AFROTRONIX UNLEASHES AFRO-FUTURIST SINGLE “ODA YE,” FIRST TRACK FROM HIGHLY ANTICIPATED ALBUM, FUTURE TRIBE
From the ancient sands of the Ennedi desert to the heart of Montreal’s electronic scene, Afrotronix is back—and he’s rewriting the future. The award-winning artist, producer, and visionary Caleb Rimtobaye, originally from Chad and now based in Canada, has just released “Oda Ye,” the pulsating first single from his upcoming album Future Tribe, arriving September 2025.
Produced with support from the African Parks Network, the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Ennedi Natural and Cultural Reserve, “Oda Ye” is more than a song—it’s a journey. A future-facing electro tribal anthem steeped in ancestral wisdom, the track blends Afro house and Saharan electro with bold cinematic storytelling.
In Caleb’s own words:
“Far in the futuristic desert of northern Chad, a man searches for his ancestral roots… When he places the dom upon his head, a powerful awakening ignites within him—ancient knowledge and ancestral energy surge through his being in deep, vibrant vibrations.”
Afrotronix wears the DOM helmet not just as a fashion symbol, but as a living emblem of reimagined ancestral connection. That philosophy drives his musical mission: to unite past, present, and future through sound, dance, and digital art. With “Oda Ye,” that connection is real, urgent, and electrifying.
Known for his genre-defying soundscapes that fuse Afro Tech, electric blues, Amapiano, Dubstep, and Nganja, Afrotronix is an icon of Afrofuturism who continues to break barriers. He’s performed at over 130 major festivals worldwide, including WOMAD, Afropunk Paris, and JOVA Beach Party, and has collaborated with luminaries like Baaba Maal, Youssou N’dour, Mbongwana Stars, and Brian Kennedy (Rihanna, Chris Brown).
Afrotronix’s artistry has earned him 18 global accolades, including Best African DJ at the All Africa Music Awards (2018), Best African Electro Artist (2019), and Best Artist at the Hollywood & African Prestigious Awards (2022). But his real triumph is cultural: Afrotronix is one of Chad’s most internationally recognized musical exports, reshaping how the world hears Africa.
“Oda Ye” is the first sonic fragment of Future Tribe, a bold new album that imagines an inclusive world rooted in shared memory, healing, and groove. Afrotronix calls it “a dance of intersecting horizons and futures to be created together.” It’s music that dares to dream—and dance—beyond borders.
Hi Afrotronix! Good to meet you! Care to introduce yourself to the readers for those not familiar with your music?
Hello Canadian Beats team, thank you for having us. This is Afrotronix. Afrotronix is a creative concept, a character that presents another vision of Africa and works to readjust a biased vision of African culture.
It’s a futuristic vision that, through art, attempts to offer a more accurate redefinition of our culture.
It’s about re-enacting the history of African music in a timeless past, present, and future, renewing the continent’s image with free, uninhibited, and decolonized music.
Afrotronix’s music is a fusion of traditional African rhythms from Chad, often initiatic rhythms that intersect various genres of electronic music, including techno house and dubstep. It is an experimental electro genre that encompasses music, fashion, and digital arts.
“Oda Ye” feels like a cinematic journey as much as a song. What was the first image or feeling that sparked its creation?
Oda Ye means look up, oda ye means rise up, rise above your present condition.
The initial spark for the creation of the song was the desire to tell the beauty and immensity of this country. The feelings you get from being there in these canyons and deserts, which are historically some of the most powerful places on earth, lead to several great waves of realization, particularly on climate change. You witness the traces of the ancient Paleo-Chadian sea, which has today shrunk and left us with Lake Chad on the east. You face the facts that there used to be an inland sea in Chad, and that the advance of the desert is obvious, that if we do nothing, Chad will become desertified all the way south.
This thought stirs deep anger, especially considering carbon credits, which those who suffer the consequences of climate change are unaware. There is an urge to shout it out and denounce it, but that’s not what the place calls for. The Ennedi, even after 60 years of intense war and anger, calls for a celebration of resilience that leads to the enduring beauty of this unique place.
