Pop Archive - Bubblegum Club

iJusi // ‘rainbow nation’ media cultures

A glance at the contemporary media landscape in South Africa conjures up images of newsstands littered with political scandal, criminally bad tabloid journalism and bland design after bland design. It’s no wonder that mainstream media can often leave a sour taste in consumers’ mouths as it’s all too apparent that these publications, both online and…

Kewpie – A South African Trans Icon before Trans Icons

Kewpie was a hairdresser and celebrated queer figure from District Six. She was born in 1941 and identified as gender fluid according to available knowledge. She preferred the use of feminine pronouns as did her friends, though she did not strictly regard herself as either male or female. After her dreams of becoming a dancer…

If Kitchener’s (KCB) is like a home

“There are venues and there are institutions”, I was once told: a friend attempting to draw categories in Johannesburg’s night-time cartography. Undoubtedly, Kitchener’s (or KCB) falls into the latter group. It’s the ‘go-to’ club when you have no prior plans. It’s the comfort of knowing the sound and crowd to expect when you arrive. It’s…

Techno in the City: the story of TOYTOY

Run your finger through the history of techno and you will eventually come to the source: Belleville, Detroit in the mid-1980s. It was here where the Belleville Three — Kevin Saunderson, Juan Atkins and Derrick May — first melded Chicago House, Funk, Electro and Electric Jazz to create the blueprint for what we now know as techno…

Of Parties Past: the Cellardoor Archive 2005–2007

‘In two more years, my sweetheart, we will see another view’. Bloc Party lyrics that once punctuated the playlist of a monthly Newtown party called Cellardoor. The Cellardoor parties ran from 2005 to 2007: a two-year slice in the history of Johannesburg’s nocturnal life. Co-founder, Marc Latilla, holds a catalogue of flyers and photographs from…