Today we bring you a band that asks "Shoes? For who?" That's right, I'm talking about Go Barefoot, my favourite band in this beautiful land. These guys are seriously talented musicians, and I'm not just saying that because they're my friends. Go Barefoot brings us a rare and unique blend of distinctly South African sounds, indie folk rock with kwela sensibilities that just make you feel so happy.
Not only do their tasty jams make you dance like Madiba did the day he got outta jail, they also manage to capture a sense of the eclectic identity that our diverse generation is beginning to define through the mixing and merging of cultures. Last week the gents treated us with a beautiful new song that takes you on a sunset road trip you wish would never end, check out Drive below:
Do yourself a favour and catch these guys live for a great time and a sweet boogie. Also, check out their 2015 Routes EP below, and visit their Soundcloud page for more amazing choons. Support these local artists doing big tings and blessing us with such sweet vaaibs!
Yoh yoh yoh, this track is blowing up on the local charts rights now, and with good reason. Kwesta brings us a banger that combines an old school kwaito vibe with a new school future bass twist - laced with his signature gravelly voice that locks in the groove potential. Assisted by Cassper Nyovest with an equally potent verse, Ngud' is a feel good track set to remain on repeat on the Supersonic playlist for a long time. uSwag 9000. (download)
Happy Human Rights Day! Time to celebrate by expressing your right to listen to great local music. Mondays don't always have to be blue, they can be rainbow-coloured and groovy. And the Rainbow Nation can always provide a tasty techni-colourful selection of tunes, which leads us to Mzansi Mondays! Super kiff South African tunes to make Mondays go a little bit more nxa. Ek se.
Our Mzansi Mondays artist this week is Cape Town-based producer Maramza a.k.a Richard The Third. This guy is the man! A white guy who can make some of the coolest and most new age future kwaito beats. Maramza is inventing new genres that combine Mzansi-house, gqom and kwaito style influences with trap, bass and tech elements that retain a unique South African flavour. Chakalaka for your ears.
Please do yourself a favour and visit his Soundcloud page, where you can find plenty plenty original tracks and remixes of some of your favourite local hits. This generous witch doctor of beats provides us with so many exquisite sonic remedies, mahala even, so spread the love and show support. Preview some of his tracks below:
Listen to Maramza's latest EP, Low Magic, as well as some of his previous releases below:
Holy smokes. This has to be one of the craziest music videos I've ever seen! That's dedication right there! Not only does Cape Town-based musician Thor Rixon want us to be healthy and change the world, he is also clearly very committed to his cause! This guy is like my new hero, how long was he growing that hair for? Yoh! I wanna invite him over to my house for a sandwich. Oh wait...
Aside from a supremely epic music video, Fuk Bread itself is a brilliant funky little choon that contrasts between Rixon's mellow atmospheric socially conscious lyricism and cheeky eletronica dance breaks that allow for some sweet moves (as he demonstrates). After watching this video one usually lacks the words to express themselves immediately, but the message resonates doesn't it? Don't use the microwave. Use the oven instead!
Fuk Bread is the lead single from Thor Rixon's upcoming album, Songs From The Bath. Check him out on Soundcloud, as well as more kiff South African artists on the Naas music collective. And while we're talking about how kiff this guy his, check out this choon he produced for local Port Elizabeth MC, Push Push. This chick is mad dope, love her accent, authenticity, lyrical playfulness and attitude. She reminds me a bit of UK female MC Lady Sovereign, who has since faded into obscurity I think. Super duper fly, Jut Life is far from jut. Well, I don't like the chorus that much but besides that it's tasty mzansi flavour flave. Check out her Soundcloud page for more big tings!
