Rafiki (IN)
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Biografía
- Rafiki is the artist alter ego of Sohail Arora---a pioneering figure in the Indian music industry, who significantly shapes club culture as the founder of Krunk.Based out of Mumbai, he moves as easily between styles like acid, breaks, house and techno as he does between his roles as a seasoned music curator, music producer, label head, and selector. The result is a signature sound that lies somewhere between a straight and broken beat. It's a space he stakes a unique claim to, as someone who's earned a reputation for cutting-edge taste in music over the last 15+ years. In a short span, Rafiki's sounds have been welcomed as support for artists like Addison Groove, Breaka, Baba Stiltz, Cashu, Jerome Hill, Desert Sound Colony, Ciel, Acid Arab, Shedbug, RRoxymore, Anthony Naples, Roza Terenzi, Eclair Fifi, Willow, Animistic Beliefs, Dorian Concept, Denham Audio & more--artists that continue to influence and inspire him. In the subcontinent, he’s part of a formidable tag team of selectors known as the Redline DJs, which features five of the country’s most prolific DJs coming together across deeply distinctive sounds. He's also been a regular part of top festival lineups right from Magnetic Fields, Echoes of Earth, FarOut Left, Nh7 Weekender, Vh1 Supersonic and Grasslands Festival, to iconic club nights like Room 303, Hotbox & Milkman. As a producer, Rafiki's trajectory continues to grow with releases on cutting-edge labels across the world and support from major artists. Most recently, his EP The Source (Released on March 9, 2023) found a home on Joe Delon’s incredible Portuguese label, Welt Discos & was released on Vinyl & Digital. Lead single ‘A London Sound’ was featured on Pitchfork's '18 Songs You Should Listen to Now’, Colors Studio & was also shortlisted and played on BBC Radio 6 by The Blessed Madonna as part of her Best of Feb ‘23 Show. The Source is also being vetted as the perfect blend of Rafiki’s musical philosophy–three decades’ worth of UK rave culture mixed with his own Indian heritage–receiving support from the likes of Ben UFO, Solid Blake, Axel Boman, SUCHI, and DJ Voices (Nowadays, NYC) to name a few. Rafiki has also released multiple singles on labels like Reel Long Overdub (UK), FuFu Records(HKG), Regenerate Music (IN) & Rafiki’s own label, Krunk Kulture as part of two compilations - Kaala Khatta & Jaljeera. Currently gearing up for his summer tour across Europe (with shows in UK, Portugal, Belgium,Luxembourg, Norway and France) as well as the release of his EP, New Shifts on Krunk Kulture scheduled for July 2023, his motivations stay the same across all his endeavours. To keep club culture fresh, and people on the dance floor.