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DJ Okapi

Afrosynth Records is a Johannesburg-based record label and store. Digging up rare grooves in the city of gold, DJ Okapi brings a forgotten era of South African pop music back to life. Listen to his mix featuring a few tracks by South African disco star Kamazu at 10 am + pm CET. 

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🌐 "Outsiders" is our daily show hosted by global independent record labels 
📡 Connect with the Outsiders, every day, at 10 am or 10 pm CET
🔗 kioskradio.com

Outsiders: Afrosynth Records w/ DJ Okapi ft. Kamazu @ Kiosk Radio 30.03.2021

Afrosynth is back with DJ Okapi today focusing on the legendary eighties bubblegum singer and label affiliate Ntombi Ndaba.

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🌐 "Outsiders" is our daily show hosted by global independent record labels
📡 Connect with the Outsiders, every day, at 10 am or 10 pm CET
🔗 https://kioskradio.com

Outsiders: Afrosynth w/ DJ Okapi feat. Ntombi Ndaba @ Kiosk Radio 30.07.2021

A previous guest of honor at H.A.N.D. as we debuted the series with a recording of his first class workings at Have A Nice Day a few years back - Piers Harrison presents us with yet another generous offering to our new mix series. One of the minds at Test pressing and 1/4 of team Soft Rocks, Piers' insightful relationship with music and dance floor culture has clearly led to a discerning understanding in a wide range of genres - kindly displayed in this pleasant excursion - listen carefully :)
@soft-rocks

Sound Metaphors Mix Series 04 : Piers Harrison

SWAYMIX 004 - Loveshadow

Instead of following trends, DJ Okapi has made it his mission to preserve and share a forgotten era of South African pop music, specifically the infectious sounds of synth-fuelled ‘80s ‘bubblegum’ disco and the house-driven kwaito grooves of the ‘90s. DJing since the early 2000s, Okapi started Afrosynth as a blog documenting his record collection. From 2016 to 2000 he ran a record store in downtown Johannesburg. Afrosynth now functions primarily as a reissue label, putting out classic South African sounds, as well as new jazz, via Rush Hour in Amsterdam. In the process he has helped bring artists like Ntombi Ndaba and Kamazu back to the international stage. Recently returned to Cape Town, the city of his birth, after more than a decade in Johannesburg, Okapi has shared his unique and soulful sound throughout Europe as well as Asia and Brazil. He has also compiled popular vinyl collections of South African music for Rush Hour, Soundway and Cultures of Soul.

DJ Okapi (Afrosynth Records)

FRIENDLY MIXTAPE - BOYMEETSGIRL

🍿 Full hour episode now streaming on YouTube:

Ep09: DJ Okapi

DJ Okapi, founder of Afrosynth Records, is widely respected as one of the key figures preserving South Africa’s electronic, bubblegum, and kwaito heritage. More than a DJ, he’s an archivist and connector, unearthing lost South African sounds from the ’80s and ’90s while championing a new wave of local jazz artists — like Mabuta and Ayanda Sikade — through his New Horizons compilation series, pressed on vinyl and distributed worldwide by @rushhourrecords in Amsterdam.

Afrosynth began as a blog in 2009–2010, with deep dives into disco, funk, bubblegum, and early kwaito that helped put these sounds back on the map for collectors, DJs, and reissue labels globally. The label naturally grew from that archival work.

A vital connector and collector, Okapi ran the legendary Afrosynth record shop in downtown Johannesburg before returning to Cape Town, where you’ll now find him DJing at venues like Gorgeous George and The Commons, or digging up vinyl treasures at local record fairs. His sets are living archives — a dance floor journey through priceless holy grails and bargain-bin surprises, all stitched together with groove and deep knowledge

Instagram: https://bit.ly/46XFcCl
Afrosynth Bandcamp: https://bit.ly/4m6g9kP
Afrosynth Soundcloud: @afrosynth 
Afrosynth blog: https://bit.ly/4mdscgv

The Feeling - A project where artists are encouraged to explore their collections and share the sounds that resonate, linger, and most importantly, give them, The Feeling.

The series comprises 16 one-hour episodes rolling out over the next 8 months (2 episodes per month), showcasing some of my favorite artists, DJs, and colleagues from the Cape Town and South African music scenes.

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Find The Feeling series:

Instagram: https://bit.ly/4iD7C7P
TikTok: https://bit.ly/4j6PWRC

Shoemaker 
Instagram: https://bit.ly/42PRB6A  
TikTok: https://bit.ly/41TN98N

Equipment and lighting provided by MyOh!My Entertainment: https://bit.ly/4lvhIcT

Filmed at Soundcast Studios, Cape Town, South Africa: https://bit.ly/3DYzqV7

Follow the 🔗 in bio to watch the full episode and others 🥤🍿

The Feeling: Ep 09 - DJ Okapi

Recorded live on a cosy Sunday night at Brilliant Corners.
Hope you enjoy x

Daniel Pisano at Brilliant Corners (2 March 2025)

60 mins of smooth selects from Rio's Antes e Depois. 

Track IDS - @antes_e_depois

1800 triiip - Mix 079 - Antes e Depois

Set de Martha Pinel (@pinelmartha) + Phil OG (@ogphilog), apresentado no Gaspar dia 24/01/2025

Gaspar recebe Martha Pinel + Phil OG

Mix of the Week #598 is "Psychelearic Dreamscape" by Zyron
Follow and include @zyron in your track ID requests

✉️ DC Email list: eepurl.com/dN23Jw 🔈 Mix Archives: https://www.dreamchimney.com/motw 

⭐ More from Dream Chimney instagram.com/dreamchimney • https://dreamchimney.bandcamp.com • www.dreamchimney.com

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Mix of the Week #598: Zyron - Psychelearic Dreamscape

cornerstore during service • #41 • JUPA

TP545 Orpheu (Love International Sunrise Sessions)

✨ Electric Heart – 70s Shimmer & Strings, Vol. 2 ✨
A golden haze of disco soul and cinematic groove. The sound of champagne bubbles, slow spins under mirrored lights, and hearts beating in velvet rhythm. A female-led voyage through lush strings, glittering synths, and the timeless warmth of 70s nostalgia — where hope, love, and soul still dance together under the lights.


7, Would I Go back - 70’s Shimmer & Strings

DJ Okapi (@afrosynth) DJ set at El cuerpo del Disco, berlínClub (@bclubmadrid), on October 6th 2018.

Dj Okapi at El cuerpo del Disco (berlínClub, Madrid)

Shoemaker grew up in a family on the east coast of the United States where music was always the cornerstone of the home. When he first left the States over a decade ago, his love for music was only magnified by his travels around the world. Shortly after, an obsession for disco music sent him down a path of collecting and playing records.  With multiple residencies in the city under his belt over the years, his drive for finding new music and sounds inspires him to consistently dig deeper. Today, Shoemaker’s sets are influenced by disco, Latin, African, Zouk, house, and music from all corners of the world - never one to stick to one sound or genre. He aims to spoil listeners with music they are unfamiliar with but find irresistible not to move to! 
Shoemaker has played at MCQP, Sexy Groovy Love, Kinky Summer, Rocking the Daisies, Retreat Yourself among other festivals and is a regular DJ in the city bowl where you can catch him playing at various venues around town.

The Feeling: Ep 09 - DJ Okapi

Charlie Shoemaker

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