NGOMA 4 - Generation Bass

Acid Zouk for the massive

Continuing where NGOMA 1 stopped, this is an excursion into non-western "hiphop" (a term used in the loosest possible way).

Heavy on Kwaito from South Africa, both more contemporary as well as earlier examples of the genre are presented. Arthur Mafokate with his track Oyi Oyi from 1993, for example, who is often referred to as the King of Kwaito, is both an innovative artist as well as pioneering businessman, having started 999, one of the first non-white record labels in South Africa. There are also offshoots from Kwaito, such as a style known as Guz - as represented by the track of that name by TKZEE. Also want to mention, in the classic Kwaito style, the immense talent that was Mawillies (rest in peace), whose effortlessly powerful voice graces the track GaGu.

tunes from other parts of Africa are also sprinkled all over this mix. the AshThomas project is based in the US, but consists of members from Nigeria and other places. The incredibly clever DJ Rams who does Kizomba and Kuduro (or Kuzomba, a combination of the hard hitting aggresive and emotively smooth) in Angola; Marvelous Benji coming with the refreshing energy from Nigeria; and of course, Emmanuel Jal, the former Sudanese child soldier (from age 11-16).

and the Indian, Columbian, Panama(n?), Syrian tunes in this mix i hope all work together as one experience -- it can be difficult to transition different sounds and keys and rhythms in a single mix. i think most of it works, with the possible exception of the slight energy drop from hot to cold after Omar Sulleyman.


http://www.mediafire.com/?uyozqmzomy4

or

http://rapidshare.com/files/358298031/DJ_ZHAO-NGOMA_4_Generation_Bass.zip

or

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=DDTC6A7F

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and for a single file with no separate tracks:

http://fairtilizer.com/track/95644

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FUSION 1: afro-asian dubstep
FUSION 2: ancient futurist illbient psych dub
NGOMA 1: global hiphop and dancehall
NGOMA 2: afro techno, london house
NGOMA 3: Zulu House, Afro-Electro, UK Funky
NGOMA 5: nomad boogie
NGOMA 6: ukulwa

mistersloane said:

wicked nice one zhao, you should try and get this licensed you know

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glad you enjoy it! but licensing sounds like hundreds of hours of work... i heard that DJ Magic mix on No Hats took him 3 years or something like that to do it legit, and all those artists probably lived in his city. not up to it frankly...

polystyle desu said:

Still have to work by way through whole thing ( right mood, right time and mental space ),
but so far Kufa , Kalahari Surfers, Emmanuel Jal are bending an ear !
Always great to hear thing you haven't heard before ... thanks Zhao.

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you probably know already, but Emmanuel Jal was a child soldier since age 8 or something in Sudan before being rescued by a British aid worker and brought to Kenya, where he started making music... there is an NPR interview with him if you do a search. i love this song, Arabian flavored African dancehall...

Kalahari Surfers have had quite a run haven't they? English expats in SA doing post-punk and experimental dub rock since the 80s innit? but i am for sure feeling this new direction, hope more will come from them.

Kufa... of course... sick sick tune!

a part of me still wonders if i should make stylistically homogenous mixes like every other dj? what do you think? would you rather that this one is ALL kwaito? and the next one ALL hiplife? ALL bhangra? or do you like the way this is, with all styles mashed together?

thanks babs. i mostly agree, that's why i've been making them like this. but a part of me feels like there are also things to be gained from a more "pure" experience...

was having this conversation about food recently. in some cultures you finish your meat and then you eat your potatoes. which i think leads to fascism.

mistersloane said:

A more 'homogenous' mix would probably be a better marketing tool I think, but I don't really know anything about marketing. It'd be an interesting experiment, and you don't have anything to lose by trying it.

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yeah that's what i was thinking, if this one was all kwaito, people will be like "check out this kwaito mix!" but as it is, it's kinda like "hey! check out this... thing with a lotta different shit on it..."

mistersloane said:

Yeah or even worse, 'check out this new world music stuff'....

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yeah sometimes this kind of thing can find itself in a difficult position in terms of marketing. much too hiphop and urban and bass electronic for older "world music" heads, and the club kids don't fuck with it because they think it's "world music"!

mistersloane said:

I'd kinda like to hear a kwaito mix from you n all so I'm subtly angling at the same time

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well it ain't gonna happen now because i blew most of my kwaito load, or atleast most of the best tunes in my current collection, on this one...

Bomb Sandwich said:

I've really enjoyed listening to this, thanks for posting it Zhao. Have you DJ'd in England before? Or have you any plans to do this in the future?

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thanks.

no i have never even been to england! but i am tentatively planning a few gigs there later this year... need to get that organized. do you know any promoters i should be in touch with? cheers!

zhao said:

well it ain't gonna happen now because i blew most of my kwaito load, or atleast most of the best tunes in my current collection, on this one...

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actually this isn't exactly true now that i think about it... we'll see about a pure kwaito mix.