With the release of his second EP Abyss, Joburg-based producer sixghost continues exploring the dark, brooding sound he established on his debut EP Oblivion. “It’s titled Abyss because it’s a continuation from Oblivion where it seems I’m going deeper into the mood of the whole sound that I’m going into, that I’m trying to establish,”…
Influence matters, not so much the marketing strategy, more the effect the art we like has on the art we make. It’s pretty cool to be living in a time period where crop after crop of South African musicians are drawing inspiration from those who came before them, continually reinventing the sound of the time,…
Capitalist modernity needs hells for the many to build heavens for the few. The great palaces and mansions of Europe and America were built off the backs of African slaves. The skyscrapers of Dubai from the sweat of construction workers penned into trailers in the desert. Or as Mike Davis and Daniel Bertrand Monk put…
If you’re tired of going to music festivals with 37 different versions of Shortstraw, or if you’re tired of 40 straight hours of trance being called a music festival, you should check out Zakifo, an actual music festival. Now in it’s third year, Zakifo has found it’s feet and it’s voice as a uniquely curated…
Writing and playing music has been a lifelong pursuit for self-taught bassist and composer Carlo Mombelli whose interest in music was sparked after seeing the ballet Swan Lake at the age of 8. Despite his father wanting him to become a chef and join him in his restaurant he secretly took piano lessons at school,…
In the current era of hip-hop, it says something about a rapper when they approach Ready D to mix and scratch on their mixtape. It says they know and respect the history of their craft. It says they’re not trying to do what everyone else is currently doing. It says they rate themselves enough to…
A short film was put together on that time that London-based electronic musician, producer and DJ Ikonika spent in South Africa on a teaching and performance tour. “I think females make the best DJs. Womxn are the best tastemakers to me” – Ikonika. These opening lines encapsulate her approach to her music. The film sees…
Born out of the mind of DJ and producer Andriques Petersen, aka Omar Moto, and Jodie Williams, one half of Surreal Sessionz, CAPECLUB is a label aimed at exposing the overlooked side of Cape Town’s dance music and bringing about change in an area that historically has been very monochrome. “We made sure that the…
Zambian born PatricKxxLee describes his music as a dark cloud and atmospheric. His lyrics touch on human topics such as hedonism, pain, love, anger, sadness and heartbreak. “I just like to make music about people’s inner voices. Your conscience. Guilty conscience. It plays a huge role in my music.” As a child, Patrick was surrounded…
In this episode we share footage from our visit to the Puma Select store in Braamfontein where we got the info on Select Stories, a series of streetwear collaborations and workshops with Puma to showcase local talent. Our fashion feature sees DOCC founder Nokana Mojapelo translate construction wear into fashion for the streets. We checked…
The post-punk of the late ’70’s and early 80’s fused dystopian politics with danceable music. Artists like Talking Heads, Wire, Joy Division and Gang of Four tried to push guitar rock to its very limits, channeling inspiration from the outer regions of reggae, disco and Afrobeat. Conceptually the dominant mode was of fear, a reaction…
UK MCs are straight up killing the game at the moment. Literally everyone has heard of Skepta and the Boys Better Know crew, Stormzy’s ‘Big For Your Boots’ just hit 23 million views in under 3 months, and for those of you who have been sleeping, we recently introduced you to Lady Leshurr. Whilst their…
