North London Crew Koteri Release Funk Toned Single ‘Karnaby’

Koteri Taken by Alex Massek

The French word coterie translates to a small group of people with shared interests or tastes, and it perfectly fits the North London crew Koteri.

Consisting of three members Abdallah Diab, Dinar, and Jordan Spiro founded the group in 2018, bonding over their love for music in its multi-cultural diversity.

This music reflects their similarities and differences shaped by London, the place they call home London and the tastes they inherited from their parents.

And now Releasing their latest single ‘Karnaby’ via FWD>>/Epic Records UK It’s a slice of what’s been brewing in the rave scene as Jazz, funk, classical and rap come together to show what young Londoners have been listening to.

Pushed by an emphatic looped baseline that adds a rhythmic depth and strong percussion that expressively dips in and out what gives the song an extra sensuous feeling is the long drawn violin notes that all come together to create pure expression and the notion that something exciting is just around the corner.

The lead vocalist on the track skates around the instrumentation with a distinct languid tone. Its lightness is a nice contrast against the heavy bass as he paints an unrushed picture of being on the outside looking in. The rapper steps in with a more energetic approach and feel.

According to the trio, they believe that the track “tells the experience of adjustment to London culture through the lens of the outsider."

“Everyone’s assembling back in a city, and you still have that live-wire energy of the summer, but you wanna carry it through to the fall and capture London’s essence as well.”

The accompanying video directed by Jim Longden engages with themes such as the depths of human nature in a fun and quirky way, whilst also nodding to youth culture through the beloved film and TV culture we used to watch as children such as the cartoon series Recess and Home Alone.

Jim says “I truly believe that Koteri has a big and promising future in the world of music. So being able to create their first music video was an honour. It was a real test to create what we did in a one-day, one-location shoot, but I am happy that we managed to achieve all the shots we scripted.

The band insisted on having a Dinosaur character to align with their project theme, so I took this on board and tried to see what theatrical mayhem I could mould around it.”

Listen here