Local electronic act The Kiffness is fast-growing in popularity thanks to his parodies but a new remix has effortlessly reminded fans about his exceptional musical mind – and became his biggest track to date.
After watching Turkish street performer Bilal Göregen perform a cover of popular Finnish folk song ‘Ievan Polkka’, the producer wanted to add his own flair to the song. “When I first saw the video, I thought it was incredibly catchy and I thought it would be a fun song to remix. So I did a short, live looping remix and put it online,” Dave Scott, The Kiffness frontman tells us. “The response was great so I DM’d my remix to Bilal on Instagram and asked if he’d be keen to colab. To my surprise, he got back to me right away saying that he liked my rendition. We agreed to a 50/50 split on any revenue the remix would make.”
Dave adds that after getting the green light from Bilal, he got his creative juices flowing in the studio. “I was in Joburg at the time so I got my bandmate Raiven Hunter to record the saxophone parts & send it to me from Cape Town. Jane from Veranda Panda recorded the violin and sent it to me from Durban. I had planned an interview with Peach van Pletzen during my time in Joburg for his upcoming talk show, so we killed two birds with one stone and I went to his studio to record my vocals and trumpet.”
Dave adds that “Peach is also an excellent sound engineer so I roped him into mixing and mastering the song. He nailed it! Lastly, I roped in friends to help with the green screen so that I can appear next to Bilal in the video…and the rest is history”.
Hours after The Kiffness posted the official remix online, it started to gain traction on social media. “The video has since made The Turkish news, started charting on Italy’s Shazam Top 200 Chart, and has even reached the classrooms of children in China. We’re now beginning to release the single to radio here in South Africa and I’m looking forward to see the response from fans.” The song currently stands at 13 million combined views on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.
The song is fast making waves in other places around the world – including a surprising pick-up in China. “This song for me, is a true testament to the human spirit: Chinese children vibing to a Finnish folk tune, performed by a Turkish street drummer, made viral by a vibing cat, remixed by a South African & currently charting in Italy. No matter where we are from, I truly believe that we have way more in common than what divides us. A truly global unifier! My wish for 2021 is to give more energy to the things that bring us together.”
Listen to The Kiffness’ remix of Bilal Göregen’s rendition of ‘Ievan Polkka’ below and read more music news here.
