Umoya - www.halspirit.com

Kaufela, Kaufela,

Conceived and nurtured in Brussels, the capital of Afropean music, HAL & THE BIG 5 is a joint venture between HAL’s DJ alchemists (UK/France) and four South African singers from Soweto, Johannesburg.

With Bill Laswell http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Laswell at the controls to mix the music and apply the finishing touches, UMOYA is the first album by HAL & THE BIG 5 presenting a collection of 13 original “Worldpop” songs with waves of acoustic guitar, live percussion, rhythm loops and saxophone which combine to produce a vibrant and exhilarating live sound.

About the singers:

The 4 singers, Sissi, Gasta, Andrew, Patou, live in Johannesburg, in the Soweto 'village', and originate from different South African ethnic groups (Zulu, Xhosa, Sutu…). They grew up in Soweto at the crossroads of all South African musical traditions and represent the generation of the new South Africa, the generation of freedom, the generation of hopes, the generation of the first football world cup in Africa - and, who knows, the generation of the first black pope? They have toured in Europe at many times as actors/performers with the THESELE STREET THEATER COMPANY. It is during one of these street performances that they met Px of HAL who was immediately surprised and amazed by the singing talent and energy they displayed. The African continent is a very special place on the world music map as it’s the origin of many popular styles of music. But among the African musical traditions, the South African art of singing is something really different, wonderful, unique and deeply emotional. And yet it remains more or less undiscovered to a large 'global' audience. HAL & THE BIG 5 imagined how a true Afropean pop album would sound, and Umoya represents the meeting of cultures and minds.

About HAL:

Hal is a collective formed by Duncan Lomax (aka Savage) and Paul Gallagher (aka Raheen), British, former musicians and producers of albums by BLACK STATE CHOIR and NORTH PACIFIC DRIFT, and the French musician and producer Pascal Derycke (aka Px). The band, created in 1995, conceived and composed their first album using the emerging technology of the internet, then recorded 'Gorilla conspiration' in three days in Metz, France. The album's lo-fi grooves and sample-laden sounds made it an instant underground success and one of the tracks was used by the BBC as the theme for a major TV show, presented by Gillian Anderson (X-files). Drawn by the music, she contacted the band and together they created the single 'Extremis' released around the world on Virgin Records.

About SAVAGE:

Duncan Lomax (aka Savage) has been playing, writing and producing music for over 20 years. Working his way up through a variety of bands he eventually signed to RCA as part of 35 Summers. Lomax co-wrote and produced their first album and toured extensively. He went on to join BLACK STATE CHOIR and side project NORTH PACIFIC DRIFT, releasing 4 albums on the PDCD label http://www.pdcd.eu before joining HAL. Alongside this output, Lomax also worked with Paul Gallagher to produce music for TV, film and multimedia projects.

About RAHEEN:

Paul Gallagher (aka Raheen) started his musical career as bass player in Thrash Culture. He then went on to form BLACK STATE CHOIR and NORTH PACIFIC DRIFT before becoming a pivotal member of HAL.
Paul passed away in 2004 whilst work was underway on UMOYA and the album is dedicated to his memory.

About PX:

Pascal Derycke (aka Px) has been involved in music for over 20 years. His first regular music activity was as a DJ when he hosted a progressive programme on an independent radio station based in Rouen whilst still a student. Moving to Germany, he very quickly established his own record label (PDCD, founded in 1989) and released around 30 albums of mostly industrial style bands (ALBOTH, PORE, SKULLFLOWER, collaborations with Justin Broadrick of GODFLESH …). He also played guitar and the rhythm machine in GRILL http://www.ilike.com/artist/Grill. During this time he also produced the first album by GOD with Kevin Martin who performs nowadays in London as THE BUG (dubstep/grime) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bug. Today, Px lives in Brussels from where he orchestrated the UMOYA project.