Siska - Diggin' The Roots EP + Holdin' The Vibe (VLB Recordings/Soulbeats Records)

In a past life, Siska (Karine Hallakoun-Kaczurynski), then still going by the name Sista K, was the frontwoman of Watcha Clan, a Marseille outfit known for fusing drum and bass, jungle, dub, and hip-hop with traditional North African, Middle Eastern, and Balkan influences.

Her earlier EP ‘Diggin’ The Roots’ featured four carefully chosen covers of tracks that each hold personal meaning.

It opens with a reggae rendition of the soul classic ‘Trouble, Heartaches And Sadness’ by Ann Peebles (1971).

Alongside Ado Awansou and Ras Jahby, Siska was also a member of the nyahbinghi collective No Night In Zion, with whom she recorded a powerful nyahbinghi version of Peter Tosh’s ‘Igziabeher (Let Jah Be Praised)’.

There’s a flash of punk energy in ‘Arabian Knights’, a rework of the 1981 Siouxsie and the Banshees track, an homage to her rebellious teenage years.

The EP closes with ‘Im Nin’Alu’, a 17th-century Hebrew poem by Rabbi Shalom Shabazi that gained global fame through Ofra Haza’s version. Siska had previously interpreted the piece with Watcha Clan.

It’s also with her Watcha Clan comrades, Clement Queysanne aka Supreme Clem/Adelo Basileus and Julien Queysanne aka Soupa Ju, that Siska crafted ‘Holdin’ The Vibe’. But it was the work of Prince Fatty with Hollie Cook that truly captivated her attention. After inviting him to Marseille in 2023 for a Rub A Dub Club night, she later visited his Lewisham studio in South London. Prince Fatty ended up producing four tracks on ‘Holdin’ The Vibe’, including the standout ‘Water Rush’, an ecological ode to the power and necessity of water, featuring none other than Earl Sixteen and French-Cameroonian artist Pat Kalla.

Another Prince Fatty production, ‘Amours Censurées’, channels the spirit of Gainsbourg’s ‘Lola Rastaquouère’. The track is Siska’s direct response to YouTube censorship, after her video for ‘Ta Peau’ was banned for nudity and simulated sexual content. In the lyrics, she pushes back:

Amours censurées sur YouTube,
Censure, sensualité
Amours censurées sur YouTube,
J’en ferais bien un tube

C’est Badass, crasse, mais ça passe
C’est beau mais c’est ‘Ta Peau’
Un téton est c’est pas bon
La poésie c’est proscrit mais le slackness c’est bless

Amours censurées sur YouTube,
Censure, sensualité
Amours censurées sur YouTube,
J’en ferais bien un tube

C’est beau mais c’est basta
Aimer trop, c’est comme ça
C’est chaud, pas porno, c’est ‘Ta Peau’
Censuré sur les réseaux

Amours censurées sur YouTube,
Censure, sensualité
Amours censurées sur YouTube,
J’en ferais bien un tube

Vulgarité approuvée
Plus facile et plus docile
Poésie, désirs fébriles
Surtout pas en faire un style

Amours censurées sur YouTube,
Censure, sensualité
Amours censurées sur YouTube,
J’en ferais bien un tube

J’en meurs, j’en pleure mais toujours preuve
Positive vibes
J’en crève, j’les baise mais toujours faire preuve
Positive vibes

Also featured on ‘Holdin’ The Vibe’ is ‘Li Fet Met’, a rocksteady-infused production by Karigan, a French producer from Toulouse with a clear passion for Jamaican music from the ’60s and ’70s. Meanwhile, Taggy Matcher, the reggae and rocksteady alter ego of Bruno Hovart, perhaps better known as Patchworks, delivers ‘I’m On The Track’, a tune that immediately brings to mind the sunny stylings of Hollie Cook.

Siska reflects on this new creative chapter: “C’est la première fois que je travaille avec des producteurs extérieurs à ma famille musicale. C’est une expérience libératrice dont je suis hyper contente!” (“It’s the first time I’ve worked with producers outside of my usual musical family. It’s been a liberating experience, and I’m absolutely thrilled about it!”)

The entire album is dedicated to the late Georges Vaudreuil aka Ras Jahby, already mentioned earlier, who passed away in May 2021 at the age of 63. His presence is felt throughout the record, underscored by a short interlude titled ‘Tribute To Ras Jahby’, as well as a nyahbinghi version of the Culture classic ‘Jah Pretty Face’, recorded with the No Night In Zion collective.

Siska: “C’est sûr que j’aurais préféré faire cet album de son vivant, mais j’ai tout de même l’impression que nous l’avons fait ensemble, en connexion.” (“Of course I would have preferred to make this album while he was still alive, but I still feel like we made it together, connected in spirit.”)

Two standout releases from a seasoned artist, firmly establishing her presence in the French reggae scene!