This is what the song is about, putting light on what is beautiful here. If people connect to this beauty, they will begin to want to understand it, to want to protect it. As a Chadian, feeling this greatness elevates my perception of my country. It shifted my image of Chad within seconds, from a place of conflict to one of remarkable resilience. I felt in a few seconds a completely different image that I had been given of my country. It gave me the desire to invest myself in preserving it, to celebrate in love this strength that we have in the country, and to share that with others. This is also why African Parks and the Natural and Cultural Reserve of Ennedi are integral to the project. Working alongside the European Union in Chad, they are making significant strides in conservation, protection, and education. I hope more Chadians will start engaging in it too.
You’ve described the DOM helmet as more than a fashion statement—it’s a symbol of ancestral awakening. What does it represent for you personally and artistically?
What the helmet represents for me is the Yondo, which in Sara means rebirth. I am inspired by the cycle of this initiation that the Yondo represents. It involves accepting the need to reevaluate what we’ve learned, embracing humility in letting go of old beliefs, and revaluing ancestral knowledge while projecting ourselves into the future. Living across both Canada and Africa, embodying this Yondo philosophy is also actively relearning and freeing ourselves from the foundations of the colonial library that sought to demean ancient knowledge. Instead, I aim to reverse this trend by orienting myself towards the prism of ancient knowledge.
These traditions and ancient knowledge coming from the past have never been locked in the past; in these ceremonies and concepts, the future is always present. The heart of this practice embodies continual presence, living with the awareness of eternity, and envisioning a desired future. By wearing this actualized symbol, I honor those who have completed this initiation and who have reconnected with traditional and yet futuristic values. I strive to describe a future that possesses the essential values of our cultures. I feel like an heir and builder of these ancestral and futuristic aspirations.
How did collaborating with the African Parks Network and the Ennedi Reserve influence the sonic and visual direction of this project?
Being in the Natural and Cultural reserve of Ennedi, in northern Chad, inspired a lot of poetry in words and musical ideas. Through a light artistic approach, it has reaffirmed my desire to create futuristic sounds, to draw on sounds, local sound effects, samples, and the ancient voices of the nomads of this region, to project their voices into space and through time.
There is something I find when traveling, that is universal wherever you go: people say the same thing with different accents. It’s the expression of the same voice, that of the tribe of the future, where I rediscover a cherished concept: the universality of language.
In this place, beyond words and human expressions, my language led me to play guitar, expressing my scenarios on strings, blending a bluesy vibe, or birni, or transforming my guitar into a tchegueni, which is a traditional guitar from our region. Once again, experiencing that an instrument can speak several languages. And above all, it made me want to make another album like Nomadix, and share cinematic music filled with sounds rooted in this cultural diversity of ours.
Afrofuturism plays a big role in your work. How do you see it evolving globally—and where does Afrotronix fit into that larger movement?
The Heartbeat of Afrotronix is to redefine Afrofuturism, and propose a fresh take on Afrofuturism, one that breaks free from the North American narrative of emancipation and instead roots itself in authentic African identity. For us artists rooted in ancient and powerful Africa, Afrofuturism isn’t just about escaping the past; it’s about returning to who we truly are to craft a future that truly resembles us.
This movement is a convergence of philosophy, sound aesthetics, visual art, and design, a vibrant movement with a mission: to bring Afrofuturism back to Africa. We do this through art, music, conferences, engaging discussions with artists, and societal projects spanning multiple disciplines.
Imagining the future of music, I invite creatives from all fields to envision a future—be it fashion, technology, africulture, energy, or urban design. For example, I believe an Afrofuturist city should be the mission and a goal for architects and builders envisioning the new Africa, thriving as a source of inspiration. The power that the music gave me through public recognition, I use it to keep having a social impact with art, and also to keep nurturing projects with impact on communities. If you are curious go check our Aunties project, in which we are actively rethinking the future of older women in Chad who have no Id, no social security, and building thanks to art a network of teachers, mentors, benefactors a new autonomous vision of what lies ahead of them, which will have quiet an impact on Chadian society and economy if we succeed. This is Afrofuturism to me.
It’s also about blending African codes and algorithms into artificial intelligence, enabling smart systems to communicate seamlessly with African communities. This sound design and aesthetic—an Afro-futurist ethos—drives my promotion and artistic practice.
Around the world, we’re craving a new breath of fresh air. Afrofuturism stands as a powerful, beautiful alternative. It’s about projecting the future, one that bears the symbols of the African continent, symbolizing humanity’s collective evolution, rooted in our rich cultural legacy.
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