Kora

Kora is a Montreal producer and DJ, not the West African harp that shares his name. Since his debut on Get Physical’s Kindisch imprint in 2016, he has built a catalogue of deep house made from percussion, live players and field recordings, and a label of his own, Saisons Musique.

A debut on Kindisch

Kora’s first release came out in November 2016, after nearly two years of work: two tracks on Kindisch. “Nuit d’Afrique”, a collaboration with a fellow Canadian producer, opened the compilation Kindisch Steps VI and later passed four million plays on Spotify. “Ovo”, a tribal cut, had already been a favourite on the playa at Burning Man that summer. DJs such as Hernan Cattaneo, Acid Pauli and Atish supported the records early.

Kindisch belongs to the Get Physical family, the Berlin label founded in 2002 by M.A.N.D.Y., DJ T and Booka Shade.

Anjunadeep, Fabric and Beatport

In October 2017 his track “Nous” appeared on Anjunadeep’s ninth annual compilation and became one of the label’s best-selling tracks. Anjunadeep is the deeper sub-label launched in 2005 by Above & Beyond. Kora finished 2017 as the best-selling Deep House artist on Beatport.

In July 2018 Sasha included “Ovo” on his Fabric 99 mix. He has also released on Earthly Delights, and the Caddo EP marked his debut on Sol Selectas. Lee Burridge and John Digweed are among his supporters.

Saisons Musique

After his first tour of India, in September 2018, Kora launched Saisons Musique in Montreal, a label dedicated to fighting climate change through art. The first releases came from David Orin and Wuachuma; Kora’s own first track on the label was “Hydrant”. In February 2019 he and Wuachuma released “Caroussel”, the label’s fourth record, with keys by Keli Amarai.

The Tantale EP, released on 14 July 2022 as the label’s 19th release, shows how he works. “Tantale” started in Mexico City and carries improvised vocals by the Québec musician Ra*faelle. “Golconda” adds string rhythms by Allen Husley and oud by the Turkish musician Özdemir Güz. “Tango” was recorded in a Buenos Aires studio on a Korg synthesizer.

Long sets

Kora is a regular at Montreal’s Piknic Électronik, where he played in 2017, 2019 and 2021, and tours Europe and North America. In February 2023 he and Atish played two all-night-long events, at Sound in Los Angeles and The Great Northern in San Francisco, before a marathon back-to-back at Superior Ingredients in Brooklyn that April. His music has passed 40 million streams, and his remix work includes a track by the pianist Ludovico Einaudi.