Om Alec Khaoli — Say You Love Me

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Say You Love Me wasn’t “Om” Alec Khaoli’s first solo recording but the 1985 EP solidified the bass player and songwriter’s standing as one of South Africa’s most consistently innovative pop auteurs. He built a career on ubiquitous rock, pop and soul hits with groundbreaking bands like the Beaters, Harari and Umoja. But Khaoli’s seemingly endless fountain of music continued outside these ensembles.

Khaoli released several successful solo works beginning with 1982’s “Magic Touch,” while he made records with Umoja and worked on other productions with friends. Driven to create, he says songs came to him quite spontaneously, and he built them up quickly, normally beginning with bass lines and then adding Prophet 5 keyboard and other synths. This creativity was aided by Khaoli’s own recording studio. He was the first South African to have a privately-owned studio. As black artists were not given equal time in the white-owned studios, having his studio allowed Khaoli to develop in his own way, at his own pace. Hence his productive output during the 80’s and early 90’s, releasing 5 LPs with Umoja and 5 solo LPs, along with numerous singles and EPs.