Uzuri, meaning beauty in Swahili, is a name associated with house and techno music that connects with people on a spiritual level. The words deep house or deep techno don’t always do this music justice, sometimes we hear records that delve much further beyond the surface, displaying the personal stories that inspired them into a musical form.

Lerato Khathi aka Lakuti is a lady whose story, although rarely told thanks to her incredible modesty, is one of those that makes these personal connections with the music all the more understood. From her experiences growing up in Apartheid South Africa, being inspired by the first house records and tapes to hit the country from Chicago in the early 90′s, to starting her labels Sud Electronic and then Uzuri Recordings, Lerato’s journey is one we feel is worth sharing.

Today she manages a bookings and management agency that houses the creme of the crop when it comes to the worlds deepest electronic artists, with people like Fred P, Jus-Ed, Levon Vincent, DJ Qu, Anton Zap, Tevo Howard and Rick Wade among a host of others calling the London based agency home. We can’t help but think that the future of this soul warming music is in extraordinary hands with such an inspiring and passionate lady at it’s helm.

This is the Uzuri story.

Anyone that knows you or your story must agree that you have had an amazing life so far. For those that don’t, could you take us back to the beginning, growing up in Johannesburg in apartheid South Africa, what role did music play in your upbringing?

I am not sure that amazing would be the first word that springs to mind when I look back at my life. It has been a rocky road with good days and bad days.

Growing up in Soweto (Johannesburg) was both hard and enriching at the same time. Soweto remains one of the poorest places in the world. The devastation as a result of over 40 years of an unjust system, namely apartheid, continues to affect people on so many levels. My generation and generations to come will still be affected by this brutal and ugly system. I am lucky enough to have had an extremely supportive family. I owe everything that I have achieved so far to my wonderful mom – hats off to all those women all over the world that continue to sacrifice everything for their children.

The one thing that kept us going was the peoples’ spirit and a strong sense of community. This is what makes the people of Soweto so special. Music played a huge role in my life and many people’s lives. We had our freedom songs. I also come from an incredibly musical family. My granddad was a budding double bass player. He was friends with some musicians such as the late Kipie Moeketsi. He also had a sizeable jazz collection which I inherited when he passed away. I did not appreciate any of this music until much later though. My mum was into disco, gospel, soul and funk and some pop music and used to store her vinyl collection in a suitcase on top of the wardrobe! My cousin used to be one of the best dancers in our neighbourhood. People used to give her money to dance in the streets. Even though we were poor and literally at war to try and overturn apartheid, we were happy and full of life.

Tell us about first discovering house and techno music in the early 90’s, was that a major turning point in your life?

Previous to discovering house and techno I was listening to my mom’s records and a bit of my grandad’s music; not always out of choice! My own discoveries were bands like Depeche Mode. I was a huge fan back then and I still am. Also The Cure, Joy Division, Michael Jackson and The Jackson 5, Prince, Donna Summer, Sylvester as well as local acts such as the late Brenda Fassie, Yvonne Chaka Chaka and more. We also got into the early Chicago hits such as Farley Jackmaster Funk feat Darryl Pandy ‘Love Can’t Turn Around’. I remember watching Darryl Pandy on TV and thinking how different he was and how electrifying his persona was.

“You hardly hear people talking about music and songs; all you hear is ‘House’, ‘Techno’, ‘UK Funky’ this and that. Dance music needs to start being relevant again. We need to start touching people’s lives more so than ever before with our music. Where is the political voice of dance music? Where is the hope for our communities?”

We were very clued up about early house music in South Africa and we got it straight away. In the townships, mix tapes changed hands. A friend’s cousin would be in the US and they would send a tape and that tape would do the rounds. Hearing the music out of Chicago for the first time definitely changed my life though in those days you were open to all sorts of music. Music was not so pigeonholed as it is now and that made it the more exciting and engaging. Joe Smooth’s ‘Promised Land’ really touched a nerve and was somewhat poignant to the struggle for freedom in South Africa. I remember hearing Inner City ‘Big Fun’ for the first time and been totally blown away.

The UK also had Soul II Soul which was huge around that time too. These were songs I would say, rather than house or techno or whatever new genre gets formed this week. Sadly this attitude towards music is long gone. You hardly hear people talking about music and songs; all you hear is ‘House’, ‘Techno’, ‘UK Funky’ this and that. Dance music needs to start being relevant again. We need to start touching people’s lives more so than ever before with our music. Where is the political voice of dance music? Where is the hope for our communities?

Around that time whilst living in an area of Johannesburg called Yeoville, which you describe as having been ‘a mecca for all sorts of creative beings, white & black’, you ran your first underground night Planet Hendon. Can you tell us a bit about those parties and the early rave scene in Jo’burg?

I used to work at a coffee shop called Coffee Society on Rockey Street in Yeoville. The shop and the Greek restaurant next door to it were owned by the Papadopoulos family. The youngest of the sons, George Papadopoulos took a liking to me and offered me a job at Coffee Society. At the time I was at Wits University, hoping to become a lawyer. Coffee Society was an important spot. A lot of the regulars there went on to great things – some later got high ranking positions in government, some became well-known actors and actresses, journalists, writers, poets, film-makers, academics etc.

Anyway, upstairs from Coffee Society was a room which was used as a theatre for a while. It was empty for a time and I managed to convince George that I could run it as a club. He bought the soundsystem and all the equipment for it. Let’s put it this way, I had no clue about running a business or a club and at the time that was the last thing on my mind. My friends and I just wanted to have fun and to showcase good music.

