WILLARIS. K SHARES
NEW TRACK WITH
BABYFACE MAL
‘YA RAB (4 THE HELL OF IT)’
Australian techno powerhouse Willaris. K today shares his hypnotic, club-ready transformation of ‘Ya Rab’ by Australian-born, Turkish Egyptian rapper Babyface Mal – ‘Ya Rab (4 The Hell Of It).
Honouring Babyface Mal’s flow and the track’s traditional sounds and rhythms, Willaris. K masterfully blends the original with his signature production style to create a unique and unexpected collaboration, poised to set the dancefloor alight. In Mal’s own words, it’s “the merging of Melbourne subcultures that needed to happen”.
Willaris. K stumbled upon ‘Ya Rab’ by chance and was instantly hooked – the “808 bit” hit instantly, inspiring Willaris. K to reimagine the track for the club. Before even receiving the stems, he started messing around and chopping up the stereo master, sending a raw cut to Babyface Mal who was hyped about the new version.
“This is extremely cliche, but it did just start as something fun I was f*#king around with to see what happens, then it came together super quick. I remember the day I made it – I was showing my brother the live show cause my Aus tour was in a few days then I was like, oh yeah, I made this too lol. He insisted I finish it and put it in my live show. A couple weeks later, Mal performed it with me on stage at The Forum.” – Willaris. K
One of the country’s most exciting up and coming rappers, Babyface Mal recently supported Yung Gravy in Melbourne, and was featured in NME’s list of essential emerging artists for 2023 and Spotify’s ‘A1’s To Watch’ podcast. Mal’s original version of ‘Ya Rab’ has been streamed nearly half a million times, was added to rotation at triple j, and saw praise from Acclaim Magazine, Complex AU and WAEVZ AU.
Babyface Mal reflects that, “’Ya Rab’ was always a dance track, it was able to get people dancing with the bounce dabke drums and through the inclusion of cultural instruments, dances, and phrases. But with Willaris. K’s rave touch, it’ll now get to reach new audiences.”
“When I found out Willaris. K was down to do a remix I was hyped! Not only would it further give the track the shine it deserves, but I also got to tap back into my electronic background AND give me an opportunity to work with a hectic DJ like Willaris. K.”
‘Ya Rab (4 The Hell Of It)’ is Willaris. K’s first release since his huge national tour in September, where the homegrown producer played his biggest headline shows to date – and featured a fortuitous live debut of the new track with Babyface Mal at Melbourne’s sold-out Forum show.
It follows a trio of Willaris. K’s singles from 2022, ‘Slow Down’, ‘Melt’ and ‘Double Demerits’/‘Harsh’, with premieres and spins on triple j and local praise from Purple Sneakers, Stoney Roads, Acid Stag, MILKY, Beat, The Music and more. The tracks made their way onto leading tastemaker electronic and dance playlists across Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music, including Spotify’s Portal, New Dance Beats and Night Shift, and Apple’s New Fire.
Willaris. K’s celebrated LUSTRE and FULL NOISE EPs were released in 2020, after inking a local label deal with Soothsayer and signing with Astralwerks /Capitol internationally. The EPs featured remixes from Skin On Skin, Model Man and Boys Noize and were met with praise from BBC Radio 1, triple j, Mixmag, The Guardian UK, Beats 1, Stereogum, NME and Earmilk, among other global tastemakers.
Willaris. K recently played Lost Sundays in Sydney and will be hitting up Canberra’s Digi Culture & Music Festival for a scorching set on Saturday 25 March.
With the release of ‘Ya Rab (4 The Hell Of It)’, Willaris. K launches into 2023 with the collaboration of the year and a promise of more new music to come…
Babyface Mal & Willaris. K – ‘Ya Rab (4 The Hell Of It)’Out now through Soothsayer Listen/watch here
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