Since her beginnings in 2016, Rose Bonica has quietly made a name for herself as a fresh and innovative producer of electronic music that, thanks to its many influences, defies classification within a specific genre. Unbound by the rules and structures inherent in club music, her productions instead are highly textured and often play with…
Before the current wave of soulful songstresses from Durban who blend R&B with hip-hop and jazz, like Red Robyn, Victoria Raw, and Rhea Black, I used to be enchanted on the weekends by Umaah Khumalo, or as she was affectionately known then, Apple. Umaah mostly used to kick it with Ex-Con (Existing Consciousness), a high…
Originally from Soweto, Johannesburg-based Tumelo Kgwathe aka DJ SistaMatik first discovered her passion for sharing music with others at the age of 9 when her uncle gave her a box of tapes. “I played those tapes every day to everyone that came to visit us, and when I look back that’s where it all started. Because…
The most immediately noticeable thing about upcoming musician Serpentwithfeet aka Josiah Wise is his striking visual image. In his press photos, he rocks a massive septum piercing, an occasionally multi-coloured beard and face tattoos which announce SUICIDE and HEAVEN around the centerpiece of a pentagram. This brash image may remind you of a Soundcloud rapper,…
Repetition is such a powerful tool. Through repetition, you can hypnotise someone, or wake them. Through repetition, you can numb the senses, or heighten them. Through repetition, you can create anxieties, or relieve them. Through repetition, you can express your deepest thoughts and desires, or bury them. Through repetition, you can say everything, or say…
Sainty Baby is one of the most AMPED people I have ever met. She’s a diminutive ball of energy, and comes across as a soft and genuine person. Her positivity and belief in herself is infectious. With her upcoming EP dropping on the 13th of July, I figured it would be a good time to really…
Psychedelic pop is indelibly associated with images of the hippie 1960s. Bright colours, swirling guitars and groups like The Beatles and The Beach Boys going all out to sonically replicate hallucinatory experiences. While their cultural era passed, its experimental spirit continued to seep into the consciousness of rock and indie bands. In the bright flash…
Soweto-born, but raised in South Africa’s oldest township, Alexandra, the young rapper known as Richi Rich has been active as a rapper since 2010 when he was part of YunGunz crew alongside Suup Zulu and Hip Nautic Sean. “We all were different, so we all chose to go our individual ways and do different stuff, but we…
Hip Hop is often seen as a music of aggression and raw materialism, but the culture has always had a more abstract, psychedelic side. When I was a teenager, artists like Kool Keith, MF Doom or even Outkast transported their fans to other realms of consciousness. And in the last decade the music has only…
The brainchild of South African electronic music stalwart, Markus Wormstorm, Drop Shop is a week-long incubator that brings together established and more up-and-coming producers to create a thirty-minute mix of original techno. “It started with this feature film which I was commissioned to do called ‘Sounds of Animals Fighting’ which takes place in South Africa…
Lately, a few young musicians have asked “Should I have a Facebook fan page?” Usually, I tell them, “Probably.” While Facebook is an evil hellscape designed to offer you nothing but an addiction to the doses of serotonin you get whenever you receive a notification, it still has its uses. Like, if you’re too broke…
The documentary MATANGI / MAYA / M.I.A was collated from footage taken by Maya Arulpragasm and her closet friends over the past 22 years, documenting her life from an immigrant in London to international stardom. Working with her former art school friend Steve Loveridge to produce the documentary, it gives raw insight into the struggles…
