Karl Wolf adds more layers to 15-year-old hit single 'Africa' with anniversary remix

Karl Wolf poses on the red carpet as he arrives at the Juno awards show, Sunday, April 2, 2017 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Karl Wolf says much of his success is owed to his breakout hit "Africa," which is why he's decided to revisit the track with a new remix to mark its 15th anniversary.

The soft rock classic, originally released by American rock band Toto in 1982, found a new life in the hands of the now 43-year-old Lebanese-Canadian, who blended its nostalgia with dance hall beats to make it his own pop radio hit.

He hopes his latest remix will go a step further by appealing to younger listeners who've stumbled across his social media profiles, where he dives into the specifics of his creative process.

"I wanted the new generation to feel what I felt hearing the original," he said in a phone interview from Montreal. "It's like another notch to my cover."

"Africa: 4AM Remix," which will be released Friday on digital platforms, captures a blend of tropical house and electronica geared to appeal to generation Z. Compared to his original cover, the new version has a quicker tempo and a more pronounced layer of synths.

The song arrives as Karl Wolf, born Carl Abou-Samah, embarks on his whirlwind countrywide tour starting on Nov. 24. The DIY tour will pack 19 shows into 25 days as he brings a version of his recording studio to the stage,giving fans a glimpse of how he creates music.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Abou-Samah has been sharing how he produced his songs on social media. When his video composing a different version of "Africa" blew up, currently boasting more than one million views on TikTok, he wanted to officially release the full version of his remix.

"Most of my productions that I do live on TikTok are going crazy viral and that's kind of where the 4 a.m. and 3 a.m. vibes came about," he said.

He says the DIY tour was inspired by his journey from being an immigrant in Canada to becoming an established musician.

On the stage, he'll present "a glorified, more embellished studio" space to fans, showing how he made "Africa," "Yalla Habibi," and some of his other hits, with his social media videos helping to tell the story.

Inspiration for the 2007 remix of "Africa" hit him while he was listening to dance hall in a taxi in Montreal.

"I was like, 'Man, this is cool,"' he said. "And then I just thought to myself, 'Wouldn't it be cool to remake an '80s record?"'

He went through 43 different versions testing different sounds. Many early versions sounded like covers of the original Toto recording, but then he put his own twist on it.

"I flipped it completely," he said.

The song morphed into an R&B mix, which was tweaked again to add dance hall beats.

Record labels didn't want to sign onto the song, he said, so he initially released it himself. As it gained steam on Billboard's Canadian Hot 100, EMI Music Canada got behind the song, helping to push it to No. 2 on the Canadian singles chart in 2009.

Before the success of "Africa," Abou-Samah honed his skills as a producer and songwriter for other artists such as Quebec band Dubmatique and pop duo Sky, later becoming the lead singer for the latter's third iteration.

When he ventured away from Sky to become a solo act, he didn't see much success on the charts until the original "Africa" remix took off.

"I had been trying so hard at it, and not really winning, well, at least not on the Top 20 or Top 30," he said. "It was a big surprise."

Fifteen years later, after the Canadian tour supporting the updated version of "Africa," he plans to embark on an international tour in Europe and the U.S.

Abou-Samah said he also signed a music publishing deal with Kobalt Music and a licence and promotion deal with digital distribution service ONErpm.

"Next year, 2023, is going to be a game changer for me as well," he said.

Throughout his career, Abou-Samah has carried a sentiment from Deane Cameron, former president of EMI Music Canada, who died in 2019, who told him when it came tohesitation releasing his single "Yalla Habibi," to be true to himself.

"'You got to be real,"' he recalled.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 25, 2022.