Today is your lucky day. You’re about to be introduced to more new music and art than you’re not going to know what to do with at first. Like, just click here. Ja, that’s a lot of music but now you’re sorted for music for the next 2 months at least. And guess what? All those names you don’t recognise there? They’re South African. For the last 3 years Under Pressure Sundays have steadily been curating some of the coolest underground sights and sounds in the country.
Now, of course some of you already knew about Under Pressure Sundays and those that don’t might recognise names like SKinniez and Dada Shiva from this very site, but personally, I wasn’t aware of most of the musicians involved before diving head first into UPS’s playlists. Now I have a few names on my list to keep an eye on. Bonolo Thomas shows consistent growth and change from the very first mix right through to the latest, although I rather enjoy the darkness of ‘That Spot’ all the way back on Mix 1. DrugFreeSports hits that off-kilter experimental spot and provides plenty of beautiful weirdness across the mixes. And Wun-Eye keeps things suuuper chilled and groovy. I recommend you just let things play through and take notes of the cats you dig as there’s such a dope array of artists on offer that you’ll likely find a few that hit the spot for you.
In a way, Under Pressure Sundays’ playlists feel like a South African lofi hip hop beats – beats to study/relax to with a more diverse range of sounds. Most of the sounds are on the more chill side and that makes these playlists perfect for exam time or just kicking back and lighting up with friends.
For Season 6, they’ve collaborated with Phila Hillie to produce the stunning visuals that accompany this series of mixes. UPS seems to be all about putting you on to good shit that you probably don’t know about yet and that kind of work is so valuable in this age where we’re constantly bombarded with mediocrity and unoriginality. Under Pressure Sundays have curated an important platform that highlights some really talented individuals you should know about.
If you want to know when their events are going down, follow them on Facebook.
