Al Haca

There are things in this world that are hard to define because they are liquid or like particles in quantum physics they change their position the moment you think you got them on lock – that’s the nature of the crew known as Al Haca.10 years ago Al Haca were a soundsystem collective that played everything from Dub, Punk through the various shades of Electronica around Germany.

One bass heavy day they were discovered by the members of Rockers Hi-Fi and a remix for the tune “Killah” (Different Drummer) was released. The track became an instant underground classic.

The man they called Cee continued to produce until Inevitable (Different Drummer),the debut Al Haca LP, was released. The record featured vocal luminaries such as Sizzla, Ras T-Weed, but also a little known emcee by the name of RQM.

Coldcut listened to the LP, added a few tracks to his radio playlist and the crewwent international. Cee and RQM started touring together to showcase the release. And the rest they say is history.

Cee’s sharp production skills caught the ear of respected Viennese bass surgeonStereotyp around this time. Under Klein they released “Stereotyp meets Al Haca Phase I, Phase II and Phase III”. Featured alongside RQM were the voices of Daddy Freddy, Ras B, Harry Toddler, Lady Saw, Cesar Sampson, Spectacular,and host of others. The releases were instant success, which further put the Al Haca team on the map. Gilles Peterson not only played Blaze ‘N Cook
on his Radio 1 show, he even nominated it for his Single of the Year. Sharing stages with the likes of Peter Kruder, Modeselektor, Roni Size, Nicolette, M.I.A.,the crew managed to break into the UK, tour the US, and even made it out to Asia.

During this streak of creativity RQM managed to record tracks with Robot Koch, the producer of Berlin favorites Jahcoozi. The Tape vs RQM released their debut LP entitled Autoreverse on Kitty Yo Records. Rolling Stone welcomed the project with a 4 star rating and Maryanne Hobbes gave them the Breezeblock
slot on her Radio1 show, calling RQM “one of my favorite voices.” A tour supporting The Stereo Mcs followed. With the Jahcoozi, and the Tolcha debut LPs under his belt, RQM was finally a vocal contributor to be reckoned with. The latest Al Haca offering, Family Business, is a culmination of a decade of links and ties made during their sonic journey. On production duty alongside Cee is the Tolcha beat surgeon known as Rasda, while the Executive Producer controls are held down by Stereotyp. Led by RQM, the army of choice vocalists
contributing megatons of soul include Coppa, Oliver Grimball, Hubert Tubbs, Sandra Kurzweil, Cesar Sampson, FEFE, Patrizia Ferrara and Vera Böhnisch aka L'enfant Terrible.

XLR8R: "Al Haca has gone completely sci-fi on the world. Banana Split sees the production team tackling synth-parameters like analog brain surgeons. If aliens threw a BBQ that M.I.A. was attending, this track would most certainly accompany dessert."