Off The Meds: Swedish tech house with a South African touch

Adrian Lux, Carli Löf and Måns Glaeser, the producer’s behind Off The Meds, have been active in the industry for the last decade, working and touring collectively and as solo artists. They have made a name for themselves through major releases as well as writing and production credits on a number of Swedish and European releases. Joined by South African photographer-cum-vocalist Kamohelo Khoaripe the four have released their debut EP ‘The Meds Are Kicking In’ a year after the successful release of their bouncy single ‘Geraas’.

Recorded in 2016, after a chance encounter between Kamohelo and Måns Glaeser at a studio afterparty, ‘Geraas’ was picked up and released by the label Play It Down in 2017. This prompted the four to formally band together as Off The Meds, a name which Adrian came up with after returning from New York and describes the fun mentality of the group.

Released independently with the group’s label Off The Records, the four-track ‘The Meds Are Kicking In’ EP features the chant-driven vocals of Kamohelo underlayed by high-energy tech house. “It’s pretty much everyday life.” explains Kamohelo of the lyrics. “My childhood memories, situations in South Africa. Happy times. Maybe it’s a song I used to sing in daycare and then I just mash it up with modern stuff. There’s one song that’s like [influenced by] football commentary.”

With three producers, each with a passion for synthesizers and music gear, the productions on the release are born in the machine and feature minimal samples. Speaking of the energy and sound they were trying to achieve Kamohelo says, “Every song is influenced by each and every gig we played [last year]. Every time we got back from a festival we recorded a song. So it’s the vibe we got from people, [and] we’re just giving [that] back.”

Scandinavian summer will see Off The Meds hit the festival and rave circuit once again, while their next release might come towards the end of 2018. “We’ve been making a lot of music. We might release in December when winter comes this side. We might release another EP and then next year release an album, or keep on releasing EPs because we have enough material to release more EPs.”

While they have no plans to visit South Africa anytime soon, a tour isn’t off the cards. “I’m trying to get the guys to come [to South Africa] because I was there in December for a month and I played a few songs for some of my mates and some radio people, and they liked it. So if we get a gig we will go down.”