Published
Tue, Jun 22, 2010, 16:45
- Mark Ernestus and Mark Ainley have put together a collection of Shangaan music from South Africa.
Next month, London-based label Honest Jon's will release a compilation called Shangaan Electro: New Wave Dance Music From South Africa.
Shangaan is an electronically enhanced form of South African traditional music that's popular in the areas between Johannesburg, Limpopo and Mozambique. Despite the genre's highly localized popularity and lack of digital distribution, tens of thousands of Shangaan records are sold each year. The music goes hand-in-hand with its own style of dance, which is extremely fast and energetic, as most Shangaan tunes cruise along at 180 BPM. "When you see them dance you feel like they have got no bones," says Nozinja, AKA Dog, a producer and centerpiece of the Shangaan scene.
Shangaan Electro was compiled by Honest Jon's boss Mark Ainley and former Basic Channel member Mark Ernestus. It collects 12 tracks recorded between 2006 and 2009 at Nozinja's studio in Johannesburg, a creative hub for Shangaan artists. For an idea of what Shangaan culture is all about, take a look at the clip below for "Nwa Pfundla" by Tshetsha Boys:
Tracklist
01. BBC - Ngunyuta Dance (The Shake-Your-Behind Dance)
02. Tshetsha Boys - Nwa Pfundla (Pfundla's Daughter)
03. Mancingelani - Vana Vasesi (My Sister's Children)
04. Zinja Hlungwani - Ntombi Ya Mugaza (Shangaan Woman)
05. BBC - Ngozi (Danger)
06. Zinja Hlungwani - Nwa Gezani (Gezani's Daughter)
07. Tiyiselani Vomaseve - Vanghoma
08. Nka Mwewe - Khulumani (Let's Talk)
09. Tiyiselani Vomaseve - Na Xaniseka (I'm Suffering)
10. Zinja Hlungwani - Nwa Gezani My Love (Gezani's Daughter, My Love)
11. Tshetsha Boys - Uya Kwihi Ka Rose (Rose, Where Are You Going?)
12. Zinja Hlungwani - Thula (So Quiet)
Honest Jon's will release Shangaan Electro: New Wave Dance Music From South Africa on July 6th, 2010.