Video Premiere: 'Wacheenee' By Okedo

It may seem like Okedo arrived on the scene out of nowhere (and they sort of did), but Ishaan Gandhi, one-half of the duo, spent years as a drummer in the New Delhi scene before moving to Leeds to finesse his production skills. Upon his return, he brought along a friend - synth-player and vocalist Will Clark - and together, they formed the electronic duo Okedo.

Okedo rolled into 2019 with a solid, albeit unusual promise - in place of EPs and albums, they would be maintaining a consistent momentum by releasing a single every month. Supplement that with standout shows, keep the ball rolling long enough, and it becomes clear why the fairly new duo has started to generate traction.

It’s remarkable that, despite their quick turnover, Okedo’s releases manage to be varied and strong. The latest in the release cycle is the duo’s third official single ‘Wacheewan//Wacheenee’, a two-part single that drops in its entirety on April 12. Meanwhile, Okedo has released the second part of the single ‘Wacheenee’ along with a video by visual artist DukeDomo aka Dylan Goodacre-Taylor, which is premiering with Wild City today

‘Wacheenee’ is the product of its times, fully in agreement with the trend of revitalising the 80s style with a modern outlook, now rampant in present-day pop culture, from popular web series to movements like retrowave and vaporwave. The music is laden with reverb-heavy analog-sounding synths decorated with a plethora of rhythmic elements that are clearly the product of a trained drummer’s mind. The song’s undeniably catchy vocal hook makes ‘Wacheenee’ the outfit’s most accessible track as of now. Elevating things even further, an 808 bassline mid-way through the song beautifully connects all the retro elements to modern day production styles.

The glitchy aesthetic and motion graphics (reminiscent of early video games) of the accompanying video by DukeDomo, go hand-in-hand with the music. According to the duo, “It was pretty much a 'here's the music, here's the vibe, do WTF you want' kind of situation, because we trusted [Dylan] to take this track to a whole other level”. The open brief certainly comes across as the visuals clearly represent, for better or for worse, an artist let loose. Just like the track, the video with its retrowave-inspired visuals conveys a specific feel rather than a graspable narrative.

What the first half of the single ‘Wacheewan’ will add to that feel can only be anticipated before its release on April 12. Till then, watch the video of ‘Wacheenee’ below and follow Okedo on Facebook here for further updates.

Words: Amaan Khan