“You are tearing up everything you know,” a voice declares from above a wall of thundering low-end early into Party Chat, the new EP from acclaimed electronic innovator Happa. The voice belongs to Egyptian-Iranian artist Lafawndah, but the sentiment could be Happa’s own.
Happa’s exponential rise to the top tier of the electronic music scene at scene has been a fascinating journey as he has already worked on collaborations with artists like David Byrne, FKA Twigs and Chloe x Halle. Since blazing into the spotlight in 2012 aged fourteen, the producer – real name Samir Alikhanizadeh – has made a habit of ripping apart his own artistic rulebook, pressing into exciting audio territories by setting fire to what came before. “I’ve always wanted to use a real myriad of sounds, shapes, lights and darks, and not be bogged down by one genre or narrative,” explains the Yorkshire-born experimenter, whose releases to date span across the likes of AD93, Boomkat, Bleep, underground imprint CHURCH and his own label, Part Five Records.
On the brilliant Party Chat, that eclectic, adventurous approach continues, tearing up what came before for a brave, pop-inspired new sound across an invigorating six-tracks for a 20-minute total runtime. ‘Only Light’ & ‘Only Darkness ft Shame’ were released on Fnord Communications back in 2019 and included on this release to highlight this new direction. He has rallied a second vocal feature from the stylistically prolific, fellow half Iranian artist, Lafawndah to contribute engrossing lyrics. “I’d love for this EP to ping out a message that this is what I’m capable of, this is where I’m at right now and this is the next step I’m taking. I want to show I’m more than a dance music producer – I can work with different textures and feels and vocalists and whatever else,” says Alikhanizadeh. Happa’s not done tearing up everything he knows – Party Chat is just the beginning.
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Party Chat is out now: https://fairyouth.ffm.to/partychat-ep