Check out this awesome free compilation of super kiff and cool South African electronic sounds offered up by local label Drk&Lvly Records. Can you say "value for money"? How about value for no money! This excellent selection showcases some of the best sounds from Cape Town, Jozi and elsewhere in Mzansi, with talents such as Richard The Third a.k.a Maramza (check out his track Shambok, it skops hard), Phizisict, The Watermark High, Veranda Panda, Dank and more emerging local artists that will make you say "Yoh!". The beats contained herein range from super smooth chill-tronic to banging electronic trap and glitch to drum 'n bass, and this wide variety really showcases the talent that South Africa has to offer the world of electronica at the moment. And in true South African fashion, it's mahala! Thanks guys! Check it out:
The fokkin ultimate zef rap-rave masterz are back with a brand new vid. My favourite South African MC Watikin Tudor Jones a.k.a Ninja and his crew dropped this video and single in anticipation of their third album, Donker Mag, being released on June 3rd. Personally I am mal mal excited for this LP, Die Antwoord always bring the spice and hit us with a creative output that blows minds and that most people aren't even ready for. This excitement was increased with the release of this brand new music video for the single Pitbull Terrier, where Ninja takes the form of a crazed humanoid pitbull (with excellent prosthetics created by reknowned FX artist Steve Johnson) out for blood running around Joburg tearing shit up. There's also a scene where he viciously murders a Pitbull (the worst "musician" on the face of the planet) look-a-like, which I quite enjoyed I must say. I think I will let the video speak for itself. Say what you will about this gruesome vid, I think its fokken cool. As one Youtube commenter claims, the video shows "the dehumanazing power of mainstream music that turns men into rabid dogs, women into sex kittens and how we can achieve spiritual enlightenment through black magic and demons (Lando Land)". Interesting opinion.
As for the track I am not that convinced yet, but as with a large portion of DA's music it will probably grow on me. As always, DJ Hi-Tek's beats are just too next-level to comprehend, and this rave-style instrumental bangs hard like the back seat of a lekker sooped-up Tazz. After doing a bit of homework I found that the song is loosely based on a song from a Yugoslavian film called Black Cat White Cat, if anyone is interested in such factoids. Donker Mag is out on the 3rd of June, and you can be sure to read about it in da future here at SSSB. Too much excite! You fuckin' with tha ultimate!
Here's the tracklist for Donker Mag:
1. Dont Fuk Me
2. Ugly Boy
3. Happy Go Sucky Fucky
4. Zars
5. Raging Zef Boner
6. Pompie
7. Cookie Thumper!
8. Girl I Want 2 Eat U
9. Pitbull Terrier
10. Strunk
11. Do Not Fuk Wif Da Kid
12. Rat Trap 666 (ft. DJ Muggs)
13. I Dont Dwank
14. Sex
15. Moon Love
16. Donker Mag
South African beastly beat making button pusher badass producer Sibot has recently released what might just be his best EP yet! Arc Eyes consists of 5 tracks each with Sibot's signature grimy and bouncy sounds and distinctly South African inspired dirty bass beats, ranging from electronic funk to trap and shit that I don't even understand. For me personally I think this EP is a step up from his previous release Throwaway EP, which was much heavier (but still very nxa), this one has been injected with a dose of funk, similar to Tronarist, in the form of tracks like Arc Eyes. There's some great vocal collaborations on two tracks: one with his live performance partner in next level visual effects Toyota, in a track that uses a sample from the one and only JZ! And I aint talking about Beyonce's boyfriend, I'm talking Jacob muthafuckin Zuma!
B-b-b-b-billion rand! What a track, much party! There is also a collaboration with local future mfana Okmalumkoolkat, 'Nice Shandees', I don't actually know what is shandees but the track have got a real catchy groove wena! The opening track City of Gold has got a real presence to it, and a driving bassline that just makes you wanna bounce like some jogger's boobs. I would recommend downloading this EP to anyone who likes big phat electronic bass music and has an interweb modem connection (which can be done for free by the way! Yuss what a boytije! Thanks Sibot!).
I was bumping this track basically the whole year last year and have been meaning to post it ever since this blog started. One of my favourite artists on the South African music scene, Spoek Mathambo, was once in a two-man electro group with producer Markus Wormstorm (of Max Normal/Real Estate Agents/other obscure South African music projects fame) back in 2007 before he formed Playdoe with Sibot and before he made his career as a solo artist. But enough with the history lesson, back to the track.
