Agajon
Contact
Whoever followed agajon’s work in the last few years – those being lovers of music as an art form – know that the German-Afghan producer artist is proof for music that resists the global trend of mass (re)-producing mainstream sounds with little care for the craft itself. As the 20-year old learned that great art takes time, it only comes naturally that agajon’s debut album follows in 2022 over three years after his first solo-project: The “7 days EP” - released via Kabul Fire Records under the mentorship of founder and fellow Hamburg based producer artist Farhot – already displayed agajon’s particular talent and exceptional taste for a variety of sounds that range from global hiphop traditions, to neo-soul to urban jazz. Ever since agajons’s versatility has been repeatedly confirmed through German (Shindy, Cro, Layla), European (Jarreau Vandal, Leonie Barbot) and international (Giggs – UK / Lou Phelps – CA)
productions, placements and collaborations while he tirelessly worked on his own sound - now finally ready to be heard on a full length album. “nag champa” features long term artist friends like neo-soul singer Ninja Kidsoul orurban artist Layla as well as the British Jay Prince. Even though the sonic outlook of each track varies from trap bangers to intimate rnb ballades or bossa nova based instrumentals and rather classic hiphop beats with an agajon particular bounce to it – the album still manages to sound like a conceptual body of work that offers visionary takes on popular genres while intelligently honoring the underlying traditions.
The title “nag champa” refers to agajons’s love for the most prominent smell of Indian joss sticks and represents a key ingredient of his music making process: lighting nag champa sticks as a personal feel good tool to create art that sounds just as good. With that in mind this album represents an exclusive in sight into agajon’s creative process. Released via Kabul Fire Records as unapologetic advocates for producers as self-contained artists and following the footsteps of his musical idols such as Kaytranada or J Dilla – agajon’s “nag campa” represents a crucial argument for more visibility and recognition of producer artists and their artistry of moving peoples bodies, minds and souls even though or especially because they don’t correspond to the normative image of a performing ( vocal) artist and with that also breaking set expectations of whose music one should listen to.