Uzuri 007 – Anton Zap – Mon 16:46 by uzuri

There was such a great energy, musically, in Joburg at the time. We just wanted to be a part of that. One of the best clubs I’ve ever been to was called ‘4th World’. It was run by a guy called Preston who also had a clothing shop – everything was DIY. You had two of the best DJs in the country playing there – Graeme Gforce and Tim. Tim went on to owning ‘House Afrika’ which is a record shop and label, alongside Vinny Da Vinci. My best friend Alan aka Portable/Bodycode and I used to go to a gay club called ‘Embassy’ and there was a great DJ over there called Stewart. Best house music ever! I used to frequent another gay club called ‘Idols’. It was very chic and you had one of the most caustic door people I’ve ever encountered! He liked us though so we were safe and never had to queue!

There were a lot of raves in crazy disused buildings. You’d go home covered in so much dirt after 15 hours of partying. I embraced it all. This was a time where some kids that grew up in proper redneck areas like Pretoria you’d get people confessing “We never thought it would ever be possible to party with black people, let alone be friends with them…”

What are your thoughts on Johannesburg’s house music scene these days? Does it still harbour the kind of creativity that Yeoville once did?

House music is a way of life in South Africa – there is a lot happening there and the stuff that makes it on to the European market is not necessarily the best stuff. For example, Mujava’s older tracks before township funk I find more exciting. I like Mbuso’s earlier stuff too. Casablanca also put out some amazing music. The reason I liked these guys is that they were making something that was South African. Kwaito was exciting to me as it was ‘our’ thing.

It seems to have died down now, all I get sent are soulful house tracks or records that sound like Culoe De Song. I’ve not lived in Africa for a long time so I feel I’m not the most qualified person to talk about what is current there, but really the whole of Africa is on point and exciting musically and that’s always been the case. My friend Matias Aguayo keeps on sending me some crazy music from all over Africa and South America. The future lies in these continents I feel.

Uzuri014-Move-D-Sur-un-Bateau-avec-Eric by uzuri

You’re known for a long line of collaborations with Alan Abrahams aka Portable / Bodycode, both in the studio and running the label Süd Electronic together, as well as various parties over the years. What is the special connection there? Do you still work with him regularly?

Alan is my best friend. We have been friends for over 20 years – he’s like a brother to me. I still work with Alan – I feature on a track called ‘A Deeper Love’ on his forthcoming album, ‘Into Infinity’, which is out on Perlon on the 26th September. Excellent album. What I really like about Alan is that he is fearless as an artist and music-maker and defies pigeonholing. This new album is so outstanding and out-there – the poppiest thing he has ever put out and all the better for it. He is also represented by Uzuri Artist Bookings & Management. We’ve been trying to fit in the time to work on a project we’ve been talking about for a long while now but due to time constraints and the fact that we now live in a different city; it’s been difficult to get it started. In 2012, though, we will be able to get moving with that as we will be living in the same city.

uzurirecordings.com/uzuri-management-and-bookings/portable/

“I am honoured to work with each and every person on the agency. A lot of these guys come with stories and hard histories: real human stories. I have always been drawn to people with stories – a history and the scars to show for it.”

Since its birth, Uzuri has become a highly in-demand record label as well as the premier artist bookings and management agency for the worlds best deep house and techno acts. Was that always the plan, or has it been more of a steady work in progress?

Uzuri recordings started because I wanted an outlet of my own, where I could express without having to worry about consensus or consultation. The agency came after that and this was not initially planned. Jus Ed was instrumental in me kick stating the agency. I booked him to play for my party in London and he played one of the most amazing sets ever. We got on, he went back home, but he needed an agent and he kind of roped me into starting the agency. I remember saying to him “Oh, I don’t know about this but I will give a go and we’ll see!”

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You take care of the bookings and manage some of the busiest touring artists in the business, artists like Levon Vincent, Fred P, DJ Qu, Tevo Howard and Jus-Ed to name a few. What are the biggest day-to-day challenges you face whilst representing the individual needs of so many talented artists?

I am honoured to work with each and every person on the agency. A lot of these guys come with stories and hard histories: real human stories. I have always been drawn to people with stories – a history and the scars to show for it. We are all humans; it’s not always plain sailing. It can never be – we are humans not machines. It’s been a revelation, as well, to run the agency, as this is the closest I’ve been to see the music from a business point of view. We need to make changes in order to save our music and I hope, together with all the wonderful talent on the agency, we can pull together and really make a difference. If any of them do read this, I want them to know that they inspire me in many more ways than they can possibly imagine.

Fred P In the mix Soul People Music1 by uzuri

Uzuri Recordings is up to its 16th release now, and has put out unique deep cuts from some of our favourite artists here at the Deepcast like Move D, Cassy and Anton Zap. How do you think the label has progressed since arriving with a bang in 2007? What do you have coming up on the label that we should know about?

I have been honoured to work with each and every artist I have worked with and I am honoured that they put their trust and faith in me. I’m very excited and happy to have our first album on the label, ‘Amanatto’ by Lerosa, and also very happy that the album features two of the heaviest talent as well and two very decent human beings, Theoliverwho Factory. The vinyl version of the album is out now and we’re working to get the CD and digital versions out. There are also other things that we are working on like Jitterbug’s next EP, amongst many others!

And finally, Where do you hope to see Uzuri being in 5 years from now?

Where do I see Uzuri in 5 years’ time…? I’m hoping that we can all pull together and use music to bring about real change to the world, really… my god, it is needed.

Lerosa – Amanatto LP by uzuri

You can buy Uzuri’s latest release, Lerosa’s brilliant LP ‘Amanatto’ from Juno HERE

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