Sami Baha is a Turkish producer who moved to East London 3 years ago, and made his debut on Planet Mu with Mavericks, a release that also featured a collaboration with Kuedo. On his album debut ‘Free For All’ we have a better insight of Baha’s possibilities and how far he can reach while moving around and out of the trap sound into more experimental territories.
Like we said, he moves around trap, like on the melodic ‘Free For All’ or ‘Thugs’, that features the Chicago rapper Dj Nate, also known as Flexxbabii. But he also takes a foray into new places on songs like the rising synths on ‘NAH’, that doesn’t lack experimentation, or the dreamy ‘Gambit’, which has a minimal but loud approach. Dimzy from the UK drill squad 67 delivers well on ‘Discreet’, but we prefer the features on ‘When The Sun’s Gone’ by Yung Lean or on ‘Ahl El M8na’, by the Egyptians Dawsha & Abanob, first one with a slow vibe full of breaks and second one intensifying the fusion and different shapes that this album has. That eclectic atmosphere can also be perceived on the weird-in-a-good-way ‘Path Riot’ or the middle eastern scents on ‘Glory’, made in collaboration with Kufura. Our chosen titles are the opener ‘Cash Rain’, with its elegant bells, Turkish style guitar and piano, and the last ones ‘Limbo’ and ‘Cold Pursuit’. They can be melodic and sweet, smooth and calm and also loaded with bass and what seems to be processed strings.
Planet Mu was a key player in launching both dubstep and footwork into worldwide recognition, and apparently it’s still on the hunt for new sounds and attitudes. By signing these type of artists they are on the right path.
