L is for love, or in the Facebook era, a like. If you’re a Scott Pilgrim fan, L is for lesbians. L is for lush or libations if you’re a bit of a drinker. To a cartographer, L is for latitude and longitude. For social media managers looking to hit that millennial market, L is for lit. L is for the lavish lifestyles presented to us by pop stars. L is whatever you make it, but in Sibot’s case, I think it probably stands for legend.
I remember the first time I heard a Sibot track. It was on one of the old SL compilation CDs from back when print wasn’t dead. Those CDs held a lot of gems back in the day, even if they did put out Candice Hillebrand’s first single they also put out a version of Sibot and Watkin Tudor Jones’ ‘Super Evil’ that, to my knowledge, was never officially released. I’d never heard anything so fresh. While Waddy’s “kreepy-krawly” line still cracks me to this day, that beat is infectious and experimental as fuck. This was like 12/14 years ago. A year or so later, after a late night LAN party, I found myself with a folder labeled “the fantastic kill” with no track titles, but after clicking play, I immediately knew who I was dealing with. It was on that album I was introduced to Spoek Mathambo and it was from there that I’d follow everything Sibot, Watkin Tudor Jones and Spoek Mathambo did.
Sibot has continued to grow as a producer, putting out an impressive body of work and developing one of the best live shows in the country. With Toyota on visuals, it’s an unrivaled onslaught of sight and sound. Mswenkofontein was probably his biggest track in recent years but he’s put out a few noteworthy releases, 2013’s “Magnetic Jam” was put out by Mad Decent, Red Bull Music picked up “Arc-Eyes” and last year he dropped “new age kwaito 2010” on his ace. Each release unique in sound and direction, each still coated with Sibot’s signature bass tones.
His latest project is an album he’s releasing as four EPs called “V.L.D.T”. The tracks on the EPs are numbered where they are on the album and once all four are out, you can piece them together as one body of work. It’s a unique way to put out a project and gives Sibot an opportunity to highlight the different aspects of the album before people get to hear it as a whole. The first was put out a few months ago, It’s called “V” and it’s mostly in the Arc-Eyes/Magnetic Jam sphere, we’re talking heavy beats broken up and smashed together, but his upcoming EP, “L”, is closer to “new age kwaito” and sees Sibot playing in the 4/4 realm as he flexes his techno and house skills.
The new EP, or the second part of the album, is notably different from what we’re used to from Sibot. Instead of flinging my body around the room and getting whiplash from whipping my hair back and forth, I find myself swaying from side to side, head bopping and shoulders shrugging to the hypnotic beats. “L” feels like a futuristic throwback that reminds me of sliding around club dancefloors in the mid-2000s. I’ve often prefered the heaviness and discombobulating beats behind Sibot’s music, but “L” is welcome relief to the usual chaos and an expertly crafted release that shows the production range the pioneer is capable of.
“L” comes out on the 11th of April and adds 3 dynamic tracks to any adventurous house/techno DJ’s arsenal. It’s certainly not what you’d expect, or at least, not what I expected, but by now we should know to expect the unexpected from the local legend. I’m intrigued to hear the next 2 releases after “L” and see how the whole album fits together once it’s all out there. We’re only half-way through it’s release but V.L.D.T is shaping up to be Sibot’s most dynamic and diverse project to date. If you’re looking for something different from one of SA’s stalwarts of electronic music, check out Sibot’s soundcloud on the 11th of April.
