FAB Song: “Something in the Water” Zaki Ibrahim

Globally distinguished singer Zaki Ibrahim is back with a brand new track, “Something in the Water” off her upcoming 2012 release Every Opposite.

Even before the completion of her most recent release Every Opposite, Zaki was already fleshing out the accompanying theatre production and short film – rearranging its details scene by scene. The stage show for Every Opposite, draws on Zaki’s multi-dimensional talents as storyteller, performing artist, director, choreographer, fashion icon and individually talented vocalist.

ZAKI IBRAHIM – SOMETHING IN THE WATER by motifrecords

Born in Vancouver, Canada, and raised in in Canada’s left coast as well as South Africa’s Western Cape, Zaki is blessed with the majesty of language and a gift for imagination from her English mother who is a teacher and a poet, and with a sense of rhythm and flair for magical spontaneity from her exiled, eccentric, freedom-fighting South African father who banged out rhythms on her baby chest to lull her to sleep as a child.  “The first lessons I learnt about music were from drumming,” she remembers. “And you can’t think about drumming when you doing it. Then it becomes something else.”

In South Africa, Zaki has been carving the local dance music scene a light-footed elegance. She lends dreamy vocals to DJ Kent soulful tech tune Sunrise and appears on the new Culoe de Song album Elevation. Culoe also remixed Ansomnia, Zaki’s contribution to the soundtrack of Tyler Perry’s film For Colored Girlswhich also featured Janelle Monae, Lalah Hathaway and Macy Gray, among others.

In 2005 Zaki, as part of the District Six Music collective joined the African Way Tour with K’Naan, Tumi and the Volume and DJ Nana. She performed at the Black Lily Film and Music Festival in 2008, opened shows for Erykah Badu, Saul Williams, Mos Def and appeared at 2010’s Cape Town International Jazz Festival.

Over the course of two EPs, 2006’s Sho: Iqra in Orange and 2008’s Eclectica: Episodes in Purple, Zaki’s blend of arresting melodies, illuminating lyrics and innovative beats invited collaborations from acclaimed artists and producers such as King Britt, DJ Spinna, Nick Holder, Spoek Mathambo and Boddhi Satva, to name a few. Eclectica:Episodes in Purple cemented her reputation as a dynamic talent, earning her a Juno Award nomination for Best R&B Recording in 2009 for the song Money. The Afro-house remix, by Philadephia beat scientist King Britt broke further boundaries for Zaki, breaking into the UK nu-jazz scene thanks to Bugz in the Attic spins.

While operating outside the confines of genre, which for her is as ridiculous as racial classification, Zaki has a distinct hip-hop sensibility which she also credits to her father: “He said to me that this would be the thing to hold everyhting together. It’s an expression of free thought, like jazz is.”

With Every Opposite, Zaki has further distilled her wide-ranging palette into a potent singular strain. She lists music icons such as Michael Jackson, Prince, Lionel Richie, Sade, Stevie Wonder, Miriam Makeba, Bobby McFerrin, Zap Mama, Radiohead, Madlib and J. Dilla as inspiration.

For Every Opposite, she carefully selected a cast of characters, including Kenyan producer Wawesh (Just a Band, Muthoni the Drummer Queen) and South London production team LV. The core of the project was produced by Tiago of Tumi and the Volume and 340ml fame. “Zaki has an extraordinary voice and no instrument – not even an orchestra – would be able to compete with it,” says Tiago. “So it was logical that to balance these songs, percussive instruments would be the way forward. Sort of like having Zaki’s voice fighting a million drums, on top of a melodic bed of music.” The result is an album that sounds so impossibly diverse, it could have been recorded in the 80s, 90s, or some time in the future – all delivered in a trademark mix of whip appeal and urgency that makes it heartfelt and sensuous at the same time.