK’s position as a defining figure in future-leaning music. He has produced a unique brand of delicate and soulful psychedelic-fusion that further illustrates there’s many more strings to his bow.

Well regarded for his deeply felt and unique vision and sonics, Mara TK brings his music to the live domain with truly affecting ability.

This album contains no booklet.