Kagaza

Before amapiano and gqom came to dominate the South African scene, bacardi music, a potent cocktail of kwaito, house and synth pop, was bubbling through the townships. Spearheaded in the early 2000s by DJ Spoko, a student of Shangaan electro maestro Nozinja, the sound emerged just outside Pretoria in Atteridgeville and quickly picked up steam, spreading across South Africa and ultimately making its mark on clubs around the world. Growing up in Atteridgeville, Gift Mashaba (aka DJ Dadaman) was another of the bacardi scene's most important progenitors; he started his journey way back in 2003, initially sneaking time on his family's PC to experiment and develop the formula that would soon have him known locally as "MabaShghubu" (the hitmaker).

A couple of years later, he emptied his savings to buy his own workstation and swiftly built up a cottage industry, producing vital instrumentals and collaborating with the bacardi scene's early pioneers (including Kapa Kapa, Dam Cass and Patro Boy), selling burned CDRs to a rapidly growing fanbase in Pretoria. One of Dadaman's most enduring partnerships was with vocalist, DJ and songwriter Moses Masaba (aka Moscow Dollar), whose syrupy voice blesses some of his most memorable beats. The duo were founder members of the bacardi outfit N'Wana Mhani Crew, alongside Bongs, N'wadada and Da Box, and their music still nourishes the roots of South Africa's contemporary club scene.

Never before released, 'Kagaza' is a bacardi milestone that catches Dadaman and Dollar at their creative peak. Singing in the Bantu language Xitsonga, Dollar recounts vivid stories of township life while Dadaman innovates relentlessly, weaving acidic lead synths through his urgent, dancefloor-focused syncopations. There's a hallucinogenic quality to opener 'Matlatsi' that positions it not just on the kwaito family tree, but tracks it to Ibiza via Berlin. Ornamenting his militaristic snares and proto-amapiano/post-kwaito bassline with house-y M1 piano phrases and winding synth sequences, Dadaman channels the energy of 1989 balearic breakout 'Sueño Latino', a track based on Mannuel Göttsching's kosmische classic 'E2-E4'.

Elsewhere, on 'Munghana', Dadaman's jerky, staccato bass hits, percussive whistles and Dollar's melancholy call-and-response chants lay out the groundwork for gqom, but there's more going on just beneath the surface. Bacardi's groove-forward sensuality lends the sound a lightness that offsets the gloom - it is party music, after all. Transforming kwaito's sugary hooks into winding psychedelic synth sequences, Dadaman signals South Africa's rich musical history while simultaneously predicting the future. Just check 'Vangoma', with its energizing electroid 303-like slides played against twangy electrified xylophone hits, or the undulating 'Nyoka', when Dadaman swaps guitar riffs with plasticky pop stings. 'Kagaza' is a crucial missing link that helps contextualize Pretoria's outsized influence on the ever evolving South African scene.