Altered Zones

Shangaan Electro creator Dog (aka Nozinja) says:
He's the top cat, I'm the top dog. Sometimes he goes by TC but his performance name is DJ Spoko. His real name is Marvin. The name of the song here is "Mzansi," a nickname for South Africa.

The style is a new version of the original South African house music, it's called "bacardi house." Bacardi house became popular recently in Pretoria. It was started and named by DJ Spoko. Bacardi house shows some of what's distinct about Spoko's style.

I first met Spoko because his cousin is a friend of mine and he said to me, "My uncle's son want to be an engineer." So that's how he brought Spoko to me. I trained Spoko to be an engineer in my studio in Soweto.  From there, after three years, Spoko graduated to make his own studio in Pretoria where he started making Bass and Drums house music like that song "Township Funk" [by DJ Mujava]. Spoko was Mujava's teacher in Pretoria. We're all Shangaan.

Do you know "Township Funk"? Spoko made the rhythms and other parts on that song. That's THE dance song that many people know, but they don't know that Spoko was part of it. Spoko is the talent, it's his sound.

MP3: DJ Spoko: "Mzansi"

Nozinja first started making music in 2005. "I had repair shops, specialising in phones and this guy he came to me and said let's play music. So I said okay and we started researching it for almost a year. I took my time. I came into music, bulldozed them and now I am number one!"

The Tshetsha Boys video is what really sparked off the interest in Shangaan electro for me and Nozinja's son is actually the young member of the group. He says Tshetsha Boys with their clown masks, orange boiler suits and outrageous dancing are marketed at kids. "They play music at the day care for children so we took those lyrics and made them Tshetsha Boys songs."

On the way to the dance in his car, Nozinja tells us that the music has got progressively faster over the last few years and it was the main motivation for him making music – "It's the way they dance, if you dance slowly you will make them sleep. They dance like they don't have bones. The speed used to be 165[BPM] and then 173 then 176, now we are running at 180. And it's getting on 184, and I can see it getting faster," he explains. "People are dancing and they will tell you they want something much faster!" [Nozinja interview; Nialler9, "A Day Trip into Shangaan Electro", July 15, 2010]

Read the full interview and check out the photo gallery at Nialler9

MP3: Tshetsha Boys: "Nwampfundla"

-- Previously:

MP3: Zinja Hlungwani: "N'wagezani My Love"

Shangaan Electro: New Wave Dance Music From South Africa is out now on Honest Jon's