Altair

An entry in an ongoing series of full-length releases from Stay True Sounds, the Kid Fonque-founded boutique label known for introducing new voices in South Africa’s deep house scene, *Altair* showcases the dynamism of Eastern Cape-born Hypaphonik. His percussion-blazing productions are rich; in crafting this soulful deep house offering with traces of Afrotech, Hypaphonik (Siyalo Tonya) employs electric guitars and keyboards which are immersed in a wellspring of damp pads and refined synth layers. This careful assemblage of sounds creates a conducive environment for Bamtho Imbongi’s Xhosa poetry on “Ndoyiswe”, and Kali Mija and Offkey’s alluring vocals on the multilayered production on “Lutar”, some of the few vocal songs on ALTAIR. For the larger part of the album, songs are kept bare but have enough presence to stand alone. Named after one of the brightest stars in the night sky, Hypaphonik’s debut is a step forward in the stellar evolution of a producer who promises to be around for a a while.