Fatima Yamaha

2015 was a fairy tale for Bas Bron. As Fatima Yamaha, he experienced one of his biggest years to date but don't get it twisted: his rise to stardom hasn't been quick, nor conventional.

For the track that broke Fatima Yamaha, the track that everyone in clubland had been humming for the past 12 months, was released over 10 years ago.

'What's A Girl To Do' is an undisputed anthem. Serene chords, delicate percussion and sultry vocals soothe and uplift every crowd that hears it through a system and its recently had a truly golden period. But it was originally released back in 2004 via D1 Recordings and although it didn't really make a huge splash then, it sure as hell has now.

After being released on D1, it got another reissue via Magnetron Music in 2012 and then again last year through Dekmantel. Its sleeper hit success means Fatima Yamaha can finally ride the wave of success he's been deserving of (however, not everyone's snoozed on it. Jackmaster's been repping it for ages and even bought 200 deadstock copies of it back in the day).

At Dekmantel festival in the summer, Fatima played one of the best Boiler Room sets in recent memory as he expertly played keyboard over a slew of his own productions. His expressive work provided the dreamy soundtrack to a summer extravaganza and from there his tracks found their way onto the worldwide festival circuit (admit it, you've had a Fatima Yamaha moment under the stars at some point).

Then, at the tail end of '15, debut album 'Imaginary Lines' landed. A Moog-fuelled odyssey, it continues the legend that 'What's A Girl To Do' has already created.

As a timely accompaniment to the Fatima Yamaha LP, we've got the exclusive recording of his DJ set from the album launch party and it's the perfect primer to his sound and direction. A return to summer, even if it's January and fucking bitter outside.

Fatima Yamaha plays Village Underground in London on February 4

Funster is Mixmag's Digital Music Editor, you can follow him on Twitter here

[Image: Sandder]