Advertisement

One to watch: Ahadadream

Ahad Elley had a dream and, judging by his thrilling club music, that dream involved: catherine wheels of polyrhythmic, brash beats, huge horns and neon-bright percussion primed for blaring out of a speaker at Notting Hill carnival. The British-Pakistani producer is big on drums, whether tabla-tapping or plucky dembow rhythms, and is part of a new vanguard of party starters who are creating a pan-global underground sound with a certain London energy. This can at any one time draw on styles like Angolan kuduro, Jamaican dancehall, South African gqom, and, for Elley, who often references his south Asian roots, bhangra.

Elley has been quietly busy at the coalface of UK clubs for a few years now, with his London night No ID; as part of the team at Dialled In, the hugely inspiring festival that champions the south Asian underground; and having previously worked at DJ streaming phenomenon Boiler Room. Oh, and there’s the excellent label, More Time, he runs alongside his accomplice in dancefloor destruction, Snøw. But his latest EP, Homecoming, feels like a step up. Released in tandem with his first trip to Pakistan in 10 years, it splices the sounds of Elley’s heritage with everything from grime to South African amapiano. Look out for lead single Piano Skank at a festival near you, a deconstructed 90s acid tune with the loopy-bloopy carefreeness of a Bacardi Breezer spilling over your loafers. Truly, the stuff of ravey dreams.

Homecoming EP is out now on More Time Records. Ahadadream is on tour until 17 September