K - O

Lakuti

[DE]

Soweto, South Africa native Lerato Khathi, or Lakuti, was influenced by her mother’s soul & funk music collection as well as her grandfather’s affinity for jazz. She developed an interest in early Chicago house and has since become a prominent house DJ.

Khathi first ventured into the dance music world in the early ‘90s after transforming an empty theatre in a Johannesburg suburb into a small club, called Planet Hendon. She then worked with Alan Abrahams, also known as Portable and Bodycode, on projects that were released on the South African house label DJ Syndicate, before relocating abroad. After spending some time in Toronto, she then moved to London, where she promoted a monthly Friday party at Plastic People with Earl Gateshead of Trojan Soundsystem. She continued running events in London for 11 years, hosting the likes of Juan Atkins, Tama Sumo, Shed and more, before establishing the Süd Electronic imprint, which was followed by her Uzuri Recordings venture. The restless artist has remixed The Knife and contributed to a number of tracks as a vocalist, including Bodycode’s “Body to Body” and “What Did You Say.”

Lakuti has played everywhere from London’s Corsica Studios to renowned music festivals Glastonbury and Dekmantel. She has toured the USA and Brazil, is a resident at Freerotation Festival, and alongside Tama Sumo has been given the opportunity to program 3 dates per year at Panorama Bar since 2015. In 2017, the two of them recorded a warm, soulful b2b mix for Discwoman’s mix series; in the accompanying interview, the two state, “what makes us happy is seeing a room full of people coming together in harmony & that is the power of music.”