To Be a Stranger

By the time he was 14 year old, the Parisian Hervé Salters, also known as RV, and the man behind the electro-jazzy General Elektriks, was playing keyboards and synthesizers with local bands around London and Paris. Six years later, he had discovered the Clavinet, Wurlizter, Hammond B-3, and Fender Rhodes, the latter of which is highlighted on General Elektriks' debut album, Cliquety Kliqk. Salters' expertise with "vintage sound" led him to recording gigs on Femi Kuti's 1999 album Shoki Shoki, as well as tracks with Quannum Records members (and future labelmates) like Lyrics Born and the Lifesavas. Salters recorded Cliquety Kliqk between 2000-2003 on his laptop in Seattle, Paris, and Berkeley, and it features appearances from the Maroons and Lateef the Truth Speaker, and is mixed by Blackalicious' Chief Xcel. ~ Marisa Brown