In typical Western hipster fashion, I know more about obscure '70s Afrobeat, Ethiopian jazz, and Congolese soukos* than I do about what people in Africa currently listen to--or as Wayne Marshall put it "African popular music that is, you know, actually popular (not just what might best fit outsiders' expectations of African difference)." Two new compilations of South African electronic dance music offer an exciting glimpse of what's going on right now.
*Not that I'm by any means an expert in any of those genres!
From Shangaan Electro: New Wave Dance Music From South Africa, on Honest Jon's and compiled by (Saint) Mark Ernestus of Basic Channel:
From Ayobaness! The Sound of South African House on the German label Out Here Records:
Nwa Pfundla! I find this refreshing! I especially like watching the women in the circle singing. And that one man who entered the circle about a minute and a half into the song...he's wearing a button down shirt and khaki pants. Amazing. And the dog is wandering around in the background. Thanks, Christina
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