Riku Lätti – Biography Riku Lätti is a singer-songwriter, producer, writer, who, once upon a time, studied philosophy at WITS. He then embarked on a career as an IT specialist, and, after a few years in the corporate world, he succumbed to the allure of the financially unstable life of a musician. To try to box Riku's music into a specific genre would be negligible, because, just like the man, his music is eclectic and encompasses a variety of styles, depending on the mood that he wants to create, always staking out new musical territory. He uses various instruments and anything else at his disposal. From chirping birds, whistling kettles, wooden floors, a toothbrush, raindrops, to the famous hekkie (gate), which he put to creative use on one of his outstanding tracks, on the album Radio Lava. His songs are uniquely innovative, blending many disparate elements imaginatively. He has co-produced the soundtracks of the TV-series' Hopeville (Nominated for an Emmy, Winner of Rose D'or) and Wie lê Waar (kykNET) with Jahn Beukes, and Vlug na Egipte with Leslie Javan. He also produced the soundtrack and sound design for the feature film Die Ongelooflike Avonture van Hanna Hoekom (for which he won a SAFTA) and most recently the critically acclaimed Jans Rautenbach film, Abraham.
Riku has released dozens of albums which he has written, recorded and produced. He has won numerous awards including the GMT best male vocal for the album Aan't sterre tel, plus his album Radio Lava was considered among the top 25 Afrikaans albums of all time by Die Beeld and singled out by journalist, producer and author Deon Maas, as one of the three most important Afrikaans albums ever made.
More recently Riku was called the David Attenborough of the music industry. He seeks out musicians in their natural habitats and then records them right there, without pretense. No nonsense. Just raw, honest music, captured, and then showcased as a beautiful protest to the current state of the music industry in South Africa. This musical movement is well known under the title Die Wasgoedlyn.
At the 2021 Woordfees, the controversial documentary, Die Ongetemde Stem, of which Riku, with Gideon Breytenbach, was co-director and producer. The International cut The Voice Behind the Wall, won the award for Best Documentary Feature at the Angeles Film Festival in Los Angeles. Riku and Jackie Lätti recently completed the musical, Die Wyn Bloei Rooi, and it is currently being workshopped as a television series. Riku's aim is not to create pretentious art, but to create beautiful things. His music and lyrics does not just tell his story, but also empathetically conveys the stories of other people and places, whether imaginary or real. In creating he becomes inspired and an inspiration to others.