The Log Drum Is The New 808 with Busiswa
Musicians from the worlds of amapiano and gqom discuss their lives in sound.
Busiswa is a singer and poet from South Africa and she hosts this episode. Her music career began when she featured on Sir Bubzin鈥檚 track 鈥楽yaphambana鈥� in 2011, and she鈥檚 since gone on to feature on DJ Zinhle鈥檚 global hit 鈥楳y Name Is鈥�, as well as Beyonce鈥檚 鈥楳y Power鈥� as part of 鈥楾he Lion King: The Gift鈥� soundtrack. She鈥檚 released three studio albums, and her most recent single 鈥楲agos鈥� came out late last year.
DJ Lag is a prolific DJ and record producer who is widely recognized as the king of gqom music, a genre of electronic dance music from Durban in South Africa. His bass-heavy, minimalist sound has pushed him into the upper ranks of the global electronic music scene, and last year he released his debut full-length album, 鈥楳eeting with the King鈥�.
Karen Nyame KG is a producer, DJ and broadcaster who has been one of dance music鈥檚 true innovators of the last decade. She鈥檚 been dubbed the Goddess of Rhythm and is known for her energetic, polyrhythmic sound that is lighting up the clubs of London and beyond.
Scratchclart is an electronic musician, DJ and record producer who is part of the fabric of grime music and UK funky. He鈥檚 the head of the highly respected DVA Music label and in recent years he鈥檚 been building bridges between music scenes in the UK and South Africa, in particular with his DRMTRK series and his new EP 鈥楤eyond Gqom & Grime鈥�.
Together they鈥檒l be talking about the impact of the pandemic on amapiano and gqom, what it was like getting back to the clubs when things opened up again, and the global rise in popularity of these genres.
In part 2 of the show DJ Lag shares a playlist he鈥檚 called 鈥楢mapiano Speaks Gqom鈥�, a collection of songs that celebrates two of South Africa鈥檚 most important music scenes, featuring music from Culoe De Song, Babes Wodumo, and Scorpion King.
