The new single from the forthcoming Watermelon Boy album is Cagi Mudre Vou, a unique piece that’s probably not like anything you’ve ever heard. It’s a spin on a song originally released by Bigwilz and features the co-production of Fijian DJ-producer Christonite Boginikua.
The track opens with the slosh of a wave as soft organ chords and ukulele flow into Bigwilz romantic Fijian vocals.
“The lyrics are about a fresh, sea breeze reminding One of a past love and we wanted to express that interplay, in the production.” says Watermelon Boy. Soon, the track widens with a vibrant beat, booming bass and fuzzy synths. “I’ve always been fascinated by the sounds of the southern continents but dance music has largely been informed by styles from Europe and the US. However, the Watermelon Boy project has often played with influences from Africa and Latin America, especially around the rhythms. On top of that, I also take huge influence from Australian future bass producers like Flume, LRDU, Paces & Slumberjack and the choppy fuzzy synths that I love to use, are testament to that.” Watermelon Boy says that even though Cagi Mudre Vou is a hybrid of styles, it sounds more “Southern” than anything he’s ever done. “The beat is straight out of Funk Carioca (A Brazilian style of club music) but rather than that overdriven sound, we wanted a more transparent drum tone. There’s jumping vocal chops that are similar to some of my favourite West African producers Sarz, Gafacci, DJ Flex & Hagan.” Originally presented the song by friend and collaborator Christonite Boginikua, their shared vision for the track came to light after a few simple discussions. “Chris first sent me the track and he had some really cool elements that I wanted to make sure we kept. The beautiful vocal performance, obviously, we wanted to keep that complete, But also the pulsing lali (Fijian log drum) was crucial to the tone of the song and lead into the woody chorus percussion so perfectly.” Trying to make a club ready re-vamp of an existing song creates the temptation to stick a house beat down and just chop the song around it. “It’s too beautiful of a vocal performance to cut into a cheesy club track. We knew we wanted to make something that came correct and sounded as natural as possible. We had to make space for the main drop so it didn’t detract from the vocal.” It’s the natural feeling of this track that’s so remarkable. A hybrid of styles, a contrast of energies and a convergence of cultures. Cagi Mudre Vou feels like a classic genre piece but for genre that doesn’t exist yet. Watermelon Boy, Bigwilz & Christonite Boginikua – “Cagi Mudre Vou” is out now on All platforms.
