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Cat: BID 008. Rel: 29 Jul 24
Indie/Alternative

Side 1 - Track 1. Swahili LullabySide 1 - Track 2. Teekon WarriorsSide 1 - Track 3. Daisy HighSide 2 - Track 1. Swahili Lullaby (Synkro Balearic dub mix)Side 2 - Track 2. Swahili Lullaby (Talking Drums Redub)

First released in 1983, Khartomb's 'Swahili Lullaby' first surfaced on the underground punk and reggae label Whaam! before fading back again into obscurity. In fact their only release, originally a 7", it came backed by the 12/8 wonderwork 'Teekon Warriors' on the B; both tracks established their sound as straddling both a restlessness and a laconism, channelling influences from the Slits to the Raincoats. Legend speaks of an original Peel Session and support from Melody Maker - the holy one-track difecta for breaking artists back then - yet this initial support sadly, madly waned. Now, however, the release comes miraculously back to the fore, rendered concscious again by way of a new-to-vinyl track - 'Daisy High' - as well as two versions of the A1 by Synkro and Talking Drums. 'Daisy High' is a lissome one, its layered contraltos overdubbed to perfection against endless Balearic guitar-swirls amid an overarching 'bossa feel' (in Peel's words). Synkro's dub could just as easily have come from '83 as it did from '24, swelling away into a sweet kickless reverie that happily, barely resembles the original; Talking Drums' version is more loyal to the genesis, yet amps up the dub pressure.