One review of the EP from which this track comes said the following:
“Sweat X are the last word in the whole hip-house/new rave/electro-booty funk thing that’s so new it hasn’t even happened yet.” - Vice
“Cape Town’s hyperactive, gutter-mouthed, ‘African electro’ duo, Sweat X... armed with a bunch of ‘future primitive’ rave funk, glitchy melodies and club-friendly glam hip-house, have arrived at exactly the right time.” - Time Out
Based on those two reviews alone, you can already catch the vibe, self-described Afro-Futurists Sweat X never released a lot of music, but man it was some funky shit. The song in question however was something fierce, a glitchy sweaty house number with Mathambo's signature silky sexual raps and African lady vocals taunting us on the dancefloor keep us grooving until the final minute where the beat drops into a sensual head-bumping booty shaking boom in the room.
Enjoy a SuperSonic SpeakerBox exclusive download below:
Today's track comes straight out of the top drawer of a chest in the Thug Mansion study/jacuzzi room. Straight-up electronic gangsta music from Cape Town's very own Glitch Hop maestro Dank. Dank's music is bass heavy heavy (not a typo), glitchy squelchy electronic hip hop beats that pump up the jam and show gang signs when they roll in the Cadillac down the streets with the sound turned high and the windows turned low.
Today's track is no exception, although I found it quite a while ago it still needs posting. A remix of a song by Slim Thugg and Mike Jones called Still Tippin', I think we can all agree that Dank murdered the track and then paid the police to be quiet about his crimes. Check out Dank's awesome Soundcloud page where he posts most of his tunes, a lot of them for free high quality download too, what a G.
My oh my! Great travesty! Tragedy and tyrrany! How could I have left one of my favourite South African artists of 2012 off my Best Of list? Perhaps because his album was released in such an unorthodox manner that it slipped my mind that it was actully an album. Nevertheless, I come to blog about the great man known on stage as Yesterday's Pupil!
Yesterday's Pupil a.k.a Peach van Pletzen from Pretoria, was one of my most exciting discoveries last year. He is a one-man musical machine, producer of awesome electronic pop music and overall talented musician. He is also the production-third of Afrikaans alternative rap group Bittereinder and has worked with SA rapper Tumi Molekane of Tumi & The Volume and more. His solo project however is the real gold, and Peach produces the beats, plays the instrumentation and provides vocals on all the tracks, which range from gritty electro-bangers to funky electro pop numbers to alternative rock influenced tunes. Really nice stuff in my opinion. And a great live act too!
Last year he released his second album, in four parts, releasing 2 tracks every 2 months, for free! What a champion! The way he sees it, people are going to get it one way or another, so why not give it to the people, visionary I say... Each track release had a different artwork based on a pupil (clever eh?) done by kickass local designer Louis Minnaar. Yesterday's Pupil is definitely one of my favourite guys on the SA music scene at the moment and I anticipate big things and great music from him in the future.
My main man Sibot has recently released a free EP on Diplo's label Mad Decent. If you have never heard of Sibot before you are probably a nine year old girl being raised in a log cabin in Ventersdorp, or maybe you just arent familiar with one of the biggest names in South African electronica. Sibot is one of my personal favourite producers of electronic music, and his genres range from bass heavy glitch hop to crunchy dubstep to futuristic hip hop beats, his styles are truly unique.
His long spanning career has seen him produce music for a number of other prolific South African artists, most notably Die Antwoord (back when they were called Max Normal) and Spoek Mathambo. Needless to say, Sibot is a badass gangster nommer een with eyeballs all over his face and has a live show which will kick your ass and take your lunch money.
The Magnet Jam EP is a free release containing 2 tracks from his previous Throw Away EP and one brand new one. The title track is one nasty piece of work with booming bass drops and an electronic choir of synth-powered robots preparing for battle on the dancefloor, the perfect stage for a futuristic throw-down. The second track No Question is straight-up thug with tabasco sauce in the petrol tank. The glitchy breakbeats, wobbly synths and turntable scratching make a very tasty combination, look out for the awesome vocal sample at the end too. The final track Tronarist is a step in a different direction and has more of a funky edge to it, with some 80's style synths, vocoder effects and a bouncy rolling bassline that is the perfect soundtrack for rollerblading around Saturn's ring on a Saturday night with the homies.
