SOUTH AFRICA’S A touch of AyobAness 18 19 rom its birth in the bars supportive, musically knowledgeable crowd who are around areas like Hillbrow true followers of good deep music. So it’s an interesting in the late ‘80s to a situation scene.” where compilation mix CDs A few days later we head back to Soul Candi where we can sell up to 250,000 copies, have been invited to take a look around their associated house music has exploded to studios where in-house producer Terence Parkah is eclipseF Kwaito as the sound of young South working on the forthcoming LP by spoken word artist Africa. Since the opening of radio station Antonio Lyons, which along with the excellent Mzee YFM in 1997, House has also become part of LP of last year and albums by DJ Clock, signals a mainstream culture, a situation confirmed welcome move into artist albums for the label. One of on our recent trip to Jo’burg where those artists whose journey from DJ to producer is producers advertise mobile phones on TV becoming a familiar one is Lulo Café who is moving on and daytime radio resounds to a deep house from the compilation market with his forthcoming LP beat in an echo of the good old days of Kiss opening of YFM radio, this compilation helped entitled ‘What About Soul Volume 1’. “It’s awesome FM in London. At the same time new routes house music rise from the underground where DJs like right now,” he replies when I ask him about the state of to the international market through the Oskido, Vinny Da Vinci and Christos had been forging South African house. “There are guys coming out from internet, combined with access to cheaper a new urban sound for black South Africa, as it broke different parts of South Africa and you’ve got all these technology, is heralding a new generation free from apartheid. different styles of house music. You’ve got Pretoria of local producers from right across the While links to the international market have been made with Mujava who’s really in his own league right now country, all coming with their own sounds. through trips to the Miami Winter Music Conference but also the guys at Multi Racial (Sisco Umlambo’s We were lucky enough to experience the as well as various projects such as Oskido’s Brothers Pretoria based label), and then you’ve got Durban scene first hand to feel the spirit of what of Peace - which introduced Louie Vega to South where they’ve got their own sound; very edgy and more is locally referred to as Ayobaness and African house in the late 90s, leading to a number of lyrical. For someone who doesn’t know the language it to meet some of the key players of this MAW hook ups - the worldwide horizons for South will sound like they are rapping over a house beat a bit exciting period in South African music. African house music expanded further following the like kwaito - that’s hit the market big this year. That’s South African Music Conference in 2006. “They were the culture right now in South Africa; every region is the deeper side of house AfricA. Deep down on the south side of Johannesburg’s able to bring along people like Louie and Franck Roger, coming up with their own style of house music. There ragged CBD, sit the prestigious offices and studios of Quentin Harris and Karizma and all those people,” is so much to look forward to this year, everyone is Ricardo Da Costa’s Soul Candi Records, a label whose explains Jackson. “And then that started to expose the stepping up their game now. You’ve also now got success illustrates how the South African house scene international market to what was happening here.” international artists remixing tracks for us so it’s really has grown into a huge and self-sustained industry. With the aid of compilations where international exciting.” Whereas the dance market in Europe has languished producers are given a platform to millions of listeners, The increase in artist albums is partly driven by the since the highs of the ‘90s, mix CD compilations by fairly low profile DJs back home, like Charles Webster, sheer amount of talent coming out of South Africa words: ben Verghese local stars like DJ Fresh and Euphonik can still regularly Stimming, and SHOOK’s own Bopstar (all of whom we right now but also the economics of the compilation photogrAphy: scott smith sell over 20,000 copies (a significant drop from the catch spinning while in South Africa) become huge market. “Piracy is hitting us hard,” says Brett. “Three 100,000’s of a few years ago but big sales none the crowd pullers. At the same time, what has retracted or four years ago a DJ Fresh compilation sold 90,000 less). Supported by radio stations like YFM and Metro to become an underground scene in Europe and copies, currently it’s barely hitting 20,000. Although FM and pounding out of taxis and shop fronts day and America is part of mainstream culture in South Africa, 20,000 sounds like a lot of copies it’s not when night, house music is big business in South Africa, as Brett Jackson confirms. “You see, here you can go international artists are asking for £1,000 advances something that is clear as we step inside the plush to a supermarket and buy a breakfast cereal and hear for the use of their tracks. They look at South Africa as open-plan offices of Soul Candi. house music. It’s just the way it is and has always been a cash cow but it really isn’t anymore. So a lot of the alk to anyone in South people. The first guy I got was Tumelo, he’s a vocalist. Natal. That’s when I moved to Pretoria. I never got to Urban Label Manager and respected DJ Brett like that. Even back in the day when the rave scene was stuff we are not allowed to license any more. The good Africa about house music For the past two years we’ve been doing his project. finish. While I was a student I was artist already, with Jackson has been at Soul Candi since its inception. big you would hear trance everywhere. Dance music as thing about that is that the local producers are really – artists, partygoers, and And then Culoe came into the picture. See the a band [Shana]. We were in and out of school. Then I “I’m the longest standing person here,” he explains. a whole has been integrated into everything.” stepping up at the moment and we are not having to even taxi drivers – and two difference with him is he’s making his own music and just started working on my album. I think I got what I “I was there in the early days when we started as a What becomes clear after our trip to a Soul Candi license as much. So it’s changed the game quite a lot. names will keep cropping had done so many singles. I thought his album was wanted out of schools. little record store in a dodgy basement so things have party in Broemfontein a few nights before, where You’ve got a real South African sound through the likes up, Black Coffee and Culoe ready. And him being a DJ his album was promoted SHK: And you use vocals in English and vernac changed a lot from what it is now.” Beginning life in the Euphonik dropped an eclectic set that veered wildly of Culoe and Mzee so it’s really exciting.” De Song. Both hail from the east coast on the streets, his singles were everywhere. So I (i.e. indigenous languages). How do you make that Tprovince, KwaZulu Natal, though it’s in thought we’d start with him as there was demand decision? northern suburb of Rosebank the initial focus was on from deep tribal house to commercial hits and bumpy With producers like Black Coffee and Culoe De Song selling vinyl. “That was how we built things up,” recalls kwaito style beats, is the many different styles of house breaking through the international market and new Johannesburg they’ve broken through, already, rather than Tumelo, who was new. Culoe had BC: It depends on the sound. Like this track with Jackson. “Selling vinyl imports and also local records that are popular in South Africa. “You’ve got your technology making production easier for the urban producing tracks that run that little bit done gigs overseas already. So last year we released Tumelo, it’s tribal. I decided let’s do the chorus in which we started pressing up in Zimbabwe.” As sales minimal following with people into the German stuff poor, the future of South African house is looking deeper than the rest. These have gained my third album [Home Brewed] and his album [A vernac to fit the style of the song, then explain what from the vinyl market receded around 2007, the and then you’ve got the deep crowd into Jimpster and brighter by the day. “On average I get sent about them support from German techno Giant Leap]. And they did quite well, they did very well. he’s saying in the verses. So you get to have an idea company switched their focus to CD releases following Shur-i-kan and then you’ve got the soulful heads into 300 CDs of locally produced music every week, it’s producers to UK funky house DJs and We’re working on Tumelo’s album now.