Black, Strong...

I’ve been fortunate enough to chat to a few of the planet's most influential house music practitioners in the past couple of days - Abicah Soul, Quentin Harris, Ralf Gum - and when I ask them about South African music, the first name on every one's lips is Black Coffee...

More on Coffee in my latest (and possibly last, for a while) post for Generation Bass.

South African Music Goes "Boom"!

From Shangaan Electro and Spoek Mathambo (that's him above on the cover of the latest Fader mag) through to DJs Mujava and Cleo being spun by UK bass heavyweights like Kode9, South African music is invading planet earth's dancefloors. Check my recent round-up on Generation Bass, and enjoy the below, out now on Kode9's Hyperdub label: a collaboration between the UK's LV and SA's Okmalumkoolkat (who looks suspiciously like Spoek Mathambo):

20 For The 2000s

Up now on the Red Bull Studio ZA blog and SoundCloud, a mix put together with my mate and partner-in-rhythm, Offbeat under our Unsound System moniker, entitled '20 For The 2000s'. It features twenty of our fave, for-the-floor tunes from the first decade of the 21st Century. Here's the tracklist:

01. Junior Boys – Like A Child (Carl Craig Remix)

02. Justin Martin – The Sad Piano (Charles Webster Remix)

03. Metro Area – Miura

04. Loco Dice – El Gallo Negro

05. Justus Köhncke – Timecode

06. Kerrier District – Let's Dance And Freak

07. Akufen – Deck The House

08. Recloose – Cardiology (Isolée Mix)

09. The Juan MacLean – Happy House

10. Rodamaal – Insomnia (Âme Remix)

11. Luciano And Quenum – Orange Mistake

12. Matthew Dear – Dog Days

13. Radical Majik – Dub Rider

14. Laven And MSO (Featuring Malte) – Reach

15. Hot Chip – And I Was A Boy From School (Erol Alkan's Extended Re-Work)

16. Björk – Pagan Poetry (Ripperton Remix)

17. Metro Area – Orange Alert (DFA Remix)

18. Cobblestone Jazz – Dump Truck

19. Hercules And Love Affair – Blind (Frankie Knuckles Remix)

20. Baxendale – I Built This City (Michael Mayer Mix)

Also check out my weekly submissions to Generation Bass, including a recent post on the wildly-talented Mr Sakitumi here.

New Generation...

This blog may end up on ice for a time while its author a) works to pay the bills and b) lends some insight on (and supplies free samples of) the most happening music in South Africa for brilliant Berlin-based blog Generation Bass. So look out for the best in local electronica, dagga-infused dubstep and deep house and miscellaneous grooves of every variety every Wednesday.

You can also read my bimonthly reviews of all sorts of interesting new sonics in online mag Chew - forthcoming are appraisals of new albums from LCD Soundsystem, Matthew Herbert, Caribou, Nosaj Thing and Erykah Badu.

See you on the other side...