Nigerian-born, Montreal-based producer Teck-Zilla received quite a bit of attention for his Son of Sade: An Ode, an 18 minute instrumental mixtape that honored the British/Nigeria vocalist, Sade and the producer’s own mother, who is also named Sade. The Nigerian/Canadian producer’s latest mixtape, Afro Bootleg EP revisits his homeland as the producer remixes some of Nigeria’s biggest hits this year. 

As a producer, Teck-Zilla’s sound possess elements of tribal house, house, drum ‘n’ bass, hip-hop and others to create a globe-spanning, thumping populist sound that would rock clubs in New York, Montreal, Lagos, London, Ibiza and countless other places. With its densely layered percussion combining tribal beats and skittering drums, glitchy vocal samples, including a very familiar Lil’ Jon sample, and gently undulating synths, the EP’s first single “Switch Bass_Stop, Look,Listen (Gidi House Maf Guy Bootleg) manages to be an urgent and sweaty house track that you’d expect to hear at a tribal rave. "Yemi Alade Johnny (African Skank Bootleg) manages to fuse elements of R&B, African pop and tribal house in an effortlessly sensual fashion. Teck-Zilla’s remix of Ice Prince and AKA’s ”N Word“ adds layers of percussion and glitchy bloops and bleeps, turning the trap hip hop song into an African version of the emerging footwork sound. His remix of Michael Jackson’s ”Workin’ Day and Night,“ one of my favorite songs off Off the Wall borrows the song’s hook and pairs it with tribal percussion and swirling electronics, giving an Afrofuturist’s interpretation of a beloved song. The EP concludes with "Yemi Alade Johnny African Skank Sho Le Mash Up (No Vox) a percussive, tribal house track that pairs a glitchy vocal sample with electronic bloops and bleeps. 

From listening to this EP, Teck-Zilla specializes in a house music-based sound that’s warm and sensual and employs familiar references in a novel fashion.