Felix Laband - Deaf Safari (2015)

Back in the early 2000s, Capetown's Felix Laband seemed destined for greatness, with his 2004 full-length for Compost, Dark Days Exit, being an off-kilter Balearic delight. Eleven years have passed since then, with Deaf Safari - an album some three years in the making, apparently - delivering his first material of any sort since 2006. It's something of a tour de force, all told, with a huge range of samples - African preachers, gospel singers, local politicians, blues men and whispering children all feature - accompanying a range of melodious, atmosphere and breezy tracks. It touches on many styles, too - deep house, downtempo beats, ambient, Balearica, deep two-step and glassy-eyed electronica, for starters - but retains a unique perspective and musical voice throughout.